SmallCaliberCentral

You're welcome, Bert.

Yup, sounds like the dies need to be tooled tighter.

Let me know what Redding says.

The only way to tell is to try 'em. Lots of guys have Savages that shoot the 39gr SBKs very well, but mine doesn't. Shoots 40gr just fine.

Thanks, Claimjumper.

Bert -

I'm getting .3605 & .330 at the two data points. Just about chamber spec. I believe my chamber is a tight one. Couldn't load some factory Hornady. Hornady measured the cases and found them to be factory max.

I'm using Winchester cases and I've gotten about 12 reloads before annealing.

My Redding body die is squeezing them down to .3755 and .3511 on average. Hard to get the same spot for reading without a ball type micrometer. Not having feed problems. Like ol' Joe says...depends on how worked the brass is.

Sounds like the .204 will do you well in that case. Doesn't take a lot of powder to load. Components are readily available and it's a fun rifle to shoot.

Keep an eye on your post. Rick in Oregon will probably add some suggestions. He's been shooting .20s for quite a while.

What type hunting do you plan to do? If it's varmints of coyote size and down and you plan on shooting paper, as well, the .204 is a good choice IMHO. As you've seen from the numerous posts, the .204 Ruger is an exceptionally accurate round with enough punch to drop coyotes at 400 + yds. I've popped...

Those bugger are fast!

Anybody know if Timney makes a mouse?

Rick -
Enjoyed your write up and pics. .204 short, eh? I like it.

I see we both carry J.B.'s big iron.

foxguy - It's not that magnum primers are necessary for the pressures. It's the cup thickness. BR4, Rem 71/2, CCI450 all have a .025" thick cup. They handle the pressure just fine. It's the CCI 400s which have a .020" thick cup that don't. You get cratering at "mild" .204 pressur...

For me, I've found BR4 and Rem 7 1/2 work best with H4895 or IMR8208XBR. From what I've been able to glean from experience and the studies I've read, the primer plays about a 10% role in accuracy. The major factors that you can easily play with are cases, powder, bullet and seating depth. But, it's ...

Brad makes a great flash hole deburring tool. Sharp and well designed. Indexes off the web instead of the mouth. That makes sure you get a uniform cut.

Sounds like you have a handle on what you need to do. All rifles have their "preferences". Lots of guys shoot the 39gr SBKs with great accuracy. Can't do it in mine. It seems to prefer 40 gr Vmax and Noslers for the heavies. Does superbly with 26gr Barnes Varmint Grenades. You mentioned yo...

Hodgdon used to, but I don't know if they still do. With so many variables determining accuracy, it may be more economical to choose 2 of the more often used powders and work from there. If you look at the burn rates of 8208 and H4895, they are very close. However, the 8208 seems to push the bullets...

At first, I thought Trent's approach was way off base and dangerous. But, in re-reading what he said, I see his point Provided that the "guessed" powder is in the load table for that cartridge, as he stated. And start your load from the bottom and work up. Here is a pic of 2 pairs of simil...