204 ruger loads.

[sk330lc]

Whats your Fav. Load in the 204 Ruger ..  what powder and bullet..  ??

[mattmillerrx]

interesting question.  I just loaded, a 34 gr dogtown bullet from midwayusa over 25.5 grains of Benchmark.  This is basically a starting load.  Have not had a chance to test them out yet but if it shoots good I am going to stay with this load.  My other option for powder is H-4895, it will get tested next if results are not what I want with benchmark.  These will be my first reloads for the 204 as small rifle primers were all gone for most of this past year.  Good luck, with what ever you go with.

MGM

[stimpylu32]

Most of the guys that I know who shot the 204 have stuck with Varget after doing load work , its one round that I just never needed so all I can give is what others have told me .

stimpy

[mjbgalt]

i used  varget and got extremely good accuracy. however it did not give the awesome velocity .204 is known for. but i could put 3 shots at 100 yards into .300."

[Rancher]

I used 25.2 grains of H-322 under a 35 grain berger hollowpoint bullet.  I don't have a chrony, so I don't know how fast its moving.

[Catfish]

I have 3 .204`s at present. There are a bunch of powders that work well in the round, but different rifles like different bullets. In 32 gr. 2 of them prefer the Sierra bullets and 1 prefers the Hornady`s. Bergers do pretty well in all of them. I also like the Rem. 7 1/2 primers for all loads. If you are going to hunt coyotes with it stay away form the 32 gr. Sierras though. They have a .009 thick jacket and the Hornady`s have a .014 jacket, but I believe the Bergers are the best for coyote. That oppenion was formed with limited experance with the .204 on coyote, but since I now have an AR upper in .204 I should have more experance with .204 bullets on coyote by next spring.

[mattmillerrx]

I got to test my loads today.  Not the best groups but not bad either, groups measured  around 1.3 inchs.  I need to adjust my dies and try again as I had a little trouble closing the bolt on a few rounds even after testing them for the loads for function.  A few rounds required removal by hand and rotating 180 degrees re-insert and then the bolt would close.  I know what the problem is, I was trying a little experiment with sizing that did not work out.

I think I will size correctly and put some loads together with both powders (benchmark and h-4895) working up to near max.  Although the groups above sounds big there was usually 3 to 4 in about 0.6 inchs.  The other thing I have done different than in the past is I am testing firing 4 to 5 back to back vs. letting the barrel cool between each shot.  I am trying this out as it would be closer to how I would be shooting at the P-dogs.  I am hoping for a load that will hold its accuracy and point of impact as the barrel is heating up.  This project may take me awhile.

[Luckyducker]

sk330lc, the load I use in my 204 28" Encore barrel is 40 grain V-max over 27.1 grains of H4895 in Winchester brass.  This load gives sub-.5" groups at 100 yds.  This is the only powder and bullet I have shot in this rifle.  I ran them over a chronograph, and if my memory is working right, they gave a velocity of around 3700 ft/sec.  I don't know if this is the full potential of this cartridge or not.

[skb2706]

Powders that has given me excellent performance in my .204s

RL-15
WW748
RL-10x
H322

I only shoot 32 gr. Sierras and Vmaxs.

[Buckskin]

Here is all the information that you can handle on 204 loads.
http://www.204ruger.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=165

Mine likes 32gr VMax's with H335 or 10x and BR-4 primers.  Pretty much maxed out and running at just over 4100ft/sec.

Those little pills are coyote killers by the way.  My average distance is 330 yards and it knocks the hell out of them(there is a bit of a funnel behind my house).

[sk330lc]

Thanks Everybody!!  This gives me some great info to start with. Anybody else have any loads they would like to share?