SmallCaliberCentral

i been thinking after seeing the new superformance ad from hornady that the 204 was designed around the superformance powder! when the 204 was first introduced it was said it used a special blended powder that boosted velocity and kept accuracy! with most handloads we can managed up to about 200fps slower than factory ammo! and when the superformance line of varmint ammo was announced the 204 was strangley not included even though its a very popular varmint round! to me this sounds like hornady originaly made the 204 with superformance powder and with held the powder from handloaders to get data on its effectivness in larger calibures and was not included in the superformance line because it was the original superformance loading! does this make sence to ya'll here and whats your thoughts!

It's no secret that the ballistic techs at Hornady have been blending their propriatary powders for some time now. The powder used in the 17 HMR is a prime example. The 204 also benefited from this propellant research, and also has propriatary powder in their factory loads. It may indeed have been the first centerfire caliber to use the new "blend".

I don't see what difference it makes weather the 204 may or may not have been the "original" CF caliber to use the new propriatary high performance "Superformance" powder or not......none of us can purchase it, so what difference does it make? I'm perfectly happy with all my 204's sending bullets zipping along at the 4K fps mark.....another 200 fps makes little difference in the field, and I've never heard a complaint from any of the coyotes, rock chucks, ground squirrels, or prairie dogs for not using "Superformance" ammo. In the end, what's in a name?

While I know each rifle will exhibit different tendencies, especially in the 20 caliber arena, when the .204 was first introduced, several of us bought different brand rifles and chrono'd the factory ammo available... Hornady came out the fastest, but was still running a minimum of 100 fps slower than advertised...

I'm like Rick in Oregon, and haven't had complaints from Prairie Dogs about getting hit at the 'lower' speeds, and really don't think in the long run that it matters that much....I'm reasonably sure that the test barrels with which the factory does their testing is much higher grade than most factory offerings...and that may account for the difference...

rick the new powder is soon to be released to the public for reloaders, im just thinking that the superformance powder is the powder that was never released for the 204! and im just curious that if this is the same powder that with some handloads being hotter than factory ammo that the 204 could soon reach new levels of preformance that could eclipse factory ammo this could be faster speeds yes, but with faster speeds there is less wind drift, flatter trejectory, and an in crease in fpe giving quicker kills at longer ranges!

If the blended stuff does indeed become available, be aware of the fact that from everyone I've talked to that has used "Superformance" ammo in hunting calibers, the accuracy demonstrated by the "super" stuff was lacking when compared to "regular" canister powders we normally have access to.

You may get increased velocity, but it may suffer dramatically in the accuracy department if the above is any indication. As I've had no varmint complaints to date, I'll stick with what I know works......and most likely will be much less expensive. To me at least, accuracy is the name of the game.

correct rick im with you just curious about trying new stuff, accuracy is the name of the game and is the only reason i reload! i have no experiance with superformance and was unaware that there has been accuracy complaints with it but at the same time just about any load can be made to shoot well! i mean the 204 was made developed for faster velocitys and accuracy at those speeds and my thinking that this is the original powder why would it not shoot well? and if this superformance powder is the same as factory 204 powder then we could litteraly copy factory loaded rounds and even get there speeds or faster with better accuracy!

I guess we'll see; time will tell. At this point, it's all pure speculation anyway.

It appears the Hodgdon Superformance is coming out in January. From the looks of it, sounds like it's a pretty slow powder and from what little I've heard, Hodgdon is only providing reload data for over-bore cartridges. Here is a little bit of what I'v etracked down;

http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/SuperLever.pdf

You may be on to something? I really dont care much about loseing a couple hundred feet per second. I think to many loaders worry about muzzle velocity than accuracy. Some high volume max loads can shoot well in some barrels and bad in others! I shoot the loads that group the best. for hunting and br I think that matters most. I would try the powder Hornady uses though. I mean Ya gotta want for more right! Perhaps its the holy grail of propellants? Happy Shooting!

I personally am excited about trying the new Superperformance powder. Yes I reload for accuracy, but if I can gain speed and keep my accuracy I will be all over it. I would like to use it for my .243 and see how it compares to H414. I load my .243 hot and if I can produce a load with about the same pressures that I have now I should be producing screamers. I like to be able to shoot long range and and extra 150 fps or so will make a difference at 500+ yrds. I would also like to try it to reload 204 and 22-250. Now with all this being said accuracy is still the deciding factor, but if Hornady can produce accurate factory loads with it, then surely a handloader can do better. (I hope) Jus my thots

I agree like i said i am sure i would try some test loads with it. You are correct that faster accurate fight helps with distance. I wasnt trying to argue and I hope it didnt come off that way. I am all over something new that works. I have not tried Hornady factory loads yet. I guess I should but I will be surprised if they shoot as accurate as my hand loads. But I will try then just to see. Right now I have worked up loads that work in my gun well. When the weather warms up I will try others. BTW I am seeing awsome results with aliant 10x powder also imr 4895 which is hard to find in chicagoland. I just drove 3 hours because I found 2 pounds. Good luck keep us all posted on the superformance powder. I did appreciate it!

ryutzy wrote: I like to be able to shoot long range and and extra 150 fps or so will make a difference at 500+ yrds. I would also like to try it to reload 204 and 22-250.

For increased velocity for your .243, try some Hodgdon 100 Hybrid-V. I've been able to get 200 fps with just as accurate of a load from my H4831SC.

For the 204 Ruger, I don't believe Superformance will do to good because it is a real slow burning powder. For the 204 I've had real good velocity increases (200 fps) with IMR 8208-XBR. It meters well too but I still need to do the accuracy checks.

Jim

Jim What kind of velocitys are you getting for your 243? I'm shooting 46.2 gr H414 with the bullet into the lands. I'm shooting a Hornady 75gr at 3550fps. It is a hot accurate load. My last coyote was at 423 yards. I love this load. Wasnt sure if I could generate much more with the Hybrid powder or not. Just curious what your speeds are.
My 204 im shooting a 39gr SBK in my AR pushed by 27.8 gr of H4895 at 3735 fps. How does that compare with what you are getting with the XBR powder?

ryutzy...Instead of a 243 Winchester, I have a 6mm Remington. While not the same they're real close ballistically.

For the 75VMAX I haven't had to much luck with pushing them too fast. My best load is 3400 fps .5 x .5 inches at 200 yards. I can drive them faster but then the groups start opening up. Believe it or not, the best loads with the 75 VMAX has come with Reloader 15. H4350 hasn't worked for me. H4831 worked OK but at higher end loads it started opening up. I'm going to retest the 75 VMAX with Hybrid 100-V and we'll see what happens then.

Where the 100 Hybrid really works for me is with the 87 VMAX. I'm getting 3425 (Hot load) but it too is a solid .5 x .5 inches @ 200 yards. For this rifle I have gone as much as 1% over max published loads w/o pressure signs but thats as far as I'm willing to push it. I'll give Superformance a try but it will be real interesting to see if it is temp sensitive.

For the 204 Ruger, with my CZ527A, the most accurate load was 27.8 grains (max is 28.0 grains) of RE-15 (incidentally, this load worked in all three of my 204's) and it averages 3500 fps. The max load of IMR 8208-XBR is 3650. For my Rem 700 it went from 3650 to 3850. My other Rem 700 went from 3700 to 3875. There were no pressure signs. For the 204 I'm reluctant to push the envelope too much. Since the case is small it is real susceptible to pressure changes, quickly. From what I've read this powder is-not temperature sensitive.

I'm located in the Pacific Northwest @ sea level with higher humidity levels than a lot of places. These things do come into play as does the specific firearm, lighting, bullet placement above the chronograph sensor, distance to muzzle and so on when comparing chronograph info with other parts of the country.

HTH,

Jim White I'll have to pick up a pound of the 8208 XBR powder to test with for my 204. For the 243 I shoot 75gr Hornady HP and 75gr Vmaxes and H414 shoots it very well. Your 87 grain vmax load appears to be shooting very well at a great velocity. That should make a great 600 yard load. I've entertained trying the 87 gr but it's really more bullet than what I need for coyotes since I generally am not shooting much over 500 yards. My next gun will be a 243 AI or the 6mm AI. I really want the 6mm AI but it's kinda hard to find someone who makes that gun within my price range. Seems that most of them cost upawards of $2000 and I can get a Cooper 243 AI for less. I may have to entertain rebarreling a gun for the 6mm AI.