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  #11  
Old 01-27-2019, 12:01 PM
Grey_Wolf Grey_Wolf is offline
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Black Hole, Bib, MEF, you guys have some choices still by the sounds of it. That I know of none of those are available up here and it's too expensive to get someone to bring up some to try. Tried to get some Calhoon a couple years ago, the only guy listed as a dealer wouldn't bring them up anymore because of the cost of licensing and such to import them.
I send an email voicing my displeasure, not that I think it'll do any good but I feel better for it
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  #12  
Old 01-27-2019, 03:54 PM
Randy Robinett Randy Robinett is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rickiesrevenge View Post
Haven't seen one positive thing from Berger since they were bought out by nammo. If I remember correctly Bib Bullets was working on a heavy 20 cal.

Aaron
Aaron is correct.

For custom bullet makers, and especially for odd/unusual caliber/length/weight bullets, as Bob Dylan wrote/sang: “The Times, They Are A Changin’”. The new Capstone Precision Group, LLC (Lapua, VhitaVhouri, Berger Bullets, J4Jackets, SK, etc.) purchasing policy requires minimum orders, depending upon specific item (jacket), from about $3,500 to $5,000, or, roughly 48,000 - 50,000 pieces of each item: no more mix and match. For cottage industry bullet makers, not exactly chump change, which may take several years to realize a return.

That said, since May, of 2012, the only [J4] 20 Cal. jackets available to the custom makers, have been 0.595” and 0.640” long: unsuitable for anything over about 40 Gr. The 50 Gr. + 20 Cal bullets call for a jacket length of 0.810”, or longer. I’ll interject here, that I am not interested in making, “ho-hummer” bullets: jackets of less than the J4 match quality (maximum wall thickness variation 0.0003”) are of no interest/use to me.

Jackets suitable for heavier weight 20 Cal, bullets must, therefore, be “drawn-down”, using .224 Cal. jackets, then, “trimmed” to the desired length, which nearly doubles the time invested in making the bullets. Additionally, to assure quality and lessen potential bullet failure, the jackets must be “drawn-back”, or, annealed - by the way, something which, J4 has never done.

Having waited a LONG time for the required tooling, I have made a few 53 Gr. .204 bullets. I can safely state that the jackets can be drawn from .22 to .20 Cal without any degradation of the quality, and following “heat-treating” and swaging, show potential: thorough testing in BR tournaments and a rock-chuck safari are still required before I consider making them for sale - so, that won’t be, “sooner than later.”

Therein, “lies the rub”: without the additional time/cost, few 20 cal. fanatics are willing to pay for hand swaged bullets - for shooting vermin, I can understand that: we don’t measure hits on a critter. That said, if the 53 BT stand up to the testing, they will not, compared to my already, “too expensive”, 40 Gr. BT, be inexpensive. Good shootin’! RG

Last edited by Randy Robinett; 01-27-2019 at 03:56 PM.
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  #13  
Old 01-27-2019, 05:24 PM
17VLD 17VLD is offline
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Default I always enjoy this time of year....

I have in past years liked to hear of the new happenings coming down the pike for us small caliber shooters from Shot Show.I start thinking about pd and chuck shooting in the spring and start reloading efforts for same.In fact I just bought a pair of
XR 100s in 204 to shoot my stash of BIB 40s.To say I am disappointed in this news is an understatement,if I have learned anything its to buy in bulk and really think about what you need as far as components to keep shooting our prized rifles.Big company bean counters make me sick and most of their decisions really suck.I will use smaller companies,no matter the cost whenever possible.To be honest I thought that the Berger 55 would be around for quite sometime,I thought they knew how much we all loved it. I guess it didn’t sell as well as 6.5 Creedmore bullets do,So its gone
I have built many guns to shoot specific bullets small and large caliber and am always thinking of the potential to have a really flat shooter,to me the 20 has that potential,relatively light bullets for case capacity and good b.c.kinda the best of both worlds if you will.To see Berger kill this bullet off has totally ruined my whole perspective of their company.I was saddened when they let the 17caliber 37 go,but understood that as it really was too specialized,but the 20 cal 55 is a real blow,never saw this coming.Rant over.
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Last edited by 17VLD; 01-27-2019 at 05:27 PM.
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  #14  
Old 01-27-2019, 06:52 PM
R15reeper R15reeper is offline
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Way sad to see this. Everywhere on line is now sold out of them. I sent an email to Berger to see if they would sell me a lot of 10,000 of them and they said they won’t do direct consumer sales. Which is pretty sad now because they did in the past. They definitely don’t have customers satisfaction a priority like they have in the past. Guess I will spend my money else where from now on!
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  #15  
Old 01-28-2019, 01:41 AM
B23 B23 is offline
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R15reeper, Precision reloading shows they still have some in stock.

https://www.precisionreloading.com/c...#!l=BG&i=20306
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  #16  
Old 01-28-2019, 02:12 AM
Bayou City Boy Bayou City Boy is offline
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Making a ~55 gran 20 caliber HP bullet shouldn't be a tough chore for most custom bullet makers. Even with a boat tail if its necessary........ You might consider talking with a couple of them.

I bought swaging equipment back when just about any flavor of 20 caliber bullet was a rare breed long before the 204 Ruger hit the market, and I still occasionally make up a batch of 38 grain HP's for my own consumption for several assorted 20 caliber rifles. Swaging is not my forte' but the 38 grain HP still works better for me than any of the commercial 20 caliber offerings currently available.

I played with a longer jacket ~55 grain bullet a few years back when I had decided that I needed a 20-250, and its just a matter of getting the right ratio of bullet jacket and lead core to get there with a balanced bullet. The rifle went to a guy more eager than I was and I quit making the bullets to shoot in it. I use .224" jackets from both Sierra and Corbin and I acquired a stash of each large enough to keep me in bullets for quite a few years.

J4 jackets are the rage for accuracy buffs, but a good bullet smith who takes his time and keeps everything in sync should be able to make a very accurate 55 grain HP bullet using .224" jackets drawn down to .204".

JMO - BCB
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  #17  
Old 01-28-2019, 02:13 AM
R15reeper R15reeper is offline
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Sweet B23 Thabks for the heads up.
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  #18  
Old 01-28-2019, 04:39 PM
moorepower moorepower is offline
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What twist does it take to shoot a 55 grain bullet in a .20? Now how many rifles have a fast enough twist? The .204 comes in a 1-12 so they are out. The vast majority of aftermarket barrels I will bet are 1-11 and 1-10. I have a 1-10 and a 1-11 but I kind of doubt either will stabilize a 55. There's probably 2% of the market or less that want to use a .204 55 grain bullet. You can't run a business making something that does not sell.
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  #19  
Old 01-28-2019, 06:22 PM
B23 B23 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by R15reeper View Post
Sweet B23 Thabks for the heads up.
Hopefully you were able to snag some before they ran out because I just looked and Precision Reloading now shows out of stock. Wasn't really thinking and maybe should have sent you the link in a PM. Hope you got some though.
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  #20  
Old 01-28-2019, 06:46 PM
R15reeper R15reeper is offline
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I did got all they had in stock which was 500. Thanks again bud !!
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