Best components to start reloading .204

C

Charliethetuna

New member
Well, after a lot of saving, I'm finally going to order my RCBS rock chuckar sumpreme kit this weekend, along with all of my other reloading gear. I was wondering if any of you reloaders on this forum could share some of your info with me. RIght now I have plenty of casings and a box of 250 Hornady .40 gr. bullets. I was planning on getting 1 lb. of hodgon H335, which was reccommended to me at a local bench match, and I read that that powder also works well with a .300 sav cartridge (my deer caliber). For primers I was going to go with regular CCI small rifle primers. Does this sound good to 'yall? My only real concern was the powder. I may also order a box of berger 35 gr. bullets as well. BTW these rounds will be shot out of a Remington Model 700 SPS Varmint, 1:12' twist. I know that should be best suited for 32 gr. bullets, but the factory 32 grainers don't shoot good at all, while factory 40 grainers are shooting sub-MOA 5 shot groups (nearly under 1/2' at 100 yards). Thanks for the help in advance
 
I would recommend sticking to the thicker cup primers, like the CCI 450, Rem 7 1/2 or Fed 205M.

There are a number of good potential powders for the .204, but I've personally had best luck with H4895 and RL10X.

Lots of useful information to be at the 204 Ruger forum:

http://www.rugerhunting.com/forum/
 
I experimented with the 204 Ruger more than any other single rifle last year. Some opinions:

---I agree with CV32 on the primers. I like 205M's best.

---Even though I experienced excellent accuracy with a number of 32gr V-max loads, I have decided that the 40gr v-max better represents the cartridge. Picked up 250 more yesterday.

---I like 25.7gr Benchmark with Fed 205m's and 40gr v-maxes. 30gr BLC2 runs a close second. H322 also good.

---If you want one powder to use in both your 300 Sav and 204 Ruger, 4895 would undoubtedly be my first choice.

Hope this helps......
 
Charliethetuna-- If you are a coyote hunter and like saving the fur, then the 35 gr. FBHP Berger bullets are a good choice. A load of around 28.0 gr. of H4895 and Rem 7½, CCI-BR-4 or CCI450 primers has been working good on coyotes for several fellows I know. I WOULD NOT recommend the CCI400 primers. The three I listed have the thickest cups and that's the safest route to go.

I was going to recommend that you hold off on buying that big box of 250 40 gr. V-Max bullets until you know if your rifle can shoot the 40 grainers accurately. However, I see you have already purchased it. Many 1 in 12" twist rifles in the .204 Ruger caliber seem to have difficulty shooting the 40 gr. V-Max accurately.

H4895 is my favorite powder for the .204 Ruger. I use it with the 32 gr. V-Max, 32 gr. Sierra, 35 gr. FBHP Berger, 39 gr. Sierra and also have a good load for the 40 gr. Nosler BT with H4895. I also found Benchmark to be a powder that worked good with 32 gr. V-Max, 35 gr. Bergers, and 39 gr. Sierras. I also tested H322 in my .204 Ruger and found some good loads with that powder as well. As for H335, I tested some of that in my Savage 12VLP and it didn't work nearly as good as H4895, Benchmark and H322. H335 IS NOT one of the Hodgdon Extreme powders either, if you believe in the value of the Extreme powders. I tend to stay away from the Hodgdon powders that are not in the Extreme category. The temperatures can vary widely up here in North DaColder.

If all I could shoot was one bullet in my .204 Ruger, I would choose the 39 gr. Sierras. Your 1 in 12" twist barrel should handle everything from the 30 grainers on up through 39 grainers just fine. Maybe you'll be lucky and the 40 gr. bullets will work just great too.

Just make sure you start your loads well under the maximum loads listed by the powder and bullet manufacturers and work your way up slowly--by that I mean .2 or .3 of a grain until you get within .5 to .7 gr. from max and then stay with no more than .2 of a grain increase. You will probably find a couple of powder charge weights that give you real good accuracy. You can do a Search on this Web site for load date for the .204 Ruger and you'll find enough reading material to keep you busy for a week of Sundays! Good luck!
 
Silverfox---

If you get the chance try 30gr BLC2. It has proven very accurate with both 32gr and 40gr v-maxes.

I know it's not an extreme extruded propellant, and it burns kinda dirty, but it stacks holes......
 
Charlie,
H-335 works great in my 1-12 with 40gr. bullets.
Half the fun in shooting is the reloading. Have fun.

Emilio .. Pico Rivera, Ca.
 
Thanks, this is some really good information. That is why I love this board so much. Silverfox, the 40 gr. bullets were given to me by a local gun shop owner that used to reload .204 but quit, and had the brand new box left over. Thanks for the post too! Very informative. Thanks again guys.
 


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