Is .20 Dead?

Not in my gun racks and cases anyway, I own 8...lol. Pellet selection is limited and for now at least not easy to come by, simple fact there, but what is offered is the cream of the crop and H&N or JSB, they still take out pests just as well as the Polymags.
H&N said the same thing to me just about a year ago when I asked that same question, but the FTT's and Baracudas shoot well in all my guns right along with both weights of the JSB's.
Considering the number of .20 cal guns out there between new ones and all the older Sheridans still alive and kicking, I doubt either company will completely stop making pellets.

I know DR. Robert Beeman sure liked them, Need to send my .20 Sheridan off for a rebuild
Mike

.20 is not dead for my shooting.

Last week took out about 20pdogs with the JSB 20/13.73 @800 from 20-90 yards.

Couple months ago shot a score at an Xtreme Field Target match just a few points down from the highest score using the JSB .20/15.89 @915fps. Targets out to 100 yards.

Just this weekend my son shot 20fpe silhouettes with the 13.73 (targets out to 80 yards) and also shot a 40/52 in the regular field target match (he's 8 years old). I used the same gun to shoot a 49/52. Course Troyer factor was a 36 so it was not an easy course.

Anyway, I shoot a bunch with the .20 and plan to continue to do so.

Awesome caliber and with the 2 JSB weights, it covers a lot of uses.

(Sorry, didn't originally realize this is in the Springer s ction of the forum).

I only recently acquired a HW50s in .20 cal as well as a companion in a HW45. I've been shooting them about a year now and have built up a supply of over 10,000 rounds in reserve. As has been said the pickings are few but of good quality. I feel confident there will always be a supply because there will always be a demand. I will however make sure my cabinet remains well stocked... I'm not worried.

Ballistic virtues aside, the pickings will always be thin in this airgun caliber compared to .177-.30. The market has spoken and the majority of airgun shooters go with .177 or .22s

I love the .20 cal and have a couple myself. I wish there were more ammo choices and I certainly hope they at least continue to make the ones currently available.

My Beeman HW97 Mk1.20 is the top rifle in my collection. The accuracy in moderate wind is excellent with good downrange energy. I have enough pellets to last a while, but I reached out to Crosman earlier this year about offering the CP Premiers in .20 again. Unfortunately I received no reply.
I don't think .20 is dead. There seems to be consistent demand these days and maybe this will lead to some companies taking notice and adding the caliber. I think H&N and JSB would do well to add some .20 hunting type pellets back to their line ups.

FAR from it in the Field target game at the >20 fpe power limits here on the west coast of North America.
The JSB 13.73 threw the years has been and remains such a consistent pellet lot to lot year after year.
.20 is a bastard no doubt about it !! But shoot they do at a level .17's or .22's for many struggle with.

Slantsigfan said:

Long time listener, first time caller. Did not find a search button, so apologies if this has been beat to death. Wanted to take pulse of hardcore shooters:

Finally took the .20 plunge last summer with some old Beeman tins, but current selection is discouraging. H&N told me the other day demand is so low they only plan to offer FTT & Barracudas. Looks like Predator Ploymags are the only hunting pellets of quality.

So, is .20 dead and everyone migrating to .25? What do ye purists say?

Click to expand...

I didn't realize there were other calibers ;-)

I've been a believer ever since my first rifle in .20 cal back in 2008!
I now own 8 different rifles in .20 and hord ammo when ever I run across a deal... Lol
But I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon. Still pretty popular with the older field target guys!
James from Michigan

No...not for harden fanboys like myself at least. Most of the long term .20 owners have had the infrastructure in place for years or decades...plenty of different makes/weights of pellets on the shelf+good numbers, I still have a hoard of CP 14.3's on the shelf...even different lot #'s! H&N FTT 11.42's are available (at times) and usually work well in Springers. Aspiring new .20 Cal owners may have some issues though...finding not only pellets but (new) guns as well...(I started a thread concerning that a while back) not impossible but I don't know if it would be worth the hassle over .177-.22. in this day and age. (HW 97 & Theoben Crusader in .20 cal.).

Just got my first .20 cal scoped up and sighted in and love it, the big hole is 15 shots @ 50yds awsome accuracy from such a small platform, the rifle over all is only like 20”. For me the .20 cal isn’t dead and just a new beginning for me, going to stock up on pellets before they are non existent

None of my 8 are PCP's...lol
Beeman R7 and R9, 'Diana D34k, '73 Silver Streak and 4 Turk built Webley Valuemax rifles. Yeah they were cheap at $100 each but Hatsan did something right making the .20 cal barrels on them because they're very accurate.

Like Motorhead said, at 20 ft-lb .20 caliber offers the perfect balance of velocity and ballistic coefficient for applications like field target. That said, I have a .177 barrel in reserve for my .20 Daystate just in case the day ever comes that pellets are no longer available.

Been a .20 fan for long time. AZ tuned Rapid .20 and Beeman R9 .20. Both my goto guns.

I ordered .22 H&N FTT and received nine tins of .22 and one tin of .20. Perhaps it is a sign from Mr. Beeman! I am now in the market for a .20 caliber Weihrauch.

I got out of the .20 cal sold my Sheridan and my Beeman P1 .20 cal. I just had 3 different calibers going and decided to stick with .177 and .22

Three years ago I decided no to .20, not worth the hassle, no pellet selection. (Lasted 2 1/2 yrs)
Thanks to reading this forum not one complaint of the .20 cal. I couldn’t resist. Got a HW90 in Jan. and a R9 a few months ago. Just shot the R9, and was blown away by it’s performance.
Hard to understand why this caliber didn’t take off. Friday I ordered a HW97 and a HW98 both in .20, hope I get them (maybe Jan.). Crow

crowski said:

Hard to understand why this caliber didn’t take off. Friday I ordered a HW97 and a HW98 both in .20, hope I get them (maybe Jan.). Crow

Click to expand...

The market speaks, and ballistics aside, it's not a popular caliber. It's performance can be matched by more readily available calibers... Can you buy .20s at a Wally World?, or, locally? At a sporting goods store, probably not... The .177 and .22 will always outsell the .20s