204 Ruger Magic loads

Matt N.

Matt N.

New member
Looks like I will soon be acquireing a 204 ruger Savage predator. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif I was wondering what powders and bullets were working well for people? Charge weight might be interesting too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
Thanks.
Matt.
 
Matt, I use Benchmark on my 204's. From what I have seen/heard, 204's are more picky about bullets than they are about powders. Mine shoot 39gr Sierra BlitzKings great, but won't shoot 40 VMaxs worth a hoot. You'll have to do some experimenting to find what your rifle likes best.
 
Try Ram shot TAC, Try hodgdon's 4895 and BL-c(2), Try RL 10X
use the ramshot hodgdon and alliant websites recommended loads.... or the 204 ruger website....

I just got back for PD ing......
and I will be using all 32 v-max when I go back.......
either Ramshot TAC or RL 10X powder.....

I have used mostly Rem 7 1/2 & CCI 450 primers

R
 
My Cooper is like Hidalgo said about his .204 - shoots 39's good and 40's not good. 27.5gr of AA2520 with a F205M.
 
I have 2 .204 Rugers and there is nothing magic about loading for either. Every acceptable combination I have used worked very well. The best so far is a max load of RL-10x, a BR-4 primer, 32 gr. Sierra.
 
40 Bergers over H4895, 39 SBK's over Benchmark, and 35 Bergers over BL C2. My rifle won't shoot 40 VMax's or NBT's. Good luck!
F1
 
I have a number of .204s (Savages, Rugers and one Rem. Mod 7). I will not comment on the Rem. I have had no problem shooting V-Max 32 and 40 grs. The 35 gr. Bergers shoot well. I have a stock of 40 gr. Bergers but have yet to try them out. The Rugers and Savages shoot all weights without.

I use Benchmark and H335. My targets show a little more accuracy with the Bench but I am under MOA with both. I have recently leaned toward H335 for ground squirrels because it meters well and I do not want to weigh every charge when I am shooting 200 to 400 rounds a day. H335 seems to be on everyone's shelf. Benchmark on the other hand seems to be a little scarce. Sportsmens has been out of stock about half the time I am there.
 
Like was said nothing magic. In my CZ Varmint I'm shooting 26.2 grains of 10X behind a 40 grain V-max in a Remington case with a CCI BR-4 primer and 26.6 grains behind the V-max 32's. Great accuracy and pretty near factory velocity. Start lower and work up in .1 grain increments.

Here's a place to check on 204 loads.

http://www.204ruger.com/
 
Yeah, the "Magic" thing was kind of a joke. What I am really looking for is a trend in powders or bullets. Right now I am seeing a lot of Benchmark and 10x showing up. I have not tried either powder in anything but have been hearing good things lately about both.
Thanks for the loads.
Keep 'em comming.
 
I'm running 30.3 gr of BL-C2 under a 32 gr sierra b/k right now for woodchucks. . . accuracy is under an inch at 100 yards and terminal performance has been great, all one shot kills, DRT /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
During R&D load development for my 204, I tried lots of powder and several bullets. 10X and RL15 shot the 39SBK's into little groups, but the chronograph results were very disappointing. I'd worked up to book maximums, but the speeds were a couple hundred fps slower than the data said they should be. Benchmark, H4895, and BL C2 gave me very close to the speeds predicted, so that's what I stayed with.
F1
 
All three of my Savage 204's like 40 gr VMax and Benchmark. If not using Benchmark, H4895 would be the next choice.

The KEY to loading for the 204, regardless of rifle manufacturer, set the bullets 0.050" from the lands. Seems to be the sweet spot.
 
My favorite 204 load is 27.7 grains of Win 748 with a 35 grain Berger and a CCI BR4 primer. This load is really accurate out of my AR and has a velocity very close to 3900fps.
 
Great results with W-748 and Hornady 32 gr. v-max, out of several 204's. Also have some good loads with Accurate 2015. Put 97 rounds through a 112 Savage in a dog town on Monday, and was still scoring fine w/o cleaning.
 
Thus far in four years working with my .204s I have tried

RL-15 (most accurate but a PITA to measure out in large quantity)
RL-10x (my fav)
WW748 (tried it out when nothing else was available and worked just fine)
H322 (was suggested by Sierra, very accurate but very slow)
 
Matt,
What twist? Barrel length? I think 1:12 is pretty much standard on these .204's. I use 35 Bergers and 39 SBK's with H4895 and Benchmark with good results. As posted above, 204ruger.com is a good site.
 
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