.20 Practical. I went through three dif- ferent rifl es – nothing was a good way to go. I would have to buy a fl oor plate, new barrels, new stock, and still have lots of money in it. So I sold all three of them. Now what? On a trip out of the house to look
at guns, it came to me. Over the years I’ve had several people ask me, “What is the best time to buy a varmint rifl e?” “When it comes to you,” is my
answer. But the really best time to buy a varmint rifl e is during deer and elk season. Some guys trade in a varmint rifl e for a big magnum to get that deer or elk of their dreams. And yes, in the spring, they trade that big kicking mag- num for a nice, easy shooting varmint rifl e to shoot a few prairie dogs in the spring and summer. In the fall, gun shops and big box
stores don’t order in varmint rifl es, so sometimes there are a few left over. Or at times there are some fi ne used varmint rifl es to be had. Mine came to me. One of the guys behind the counter at a big box store was my saving grace. I asked about varmint rifl es and there weren’t many choices. Then my friendly coun- ter man said, “Wait a minute, I want to show you something.” Out came a Remington SPS Varmint, 26” barrel, Ruger .204, single stage X-Mark trigger, perfect shape, barely used varmint rifl e. Praise the Lord! It hit me like a brick in the face! All I have to do is chamber it to the .20 Practical and I’m DONE. And the price – $440 with an 8-32x44 BSA scope in Remington rings and mounts – was right. Why chamber a rifl e from a per-
fectly good cartridge to another? Be- cause I can! But the biggest reason is Remington .223 brass is very easy to fi nd in bulk, and is cheap. I fi re between 10,000 and 15,000 rounds a year, so I need bulk ammo … cheap! New .204 brass is expensive and still hard to get a good bulk price on. Using .223 brass, I can match the ballistics of the .204. Some say getting better ballistics, and using less powder. A little less, yes. But I shoot a lot of rounds per year, and it mounts up. A couple of the articles I read on
the .20 Practical gave all the details to get started producing brass from .223 Rem. I ordered a reamer from Dave Kiff at Pacifi c Tool & Gauge with the same .233" neck they talked about in their articles.
These calipers, with the addition of a case gauge (on caliper at top), ensure that each case is sized properly (the shoulder pushed back enough that the case chambers satisfactorily in the rifl e).
www.varminthunter.org Page 135
I also ordered the “go-no go” gauge for my gunsmith to use while chambering. It’s a standard .233 Rem. “go-no go” gauge. If your gunsmith has one, you don’t need one. I decided to go the inexpensive
way and chose the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge, the standard .223 Remington the military uses. In my opinion the military brass is the best brass going: it all has to meet mil specs, be very exact, and strong enough to withstand the rigors of automatic fi re. Yes, the case is thicker, doesn’t hold as much powder, and has a nasty crimped-in primer. These all can be overcome. Know that it has thicker walls, load less powder, and remove the crimp. I started off not really looking
for brass, but it came to me. At a gun show in early February of 2010, a fellow walked up to my table and asked, “Want to buy some .223 brass?” “Probably,” was my answer.
“How much do you have and what do you want for it?” He said, “More than 800 and I’ll
take $30 for all of it.” That is less than 4 cents each. I weighed the bag and there was indeed more than 800 in the bag. A quick inspection showed crimped mili- tary primer, and each had an annealing mark on its neck. Plus, once fi red and annealed for strength and ease of neck sizing (tougher and less brittle). Now I have my brass, and it’s time to start the loading process. I fi rst
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sized and decapped the brass in my Redding S bushing .233 Rem. sizing die using the .245 bushing. Everyone should know: Insert the bushing with the number down. When a .223 Rem. or military round is fi red in most chambers the result is a .250 to .253 neck. Taking the neck down in steps will save on the brass. When a standard resizing die is used, the neck is sized to .242 to .244 to be able to accept a .224 diameter bullet and taking into account the thickness of the brass. I always use a case gauge when
sizing all my brass to make sure I don’t push the shoulder back too far. With- out the case gauge you wouldn’t know this. Follow the instructions that come
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