Berger 55gn HPBT for .204 Ruger

[helotaxi]

Has anyone used this bullet yet?  Where did you find load data, or did you just guess?  What load did you settle on?  How did it shoot and out of what rifle?

I have an AR-15 in .204 Ruger with a 24" 1:9" twist barrel.  It shoots the 50gn Bergers quite well but I want to see if it will stabilize the 55gn.  Berger recommends and the Greenhill formula agrees that 1:8" would be best but I've got a 1:9" .223 Savage that shoots bullets that it shouldn't be able to so who's to say until I try.

[1sourdough]

 No I have not used the bullet. It does seem on the heavy/long side for the 204. I have heard of guys having problems when going over 40 grns in the 204, stability issues? I have loaded 39 grns and under for prairie dogging. For coyotes I like a larger round, not that the 204 wouldn't work.

[huntducks]

Don't take this wrong, but i'm at a loss why guys buy smaller and lighter calibers and want to shoot bigger heavier bullets.

That's why we have bigger gun safes so we can fill them full.

[Catfish]

I`ve got 3 .204`s and the heavest bullet any of them will shoot reasonable well is the 39 Sierra. Been thinking of getting one with a faster twist but am to the point now it will have to be a real deal. How do the 50 Bergers do on a coyote??? That is why I started buying 204`s in the first place, but the lite bullets just don`t do the job. AND HUNTDUCKS, The answer to your question is to get a higher BC bullet that will preform well down range on varmint size game without haveing to load a pound of powder and a 500 gr. bullet to get the job done. Take a good look at an exterior ballist chart and you will see what I mean.

[helotaxi]

The .204 sends a 50gn bullet downrange at higher velocity than a .223 and the .20 cal 50 gn has a better BC.  Sure I could go with a 22-250 except that I'm talking about an AR-15 which has a max OAL of 2.3" and as mentioned the .204 uses a lot less powder.

Stability isn't an issue with the 50gn because I have a fast twist barrel.  Standard twist in a .204 Ruger is 1:12 and that's why people have trouble with the 40gn tipped bullets, the twist is marginal for the bullet length.  The 45gn SP is a much shorter bullet and 1:12 should shoot it fine.  My barrel is a 1:9.  It's made to shoot heavier bullets.