Noticed one manufacturer had none. Emailed and they said no requests for that caliber. Then perusing another manufacturers website. No .20 caliber offered. Thoughts??? I always loved the caliber.
Is .20 cal dying?
- Thread starter Goer
- Start date
Locally (in Canada) it's not looking good for the .20.
Out of curiosity I checked the 4 sites that I buy airgun stuff from and looking at .177; .20 and .22 calibers (mostly JSB and H&N pellets) of 68 types only 1 .20; 70 types only 2 .20; 66 types no .20 listed and 33 types no .20 listed.
Never understood the benefit of the .20 and always considered it a marketing ploy by Beeman. Guess that in the UK, with the 12 FPE rule a .20 might be a reasonable compromise.
A friends father bought a .20 Sheridan when they first came out - beautiful rifle but you could not get pellets for it locally and had to order them from the US at a premium price.
What is it that you like about the .20? I am interested to know how it fits (technically) in between the standard .177 and .22 pellets.
Hank
Out of curiosity I checked the 4 sites that I buy airgun stuff from and looking at .177; .20 and .22 calibers (mostly JSB and H&N pellets) of 68 types only 1 .20; 70 types only 2 .20; 66 types no .20 listed and 33 types no .20 listed.
Never understood the benefit of the .20 and always considered it a marketing ploy by Beeman. Guess that in the UK, with the 12 FPE rule a .20 might be a reasonable compromise.
A friends father bought a .20 Sheridan when they first came out - beautiful rifle but you could not get pellets for it locally and had to order them from the US at a premium price.
What is it that you like about the .20? I am interested to know how it fits (technically) in between the standard .177 and .22 pellets.
Hank
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Had P1 pistol in .20. Loved it. Sold it like fool. Had R7 in .20. First time I shot squirrel with it my jaw drop as fast as the squirrel. Loved it. Sold it like a fool. Had Steroid Sheridan in of course .20. Was a hammer on squirrels. Loved it. Sold it like a fool. The reoccurring theme here is my foolish decisions to part with guns. I kept my R1 in .20. At least I’ve made one good decision.
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Ive got an original beeman crow magnum in .20 wouldnt trade it for nothing! But yea I think it is kinda dying off makes me sad
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The .20 in a pcp zero advantage. The .20 in a break barrel had a decent advantage. You could keep the velocity up there with the 177 and had a little extra smack to it! Accuracy was better to in my experience. My crow magnum will stack pellet on pellet at 25 yards.
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The .20 is a red headed, shoe horned in caliber here in the USA. It ballistics could probably be matched by the .177 and .22 on either side of it. Both of which provide a broad range of projectiles and weights. Never saw the sense of going with a caliber that offered the “least” amount of choice of pellets. The only thing keeping that caliber alive is the “die hard” users. It will never equal the other calibers in terms of range of performance, practicality and widespread availability. I know some will chime in on how awesome the .20 is, but in comparison to what?
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I hear you, D & L airgun has polymags and benji domes in .20. And I don't understand what a .20 can do that a .22 can't. But never shot one either.
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JSB just released a new 15.89 grain .20 pellet to increase the range of pellets, .20 is popular in field target...I do not believe it to be dying if one of the worlds leading pellet producer expands it range...
https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/new-jsbs-for-2019-shot/
Many Shooters on this forum and others especially in springers swear by the caliber, Weihrauch still produces .20 caliber in most of its lines when the guns stop being produced in this caliber, then I would worry...
https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/new-jsbs-for-2019-shot/
Many Shooters on this forum and others especially in springers swear by the caliber, Weihrauch still produces .20 caliber in most of its lines when the guns stop being produced in this caliber, then I would worry...
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I know there are some shooters who swear by them, but with the advent of Jsb's 13.4 Monster and 16.2 gr Beast in .177 I just don't see the need for me?
I have two .177 rifles that shoot the 13.4 gr and 16.2 gr very well.
I have two .177 rifles that shoot the 13.4 gr and 16.2 gr very well.
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My 2 cents on the .20 Cal. It's all about personal preference. Depends a whole lot on the gun. I never feel under-gun when shooting my Az tuned Rapid mk ll in .20 Cal. The new jsb exact heavys in 15.9 @ 900 fps Shoot lights out for me. 12 shot magazine @ 85 yds Under a dime. 
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20cal isn't dying, but i am after yesterdays shooting the 15gr jsb. my rx2 dislikes them...with a passion.
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To understand the reasoning behind the .20 caliber you have to go back to the days when springers ruled and PCPs were just getting started. In those days, a high powered springer might provide 15-16 ft-lb of energy, like a TX200 today. At that energy level a standard .22 caliber field pellet like a Crossman Premier at 14.3 gr or the H&N FTS/FTT at 14.7 gr would only reach around 700 fps. But you could get 800 fps from a .20 caliber H&N FTS/FTT that weighed 11.4 gr.
Or since the CP in .20 caliber weighed the same 14.3 gr, you could achieve the same 700 fps as the .22, but with much higher sectional density, giving better trajectory and lower wind drift. And also better penetration on game. So the .20 caliber had certain advantages over .22 caliber at typical springer power levels.
Even at the 20 ft-lb limit for field target, the .20 CP would still reach 800 fps, but with slightly better sectional density than the .177 caliber 10.5 gr CP. And if you were shooting the .177/10.5 at the ideal velocity of around 850 fps, you were only getting 17 ft-lb of energy. So the .20 caliber offered some advantages in field target as well.
Of course these same advantages still apply today. I am glad to hear that JSB has added another version of their .20 caliber pellet. I will have to give it a try.
Or since the CP in .20 caliber weighed the same 14.3 gr, you could achieve the same 700 fps as the .22, but with much higher sectional density, giving better trajectory and lower wind drift. And also better penetration on game. So the .20 caliber had certain advantages over .22 caliber at typical springer power levels.
Even at the 20 ft-lb limit for field target, the .20 CP would still reach 800 fps, but with slightly better sectional density than the .177 caliber 10.5 gr CP. And if you were shooting the .177/10.5 at the ideal velocity of around 850 fps, you were only getting 17 ft-lb of energy. So the .20 caliber offered some advantages in field target as well.
Of course these same advantages still apply today. I am glad to hear that JSB has added another version of their .20 caliber pellet. I will have to give it a try.
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For me, and for a number of older shooters commenting on the forums, .22 pellets are simply easier to grab and load. So, no reason to downsize. But which caliber is best is just a personal choice.
But as to the issue of whether it's a dying duck...personally , I sense that there's currently an uptick of popularity. Might not be a big surge, but enough to keep it alive for a while.
But as to the issue of whether it's a dying duck...personally , I sense that there's currently an uptick of popularity. Might not be a big surge, but enough to keep it alive for a while.
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Mentioned it in a couple places already, but the Raptor I ordered ten weeks ago will be in .20.
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Alive and well, indeed "THRIVING" at my place! Last time I checked I could, (and did) order all the .020 cal. pellets I wanted, JSB 13.73's sub 1/2" @ 50y and CP 14.3's even better, I have lifetime supply of these, haven't tried the new 15.89's yet, hope to go to them exclusively in the future if they work, and I'm bettin' they will! I doupt I would get another .020 but I LOVE havin' one in the collection, my Rapid 12 went toe to toe with a state of the art Impact today both groups .375 CTC, even gave the .020 an extra shot! The .020 may not be as popular but it will still be around....at least at my house.
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I have a Beeman RX1 in 20...bought it new 1989-90.it likes JSB and H&N. it's not a 'tack driver', but does close to it within 35 yds...
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Not dying ... THRIVING !!
4 AAFTA State championship wins, AAFTA Nationals class win and High score, AAFTA GP win ... all shot with a .20 cal
For this lad ... NEVER again in the > 20 fpe classes in Field target will I ever shoot a .177 again !!
Those who have opinion without actually shooting a capable .20 "IMO" are clueless and sadly misinformed on this most excellent caliber.
4 AAFTA State championship wins, AAFTA Nationals class win and High score, AAFTA GP win ... all shot with a .20 cal
For this lad ... NEVER again in the > 20 fpe classes in Field target will I ever shoot a .177 again !!
Those who have opinion without actually shooting a capable .20 "IMO" are clueless and sadly misinformed on this most excellent caliber.
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