SmallCaliberCentral

I decided to order 32g Sierra's for the bulk of my upcoming reloading. They're enroute, but not here yet, so they've never been used in my new Cooper. Yesterday I used factory Federals with 39g Sierra's for the second time. The last time three 10 shot groups were in the .630 range, but this time it was down to .403. This is insane for factory ammo and I'm considering developing loads specifically for the 39g. I'd been told that the Coopers Varminters like the 32's, but maybe mine didn't get the word.

Mine shoots .2s and low .3s (5 shot groups) with 25.1 RE10X under 39gr SBKs.

I meant to start this in the reloading section... too late now. I'm new to reloading and have the Sierra's and 10lbs of Reloader 10x on the way. Just need to get some 39g Sierra's and I'll be ready to try those as well as the 32's.

Be sure and try some Benchmark too. Of course with 10 lbs of 10x, let's hope that works best! Keep us posted as to how it shoots.

Quoddy wrote:The last time three 10 shot groups were in the .630 range, but this time it was down to .403. This is insane for factory ammo and I'm considering developing loads specifically for the 39g.

Actually, it isn't insane at all based on my experience. Try some Hornady 40 gr ammo through yours and see what kind of results you get. With the right lot, mine would print some five shot groups very close to 1/4" at 100 yards. My hand loads are all with 39 gr heads, which also work very well.

I haven't played around with 32 gr hand loads, but my rifle definitely prefers factory 40 gr over 32 gr.

I don't have a Cooper but my Remingtons and CZ just eat them up. A good friend of mine has a Cooper and his loves them too behind Varget powder.

Thanks for the info, Quoddy. My new Cooper came with the requisite 1-hole test target group from 32 gr. Hornadys, but I really want to shoot the heavier bullets in it. Happen to have a couple boxes of those factory Federal/Sierra 39s somewhere. Do the BKs "splat" more than Vmaxes on game, or do they penetrate better?

RowdyYates wrote:Thanks for the info, Quoddy. My new Cooper came with the requisite 1-hole test target group from 32 gr. Hornadys, but I really want to shoot the heavier bullets in it. Happen to have a couple boxes of those factory Federal/Sierra 39s somewhere. Do the BKs "splat" more than Vmaxes on game, or do they penetrate better?

I don't have enough experience with varmints and the Sierra's. From what I read they are supposed have similar characteristics to the vMax.

I've been shooting poly-tiped bullets since they were introduced by Nosler in the early 90's. Their Ballistic Tip is still my primary varmint bullet, as the factory is about 30 flaps of the crows wings from the ranch here. That said, in all the time I've been busting ground squirrels, prairie dogs, rock chucks and coyotes, I can't really tell any difference between the BT, SBK, or the V-Max. They all work as intended on thin skinned critters, usually completely blowing up any animal weighing less than two pounds.

Our little buddy "Skippy" starts out looking like this prior to meeting ANY poly-tipped bullet:



Skippy is so glad to see Mr. Poly-Tip, he jumps for joy:



Upon landing from his one-time flight skyward, Skippy has an entirely new demeaner (you can tell this guy really twisted in flight):



Yes Grasshopper, ANY of the poly-tipped bullets will give very similar performance, and they're all perfectly suited to the 204 Ruger.

Nice "action shot" Rick!!