talk me into/out of 20vt

[fishnbob]

Ok, here is th scoop. I have been out prairie dog shootin a few times and the last time i went i took my new 19 badger with me and never took any other gun out of its case. Now i have a hankerin for a 20vt. I have been eye balling the coopers. Does any one know how long it takes when you order one. I see a couple on gunbroker but i like to walk about alot and would like the classic with a wood stock and a stainless barrel not the varmint. I would mainly be using it for walking around depopulating little critters and an occassional bobcat. How heavy is the cooper mtv phoenix?(i sure like the wood dont no you could sway me to a phoenix)
Also i am very impatient is there anything that would fit the bill that i could get my hands on within a month or two? I have also kicked around the 20 practical because i have pretty much unlimited 223 brass but i sure like the way those little fireball cases fit in my pocket.
Thanks
Bob

[Rick in Oregon]

Hey Bob, at the risk of burning out the members here of me perverting yet another shooter to the 20VT ranks, how about just using a "picture worth 1,000 words"?



But sorry, no matter how I could/would try, there's just no way I could ever talk you out of a 20VT!

[32dgrz]

Bought my VT for a few reasons:
It's a wildcat. I love wildcats.
It's extremely accurate.
You can follow every shot
I have tried and I can't get the gun hot.

It is my go to gun under 300 yards.
Purchased my 20 VT Phoenix model 21 from a great store in Rapid City. Mark is great to deal with and had one on the way to him when I first spoke to him. I asked for a day to think about it and he said he would hold it until I decided. I called the next day and had it in two weeks.
Reading Ricks posts and talking to Todd Kindler was all it took.
You can try and explain shooting a VT but it falls short. I smiled the first time I shot it and have every time since

First shot this year with 32 grain Sierra BK at 180 yards.

[fishnbob]

Man i want one sooo bad. I just gotta find one with stainless and wood

[Rick in Oregon]

Bob, 32dgrz above is referring to First Stop Guns in Rapid City.....a great place to find small caliber Coopers. They usually have about the best stock of anyone.

He also uses his for "under 300 yards". I've found the caliber to be completely useful on ground squirrels out to a full 500 yards if the wind isn't howling using the 32 gr V-Max, NBT or SBK. Like he said, you can try to explain how sweet this little caliber is, but you just have to shoot one to really "find the fun".

Just to illustrate the useful range of a 20VT, here's a shot of my Cooper M38 VR 20VT on my bench on my favorite little hillside. The far side of this alfalfa field is exactly 510 yards away at the edge straight away from the rifle, and the little 20VT hammered squirrels right at the edge of the field that day and never got the barrel hot enough to feel more than "warm".



It just sorta 'looks right' too. Not too big, not too small, but "just right":



There's alot of varmint rifles and calibers in my safe, but these daze, my Cooper 20VT gets most of the field time. Wicked accurate, zip recoil/blast, way easy on barrels (you can't get it hot), see all your hits/misses, miserly on powder/cheap to shoot and good for 500 yards......what's NOT to like?

[futuretrades]

I just have to agree with everything said about the 20VT. I ordered mine thru the gun shop, and I had to wait 4 mos to get my grubby mitts on it. Mine is a Phoenix mdl 21 heavy stainless barrel. My personal opinion, with the scope I put on her, the gun is a little heavy, at least for me, to be a walk about gun. Just over 10 lbs. As I only shoot off my bench in the rat fields, that's just peachy for me. I did get mine a little warmer than I like, but I was shooting in temps over 80*, and pulling the trigger as soon as I could get on another target. I am keenly aware of this though, and take steps to keep my barrel cool longer. I have been known to use a wet towel on my barrel, when the shooting is fast and the temps rise. I believe RIO has a pic of me using the "towel" in the field, a few years back.

[32dgrz]

I'm pretty much a bench shooter too. I will take it out past 300 but man that 204 is a hoot too. I guess it's the lack of altitude you get on some of the longer shots
If you do walk about check out Ricks walking stick. It's pretty cool
http://www.204ruger.com/forum/viewtopic ... ick#p76412

[Captqc]

I just have to agree with everything said about the 20VT. I ordered mine thru the gun shop, and I had to wait 4 mos to get my grubby mitts on it. Mine is a Phoenix mdl 21 heavy stainless barrel. My personal opinion, with the scope I put on her, the gun is a little heavy, at least for me, to be a walk about gun. Just over 10 lbs. As I only shoot off my bench in the rat fields, that's just peachy for me. I did get mine a little warmer than I like, but I was shooting in temps over 80*, and pulling the trigger as soon as I could get on another target. I am keenly aware of this though, and take steps to keep my barrel cool longer. I have been known to use a wet towel on my barrel, when the shooting is fast and the temps rise. I believe RIO has a pic of me using the "towel" in the field, a few years back.

Oh Kevin! Rick has done his magic on you I see! He is trying to work his magic on me with the 20VT as well but as of right now I'm too poor! gary

[Bill K]

All I will say is, no one will ever regret having a 20VT or maybe one of CRT's newer improved 20SCC. I will add a 20 SCC to my larder very shortly.. Bill K

[Jim White]

All I will say is, no one will ever regret having a 20VT or maybe one of CRT's newer improved 20SCC. I will add a 20 SCC to my larder very shortly.. Bill K

Bill K: 20 SCC? Gotta' read up on that one.

fishnbob: As far as the 20VT, haven't shot mine in the fields yet but as others have mentioned it is truly a neat small caliber rig. I like the 204 (and I have three) but this is the neatest little rig. For me, I had mine built because I wanted a repeater so I used a Remington M700, 17 Fireball action and I couldn't be happier. Like others I haven't gotten the barrel hot yet. Mine uses over 10 grains less powder than my 204's to get similar velocity results.

When I shoot one of my M700 204 barrels out, I may rebarrel it in 20 Practical [or Tactical] because I have boo-koos' of 223 brass myself.

[fishnbob]

I like th 20 practical idea too because of my brass stock pile. I am pretty much set on the coopers though because i dont know of any good gun smiths close to me. I kicked around the idea of the repeaters as well but even the repeaters i do have a find myself single feeding anyway. I had 3 204's but once i bought the 19 badger i decided i have to have another small case caliber so i sold 2 of them to pay for the 20 vt i am looking for. Now i have the money burning a hole in my pocketbut cant find the one i want

[wirelessguy2005]

If you are interested in the fireball case in a 20 caliber you may want to take a look at the new 20 SCC cartridge as mentioned above. We designed it specifically for high volume vermin use. The cartridge is based on the new Nosler 221 fireball brass which is fully prepped and much better quality than the rem 221. We changed the case taper and added a 40 degree shoulder for efficiency. During testing we were able to obtain speeds of 3,900 fps with 18.5 grains of IMR 4198 and a 32 grain bullet, using 22 grains of Accurate 2200 powder and a 32 grain bullet netted us speeds in excess of 4,100 fps with no signs of case expansion. We have a reamer at a very popular gunsmith friend of ours and he is currently chambering rifles for multiple customers. If this is something you might be interested in please PM or email us.