20-250 Drops another, But.....

S

shoots100

New member
I've been using an enhanced Savage Impulse Predator 20-250 as my backup rifle for over a year now and decided to make it my primary for the late 2024 and early 2025 NY predator season.
Dropped a dog at 70 yards on 11/29, but had to finish it off with the .38 spcl to the cranium after walking up to it and seeing it was alive.
This is the second dog in two months I've had to finish off.
The 55gr bergers work, but I'm not getting consistent DRT performance from them with frontal shots.
I looked around and decided to purchase some 41gr Hammer HHT projos to test.
I'm hoping the HHT's solid copper bullet construction will be the answer I'm looking for.
SJC

11-29-24-Dog.jpg
 
What are you finding with the Bergers? Splashes, lack of penetration?

I am a huge fan of mono's, particularly Barnes, and use the 45gr XLC in my 22 Hornet. I did use them in larger .22cal cartridges, but got too many ricochets when they passed through, and they will pass through with a 223+.
 
Need a bit longer, steadier hold before the trigger break. Digital scopes are "slower" producing and updating the image to the screen than our eyes(brain) or a traditional scope with light passing thru it. Of course the coyote(target) must not move or poi will change also.
 
It must be those specific bullets in .20 caliber. I’ve been shooting 60 grain Bergers in my .22-250AI for 15+ years and they are lights out for Coyotes. Never had surface splash or lack of penetration ever!!
 
K22-hornet said:
What are you finding with the Bergers? Splashes, lack of penetration?

I am a huge fan of mono's, particularly Barnes, and use the 45gr XLC in my 22 Hornet. I did use them in larger .22cal cartridges, but got too many ricochets when they passed through, and they will pass through with a 223+.
Click to expand...
I'm getting splashes with some frontal shots.
Broadside I've had no issues.
Before I took this shot we had just walked up a hill through a foot of snow in 20 degree temps with a 20+ Mph crosswind.
I forgot my monopod that I use as a rear support so the shot wasn't the steadiest, but I did hit it good enough to drop it for a couple of minutes before I went to retrieve it.
If I had hit it with the .243 70 gr nosler BT, it would've been splatted all over the place, but I like the 20-250 because of the low recoil factor.
I think the Berger 55 gr HPBT is great, just not great if the shot isn't perfect.
The 41gr HHT is designed for deeper penetration and I'll be testing that once they get delivered.
Here's a full frontal shot I took at a dog early in October with the 20-250, but it was really really close and it didn't pass through.
Shot is just after the one minute mark.
SJC
 
Infidel 762 said:
how does that rifle cycle for you? Does it ever jam?
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My rifles are broken in and cycle great.
The reason it sounds like cycling was rough was because I was trying to not let the brass fall into the snow.
I usually have a brass catcher attached, but we were traveling light and I left it with the monopod in my backpack in the van.
Here's a video of the enhanced .243 Impulse Predator cycling.
SJC
 
You might try the 55 gr. Berger flat base Target rather than the Varmint. In most calibers, the Target has a smaller open tip and gives better penetration. Oops, sorry they may not make the 55 Target in a 204.
 
shoots100 said:
My rifles are broken in and cycle great.
The reason it sounds like cycling was rough was because I was trying to not let the brass fall into the snow.
I usually have a brass catcher attached, but we were traveling light and I left it with the monopod in my backpack in the van.
Here's a video of the enhanced .243 Impulse Predator cycling.
SJC
Click to expand...


yeah that looks smooth. What did you do to enhance it?
I have about 700 rounds through mine and if I try to cycle it to fast it will jam.
 
Infidel 762 said:
yeah that looks smooth. What did you do to enhance it?
I have about 700 rounds through mine and if I try to cycle it to fast it will jam.
Click to expand...
I had tighter tolerance barrel extensions and square barrel nuts made, Carbon fiber barrels, Bolt knobs, Boyd's stock on the .243.
While AI mags are great, they do need to be adjusted for proper feeding.
No matter how many rounds fired if the magazine isn't feeding correctly it'll jam.
Get a quality AI mag feed lip adjusting tool, watch a feed lip adj tutorial, spend some time getting it right and your cycling issues will be over.
I prefer 5 rd magazines, as the 10 rounders are too noisy and long IMHO.
I also lube the bolt recesses with a light coating of grease, especially the bolt release recess, as that gives the most friction when cycling the bolt.
SJC
 
The Hammer .20 cal 41gr HHT's were delivered today.
Inserting those tiny tips in the projos was a little hectic, but I got it done.
Going to try Varget powder first.
Made some dummy rounds and they cycle without issue.
SJC
20-250 HHT.jpg
 
Yep, the feeding issue is easily fixed by tweaking the mag feed lips and I even sanded down the follower with 1000 grit sandpaper where was it rubbing the sides of the magazine.

Now, if we could get someone to produce a chassis for the Impulse (made a request via Outlier)

Keep us informed on your progress to improve the 20-250 w/ bullet selection.

Good work all-around!
 
My .20-250 is a slow twist, built for lighter bullets. So very apples to oranges. But the Berger 40's, while very, very accurate, were not up to the velocity and splashed horribly for me. The only two bullets that have worked consistently well for me are the Hornady 45, which, by its stubby low BC nature kind of defeats the purpose of my .20-250, and a custom made 38 gr. on drawn down Matchking .224 jackets. The 38 gr. is very sleek and fulfills the purpose of the rifle.

Then I chopped it to 19" for a can and turned into a bit of something else. Even at 19" it still easily surpasses .204 Ruger ballistics, and is a pretty neat package overall with very little recoil and very flat shooting.

- DAA
 
I want to hear more about those Hammer 20 cal bullets when you get them tested. What twist do they recommend?
 
DAA said:
My .20-250 is a slow twist, built for lighter bullets. So very apples to oranges. But the Berger 40's, while very, very accurate, were not up to the velocity and splashed horribly for me. The only two bullets that have worked consistently well for me are the Hornady 45, which, by its stubby low BC nature kind of defeats the purpose of my .20-250, and a custom made 38 gr. on drawn down Matchking .224 jackets. The 38 gr. is very sleek and fulfills the purpose of the rifle.

Then I chopped it to 19" for a can and turned into a bit of something else. Even at 19" it still easily surpasses .204 Ruger ballistics, and is a pretty neat package overall with very little recoil and very flat shooting.

- DAA
Click to expand...
Your influence steered me towards building a 20-250 rifle.
Because the Savage Impulse Predator rifle has a .473 bolt face, the 20-250 was an easy choice.
I have other .20 cal rifles to shoot the lighter projos.
I built this 20-250 rifle to shoot 55 gr projos and the Preferred CF barrel is 18"s with a 1-8.5 twist.
I don't shoot long range with it, just wanted a .20 cal that was designed to shoot a heavier projo than my other 20 cals.
I loaded rounds with 35, 36 and 37 grains of Varget and will see how they shoot next weekend.
I have a portable reloading setup and will hopefully be able to find a good load,load some more and then go out hunting.
1-9 twist or faster with the 41 HHT's.
Good or bad, I'll post my results.
SJC
 
I have been running my 20-250 24” 1:8.5 twist.

55 bergers 3625 fps the last couple years on top of varget. Reloader 16 got me 3750 but after i ran out of it I jist shifted to varget.

Had awesome luck with the bullets laying out the last 150 ish coyotes.

I am curious how the hammers shoot in that twist.
 
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