.204 Ruger accuracy

[Hedge]

Anyone want to know just how accurate the .204 can be? Check out this vid from New Zeland:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiH1RhOd ... re=related

There's another one up there showing a 502 yd shot at a coyote. Not a dramatic hit but he was DRT.

[Sidewinderwa]

Got to love the 204!

[jo191145]

Just in case you forgot what us old timers could do.
5 rds of 40gn Bergers and Benchmark at 200 yds. Savage of course.
Just remembered tonight how long its been since my last visit here. Ah nostalgia.

[Hedge]

Really nice shooting old timer!

What was your load? I'm trying to dial in my Savage 12 FCV for 40gr Vmax with H4895.

[jo191145]

25.3 gns BM 40 Berg set at 2.275 COL. Fed 205M and Nosler brass. Quite mild at roughly 3550fps if memory serves.

The oddest load I ever developed. Pulled from not one but two identical Audette ladder tests.
Was'nt happy with the first test results and got stubborn. Shot it again.
I had noticed two shots in .3gn increments create one hole in test one. Figured it was a fluke.
Who wants low velocity anyway.
Your not supposed to pay attention to nodes that small in an Audette.
Test two was identical with those same two charge weights creating one hole. Exact same POI even.
Got my attention this time.

That stinkin load shot under .25 moa at 200 yds for a straight 42 rds on paper firing as fast as I could. No cooling. I don't believe in cooling times.

Unfortunately after using it just twice in egg shoot comps I used that barrel to test the new 26gn VG's. Reached 4700+ fps with N-133 but found the best accuracy at 4500 + or -

Barrel never shot the 40gn bullets again after that much less that particular load. Should have left well enough alone.

You have fun with that 204. They surely are capable. When you find a consistent one holer stick with it and forget the rest.

[Hedge]

Thanks for the load data. I'll check it out.

Interesting situation you had there. What do you think caused the problem? Seems odd that just firing a different bullet would lead to a change in accuracy with another. Not something I'd heard of before now.

You got 4700 fps out of the 26 gr. VGs?!! I'm surprised they stayed together.

[jo191145]

Thanks for the load data. I'll check it out.

Interesting situation you had there. What do you think caused the problem? Seems odd that just firing a different bullet would lead to a change in accuracy with another. Not something I'd heard of before now.

You got 4700 fps out of the 26 gr. VGs?!! I'm surprised they stayed together.

As for the load data don't thank me. Good chance it won't work for anyone else. You can try tho.
Such an extremely small node is a rarity. 25.2 and 25.4 shot like crap. 25.3 nailed it everytime
Some things defy explanation. Benchmark is like that tho. Very small nodes but deadly accurate when all the planets align just right.
In reality all accuracy in the 204 (or any cartridge) is down to .1gn increments.`

I'm certain I'll never be able to answer the question of why no more 40's. Savage factory barrels are quite fickle. High maintenece women of the shooting world. Out of four factory 204R tubes I've had three that could possibly out shoot a PPC at times. Lots of love, money and attention required to get there. Usually half the barrels life to figure em out. One could only do it for 3-4 rds before going haywire. Most accurate 3-4 rd barrel I've ever seen
After 1500rds of expierimentation I got it up to 8rds of the most accurate barrel I've ever seen. She passed at a young age
That girl could have made Savage famous if she ever came around.

In the end its probably the best way to learn accurate shooting. The lessons learned taming those barrels have served me well since.
Custom BenchRest guns have the same quirks. They're just harder to decpher if you haven't spent time with a high maintenece woman.


Yes the VG's held fine at 4700. Having just been introduced that was definatly part of the test. Never saw a VG go poof.
Accuracy was terrible that high with 133. Would'nt recommend anyone go trying to break that record if you know what I mean

[Hedge]

That is a small node. I run OCW tests to try to find a load that will keep groups to one hole with charges of +/- .2 gr. But I'm finding that's not always easy. It's more like what you've found. When I shoot this barrel out (which I'm likely to do with all this experimenting) I think I'll order a Shilen.

What kind of pressures do you think you were running with the high speed VGs? I'm not looking to push anything into light speed. But, I'd like to push it as fast as I can for the trajectory and still maintain bug hole accuracy.

[jo191145]

Being just a paper puncher and the occasional batch of eggs trajectory has never been much of a concern for me.
The VG has a very low BC due to its light weight.
Someone once remarked something to the effect of "its like trying to shoot a styrofoam cup out of a gun" LOL's

Anyhow it loses velocity very fast.
I do recall running it through JBM online trajectory analysis and being shocked at the loss of velocity.
I doubt trajectory was much better but can't recall offhand. Wind deflection is probably terrible also.
Run it through JBM at 4500fps and compare it to your other favorites. If my memory is correct you'll not freely chose that projy.

[Hedge]

Thanks for the reply.

I've worked up a load of VGs for my wife to pop gophers with. Ambles along at 4100fps and she can hit dimes at 100 yds with it. I figure it's a good 200 yd gopher round.

I'm not so sure about JBM. I ran one of my 40 gr. loads through it using the basic and the twist drift version. Got different results and some of the features like going subsonic are inaccurate.

[GaCop103]

Just in case you forgot what us old timers could do.
5 rds of 40gn Bergers and Benchmark at 200 yds. Savage of course.
Just remembered tonight how long its been since my last visit here. Ah nostalgia.

Great group! I have yet to get that tight with my Savage factory barrel but I'm getting close. I've had to lay off the Berger's for a while, the prices were burning up my shooting money way too fast. It's a pain being retired and having to watch every penny. Still, I shoot at least three times a week.

Tom

[GaCop103]

Working with 8208XBR/26.6 grains and the 39 grain SBK, I got a five shot 100 yard group of .143". Finally got a calm morning on the range to help get that group. Velocity was a sedate 3798 fps. SD was 16.0 and ES was 43.0.

[Hedge]

Nice shooting!

Love the 8208xbr. Sierras not so much.

For whatever reason, they keyhole; both 32gr and 39gr. Ran an OCW on both across the charge band. Nearly every hole was elongated or just plain sideways. Yet, if I shoot Vmax or Noslers, they're fine.

A charge of around 26.6 gr. of either H4895 or 8208 seems to be a good load for me, too.

[Wrangler John]

Being just a paper puncher and the occasional batch of eggs trajectory has never been much of a concern for me.
The VG has a very low BC due to its light weight.
Someone once remarked something to the effect of "its like trying to shoot a styrofoam cup out of a gun" LOL's

Anyhow it loses velocity very fast.
I do recall running it through JBM online trajectory analysis and being shocked at the loss of velocity.
I doubt trajectory was much better but can't recall offhand. Wind deflection is probably terrible also.
Run it through JBM at 4500fps and compare it to your other favorites. If my memory is correct you'll not freely chose that projy.

Not a worry - nope. Just load The Varmint Grenade around 4,100 fps or so and splatter rats out to 250 yards. Don't worry about hold over, wind or anything else, they just work like a heat seeking missile.

My experience with the 26 grain Varmint Grenade (in fact the entire Varmint Grenade line) is that they are probably the most accurate and deadly bullet available. The other is the Nosler BT Lead Free in .224". I shot the .204 Varmint Grenade in a gale force crosswind at rats between 75 and 100 yards and couldn't believe they actually hit almost every time. Holding the rifle still in the gusts was harder than splatting the rats.

Don't worry about the fact that their length varies all over the place, just set seating depth using a comparator, don't worry about the tips being a bit awkward, just load and shoot. Don't read ballistic tables, don't look at the B.C. data, it don't mean a hoot in a hollow. Just load them (I use 25.2 grains of RL-10x) and watch the rats go bye-bye. One word of disclosure, all my barrels are Shilen, Pac-Nor or Brux. The 26 grain Varmint Grenade shoots in every twist from 1:12" to 1:8.5" . Enjoy.

P.S. The Berger 50 grain HPBT .204 bullet does real well in the 1:8.5" twist, so far with Varget. If you want a high B.C. bullet that is absolutely the prettiest dad-gummed little jewel you will ever see - this is it.

[RedLeg]

New member. Have a Bushmaster .204 semi auto (AR style platform). !8" barrel, plan on putting a Barska 6-24x50 sniper scope on it (not purchased yet), and shooting factory Hornady 40 gr Vmax.

What kind of group size (3 and 5 shots) at 100 yards should I expect?

Is my scope choice OK?

Talked to an older bench rest enthusiast who disliked my rifle, and said, "I will give you my next check if you can shoot 5" groups @ 100 yards." Found that rather insulting, and want to make him eat his words (don't want his money though).

I know the proof is in the pudding, but not having going to the range with gun/scope sighted in want objective feedback from experienced .204 shooters.

Thanks in advance.