Which grain bullet and type/.204 ruger

springer7676

springer7676

New member
I just bought a .204 cal rem 700. Have never shot a coyote. There are two or maybe three bullet weights for the .204. Plus different type bullets.(hp, v, etc) What is recommended??
Shooting distance from 50 yards out to 300 yards.
 
Hornady 40 grain v-max ballistic tip has been the best for my .204 Ruger. It grouped better, plus it has a little more energy than the 32 grain.
 
what twist, some 12 twists (alot of them actualy) don't do well with the 40 gr v-max, but the 39 gr sierra does well, its just trial and error, have a 20 tac. on the way and gonna try 35 gr bergers first.
RR
 
Lots of guys here recommend the 35 grain Bergers. I'm using the 40 grain Hornedy V-max's in my CZ 527 with good accuracy and good results. I'm using 26.2 grains of Alliant 10X in Remington cases with CCI BR-4 bench rest primers. Accuracy is running nickel sized five shot groups off a set of shooting sticks at a hundred yards.
 
Like Bob, I use the 40 grn V Max on Coyotes. I have some Bergers, and others in different weights but have not had a chance to try them on a Coyote. I use H335 with a Fed 205M primer.
 
My brother uses the 40 V-Max and I use the 35 Bergers. We chose those because of accuracy in our respective rifles. Both kill coyotes just fine.
 
I have shot 30,35, 40gr bergers, but 30's are tough with wind. All good for coyotes, easy on fur. 30's are decent on fox, should load them down a little for fox though.

32 blitzkings are not for coyotes. Shot one before i reloaded at 250yds spun and ran off only to jump it the next day with hardly a limp.

My favorite are 32gr nosler's. I push them with 28.8 of h4895 chrono about 4200fps. Very flat shooting out to 400yds, seem to buck the wind decent, fur friendly. For some reason ones that i bought and loaded this year I have been getting some exits. Dime sized at best, but last year no exits. Odd. Haven't got the 40gr's loaded up yet.

Buddy shot 2 last year with factory 40gr vmax, both baseball sized holes.

I shoot savage 26in bull barrel, FLV12 i think is the model #
 
35 Bergers are the ticket for coyotes in the 204.. Have two 204s now and they both shoot less than minute of yote with the bergers.. I have only taken three coyotes with the .204 and the 35 but they have killed well so far with minimal damage compared to many many .224 dealings this year... Next season will be the tell all but so far I'm happy with them.. I am comparing this to over 60 dogs taken with .223, 22-250, and 243 this season....Good luck and good hunting..
 
You really need to try several if you reload...A lot of .204s are picky about what they really perform well with.

I have two and fortunately they both prefer the 39gr Sierra BKs..with the 40gr Hornady V-Max coming in second...

I've tried the 40gr Bergers with negative results and next is the 35gr Bergers,, just since they are getting rave reviews..

I've tried the factory 34gr Winchesters and will wind up shooting them, just to collect the brass for reloading..
 
I have had outstanding results from the 35gr Berger's.... Dime-size 5-shot groups at 100yds from the bench, 14 coyotes and one b-cat killed this season. Only had one run-off, and that was due to a poor shot on my part. I shoot 25.5 grains of H322 with the 35 Bergers.
I shot the 40gr Bergers from the bench also, and they grouped very well. I have not shot a coyote with the 40s though.
The 35s have been very fur-friendly thus far.
 
Any Berger 30,35gr,beats any V-max or BK,on coyotes,as far as killings go.I can't complain about how they[plastic tipped bullets] do on paper,but as far as killing coyotes,they aren't even close.WAY too many splatters on surface and no vital damage.A 30gr Berger will lock up a coyote,and still get in and stay in a fox,without pelt damage.I'm a 17Rem with a 25gr Match Berger or Hornaday HP, fan on fox, and a 22-250 Speer 52gr.on coyotes.If the goal is killing stick to the Bergers with the .204.As far as twisting up starlings,V-max and BK's work great.
 
Two boxes of Winchester ballistic tip 32 grain bullets were included in the purchase of the .204. Based on the answers to my question, I should't expect to much from these bullets. Is that correct?
 
Not for killing coyotes. They might be great for accuracy out of your rifle, but there are much better choices for killing coyotes.
 
35 Bergers are the ticket for yotes in .204. I've tried many diffrent bullets, none perform like the 35 Bergers, some other bullets may shoot better when shooting paper, but the 35 Berger will lock them up on the spot and very seldom an exit. Slow them down to about 3500fps and they work well on Fox and Bobcat also.
 
If they are the nosler ballistic tips they should work fine. They seem to work like a berger to me. They are a tougher bullet. I have shot several coyotes threw the shoulder with them with good results. Blitzkings or vmax's are a different story.
 


Write your reply...
Back
Top