Changing Calibers

[Malazan]

Can I rechamber a 20 Vartarg to a 20 Practical or will I need a new barrel


Thanks

[Bill K]

A decent gunsmith should be able to re-chamber your 20 VT to 20 Practical. He will probably set the barrel back some and reface/headspace and you will loose some barrel length, but that should only be about one inch, maybe less. Bill K

[Malazan]

Thank you,

Is there any issues with rechambering a barrel?

What does something like that cost?

[Bill K]

No major issues, that I know of. Most smiths will set back the barrel some, as I first mentioned, re-chamber and install and set headspace. The one's I have used, have done this work for around $200.00, You just have to talk with a smith and see what they would charge. Check with one of you local smiths, or check out Pacnor and other's on the web. Bill K

[Rick in Oregon]

Dump the 20 Vartarg? Are you crazy?

Really, you'll regret the loss of your Vartarg. Why not just build another rifle and chamber it in 20 Tac? You'll then have the best of both worlds. For most of your shooting, the 20VT will be perfect (I use mine out past 450), then when the ranges get longer, reach for your .20 Tac.

Anyway, that's what I'd to in your shoes. I just can't imagine being WITHOUT a 20VT, but that's just me.

[Malazan]

It is a Cooper 20 Vartarg, it was willed to me, everyone said it was a 223, so when I received it, it was a 20VT,

I have a ton of 223 brass and I don't want to mess with making brass from 221 FB

Figure I'll just make it a 223 chamber and when I shoot the barrel out, I'll rebarrel it to 223

[Rick in Oregon]

Well then Malazan, you'll miss out on what many consider the most accurate, efficient and just plain fun calibers available to us at this point in time. You will miss out on what all the fuss is about, and never know what you're missing.....everybody has a 223, heck, I've got five of 'em! But shoot my 20VT the most. And a Cooper in 20VT is about as good as it gets.

To get with all the fun, you don't have to form brass from 221FB, even though it's easier than what many think. You can BUY ready to load 20VT brass from many sources now, even loaded ammo (HSM). There are folks on the net who make 20VT brass from virgin LC 5.56 brass that is better than any commercial brass in any caliber and will last virtually forever. Todd Kindler at The Woodchuck Den sells fully formed 20VT cases too.

The other neat thing about the 20VT, besides from being able to see all your hits/misses through the scope with minimal recoil and muzzle blast, is that fact that a 20VT barrel will last about 10,000 rounds compared to a 223 which will need a barrel in half that time, maybe sooner depending on your loading practices. Not to mention you'll use 1/3 less powder in the 20VT for the same performance as a 223; cheaper to shoot.

If you want to see just what others think of the 20VT, go over to Saubier, as right now there is an active thread on this very subject.

http://www.saubier.com/forum.html

You need to read what others are saying. If I had to have only one varmint rifle in one caliber, it would be the 20VT without a second thought. You're missing out on some real fun there, buddy. The 223 is pretty much a ho-hum cartridge now (good, but not that exciting). The 20VT is just the opposite, but you'll never know that if you build yet another (boring) 223. JMO JME

[futuretrades]

I have to totally agree with RIO! I have a VT and a 223 along with my 204. When I got my 204, I kinda quit shooting my 223. After talking to RIO, and a lot of research, I ordered a 20VT from Cooper. At that time we had no supplier for VT brass, so I had to learn a lot more than I really wanted to know, about reforming 221FB brass, down to 20 caliber. But if I wanted to shoot the VT, I had to do it. Now you could not give me another varmint rifle, to replace my VT. In my opinion, there is no better caliber, than my VT, for small varmints. Like Rick said " you get to see every one of your hits, and misses" in the field.
Just my 2 cents!

[Bill K]

I was just answering your question re. Re-chambering your present rifle. I am with Rick and Futuretrades. I would keep that rifle as is in 20 VT, for now. Buy loaded or formed case's from various sources and shoot it. It is one fine cartridge. Hopefully the rifle has a set of loading dies with it, but if not, no issue. You can buy dies for 20 VT, also from various sources. Shoot it and enjoy it, then down the road re-barrel to something else, if you want, but I would almost bet, when you have too rebarrel it will be in 20 VT again. Bill K

[Jim White]

I couldn't agree more with what has already been posted.

As far as forming brass, Rick made some good suggestions. For me I just reformed 221 FB brass to 20VT, its really a simple process and to add; you can shoot that thing literally all day long in a hot rat patch and not even heat the barrel.

Its tough to beat a 20VT but I also like my 221 Fireball, which is basically the same thing but shoots a 224 caliber pill.

Another option might be is setting the rifle up as a switch barrel and have the best of both worlds. I do this with one of my target rifles between 308 and 6mm Remington. I never have to remove anything but the barrels and re-zero which is about 2 clicks of elevation @ 200 yards for my loads.

HTH,

Jim