20 Vartarg

[Bad Wolf]

The write ups on the 20 Vartarg look good. Anyone got one ?

 

http://www.6mmbr.com/20Caliber.html#20VARTARG

[Alycidon]

No but in the absence of any other replies I will add my thougths.

 

When I was reserching my new toy about a year ago I looked very closely at 20 Vartarg and talked to Todd Kindler of the Woodchuck Den in the US at some length. Todd developed the Vartarg cartridge.

 

If you are looking for a lightweight carry rifle effective to 400 yards maybe a tad more in good conditions then go for it. You will mainly use bullets in the 32-40 gr range, Todd Kindlers book indicates that Berger 36 grain moly coated will move at about 3700 fps, 40 gr vmax at about 3500.

 

Cooper do (or did) it as a factory rifle, so do Dakota otherwise its a custom or semi custom. Case forming is easy and it will shoot flatter with less drift than the .221 Fireball from which the case is formed. Using a 40gr Vmax performance is similar to a .220 Swift using 52 gr Vmaxs. Uses 18.5 -20 grains of powder (H4198 or Reloader 7) so is quiet and recoil free practically.

 

I finished up opting for more reach and went 20BR, time will tell if I have made the right decision.

 

I would recommend you talk to Todd Kindler, he is an excellent guy to talk to and a mine of 20 cal info.

 

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[Bad Wolf]

Thanks for that. I am also interested in the .17 Rem Fireball but the 20 Vartarg, equivalent to a .20 Fireball, has the advantage of a higher BC.

[Alycidon]

I would go 20 as you have more bullet energy when it arrives, ballistics are similar, you will have a job convincing your FEO of a need for both.

 

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[Bad Wolf]

So far I have only discussed either a .17 or .20 with my FEO, not both.

 

I would prefer the 20 VT and am now investigating how to get one.

 

I think a custom rifle is the way to go in UK, even though Cooper do advertise them as factory rifles.

[Alycidon]

So far I have only discussed either a .17 or .20 with my FEO, not both.

 

I would prefer the 20 VT and am now investigating how to get one.

 

I think a custom rifle is the way to go in UK, even though Cooper do advertise them as factory rifles.

 

 

The FEO will let you have either for foxes etc but not both I dont think especailly if he knows what he is about. There are a number of guys here that will build you one on any action you want, to get the best out of it though go for a single shot action, its more rigid which helps accuracy. You wont need a quick follow up. I cannot recommend Cooper having read about problems mainly with soft bedding and another member here had a chamber that was out of round. These may of course be isolated incidents but once you have had a custom there is no going back.

 

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[Bad Wolf]

Just an idea but, what about getting an off-the-shelf .17 Rem Fireball, say a Remington SPS Varmint, then using it until the accuracy fades due to throat erosion and re-barreling in .20 VarTarg ?

[Alycidon]

No problem with that but the 700 action almost certainly will need accuratising at the rebarrel to get the best out of it. This cartridge uses so little powder that you will get long barrell life out of it anyway in whatever caliber you choose so a barrel change could be 5 years plus away. It will probably also want a stock change as some of the Remmy synthetic stocks are not that hot. Others will advise if the stock on the model you are thinking about is frankly crap from an accuracy point of view. May be better to use a Sako 75 or a Howa action in a stock and barrel of your choice at the outset but all these are repeaters so a degree of accuracy will be lost. I expect they will still do minute of rabbit at 200 yards though.

 

At the rebarrel if were busting for a 17 as well you MIGHT be able to argue a case for a 17AH as well on a low noise basis. Much better tool than a 17HMR IMHO but who knows what will be around at the time..

 

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