204 Velocity

K22

New member
Curious what velocity everyone is getting shooting 34, 35, and 37gr. bullets in their 204's.
Also what powder, weight, and barrel length.
 
I use CF&E 223 ( My favorite) in my Howa Mini 20" barrel. It is suppressed so 26"? Book shows FPS around 4000. I don't have a chronograph. I don't worry about speed, just that it does the job when I do mine. This Mini likes a bullets from 32gr. to 40gr. and CF&E 223. I load around top of the reloading chart, but have never tried max charge. Find a load the Mini likes and I stick with it.
Rudy
 
Thanks Rudy.
I use 8208 with all of my loads.
The 34gr. Nosler average 3839 with 27.5gr.
The 35gr. Bergers average 3863 with 27.9gr.
The 37gr. CRT's average 3758 with 27.4 gr.

This is from a 22' barrel.
 
my pet load - 32gr vmax over varget - is just north of 3700 fps. i can push them faster, but thats a bug hole load. its a DPMS LR204 with the 24" bull barrel.

critters dont know the difference and the bullet performs at those speeds so meh.
 
I have got 35gr Berger H4895 and 40gr Berger tac . RL10 39gr bking and I loaded up 30gr Berger with tac also. All of these combos shot very well in my gun.
 
The 37's seem slightly slow in my rifle so I may play with the load a little bit. I've killed several Coyotes and a Bobcat with that load and it worked great, but I would like to gain about 100 fps more if the accuracy doesn't suffer.
 
IMR 8208 XBR is hard to beat in a 204 Ruger. I get half inch groups consistently with 35 Bergers over 28 grains and Chrono's right at 3,900 fps. 39 SBK's give me about the same accuracy over 27.6 grains and Chrono at 3,785 out of a 22" barrel in a Savage model 16. I can get a bit more speed with the same load out of Savage model 12 with 26" barrel (but only about 50 more fps). The model 12 actually shoots 40 v-max better than anything except 40 Berger's but the Berger's run a little slower with the same load, more like 3,750 fps. These loads are safe in my rifle. I don't make any claims that they would work or be safe for anyone else.
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleUpIMR 8208 XBR is hard to beat in a 204 Ruger. I get half inch groups consistently with 35 Bergers over 28 grains and Chrono's right at 3,900 fps. 39 SBK's give me about the same accuracy over 27.6 grains and Chrono at 3,785 out of a 22" barrel in a Savage model 16. I can get a bit more speed with the same load out of Savage model 12 with 26" barrel (but only about 50 more fps). The model 12 actually shoots 40 v-max better than anything except 40 Berger's but the Berger's run a little slower with the same load, more like 3,750 fps. These loads are safe in my rifle. I don't make any claims that they would work or be safe for anyone else.

Your 35gr. Berger velocity is very close to mine. Not sure if .1 gr. would change my average from 3863 to 3900 fps. but it sure is darn close.
 
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