SmallCaliberCentral

Just curious what others liked best in weight and design.

That question can best be answered by either Gube, Silverfox or Tim....latest from Tim:

http://www.204ruger.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=8359

For fur, I'd vote for the 35gr Berger. For puttin' em down without alot of fuss, the 39 SBK. JMO

So far, for me the 40 Berger. I can care less about fur, so it does great, but hasn't exited yet. My most important 2 things is accuracy and the anchoring of the coyote and my experience tells me the 40 Bergers.

mcseal2 wrote:Just curious what others liked best in weight and design.

I guess that depends if you plan on saving fur or not. The 35 gr berger is ideal for saving fur. Small 20 cal entrance hole, no exit, insides turned to jello. The 40 gr berger results are very similar, but with a few more exits being the norm and it knocks em down with a bit more authority. The hornady 45 gr sp also works well for yotes but BC to weight ratio leans more towards 223 trajectories.
I have had mixed results using the 39 gr bk's. Most of the time just a small entrance hole with no exit and DRT. I have had a few "splashes" with them especially with "raking" shots. If you happen to hit bone, they will splash and entrance holes can be the size of a "softball".
The major dillema here is that the 35's have such a low BC compared to the 39 bk's. For called in shots under 250 yds the 35 bergers are great. Anything over that, wind drift becomes a big factor and the 39 gr bks's shine.
A lot of the factory 12 twist tubes struggle with the 40 gr and above offerings which is why the 35 gr bergers and the 39 gr bk's are the most popular for yotes.
I see you are planning on building a 10 twist. With that offering, I would probably favor the 40 gr berger as my first choice, 45 gr sp as second choice, and the 39 bk and 40 gr nosler for some longer distance / windy conditions. Oh and one other thing.
The guys on here love to see PICS, so make sure you have your camera ready.

mcseal2--I have to agree with Gube about the 35 gr. FBHP Bergers. Very accurate bullet and fur friendly. I use a pretty hot load with the 35 gr. bullets with the average muzzle velocity running right at 4,238 fps the last time I ran them over the chronograph. Here's a target shot at 100 yards with a bipod for a front rest and sand bag for a rear rest off a bench. I shot the first shot to find the point of impact and then adjusted the scope to get the POI to 1 inch high and fired three more rounds. I quit so my shaky shooting wouldn't ruin a nice 3-shot group



I have not used the 40 gr. Bergers or the 40 gr. V-Max on coyotes because they did not shoot very accurately out of the 1 in 12 twist factory barrel on my Savage 12VLP. I have never shot any of the 45 gr. Hornady bullets, so I can't comment on how they perform.

I have also had fairly decent results using the 39 gr. Sierra BlitzKings on coyotes. Very little fur damage, pretty much DRT and they buck the wind pretty darn good too.

On my last coyote outing, I was using a Savage 12VLP in .204 Ruger with a 1 in 11 twist Pac-Nor barrel and finally got a chance to see how the 40 gr. V-Max bullets work on coyotes. One coyote I shot was about a 180 to 190 yard frontal shot and my point of impact was a little right of where I intended to hit. I hit shoulder bone and it was not an instant kill. The other coyote I shot that day was one that was stading 180 yards away and giving me a broadside target. That bullet entered just behind the left front shoulder bone and made a small hole going in and a small hole going out.



I don't think you can go wrong by choosing the 35 gr. FBHP Bergers. They flat out perfrom well for me, especially if you are interested in saving the fur.

Thanks for all the reply's. I think I will start with the 40gr Berger and 39gr BK and go from there. They should work in my 1 in 10 twist, or at least be a good place to start. I have to deal with wind alot where I live.

39 gr SBK

I had a new barrel put on a Mini Mauser late last fall. Used a 1-10 PacNor barrel. Haven't done too much work with it yet, but both the 32 and 40 gr. Vmax shoot very tight. My chrono also took a dump so velocity is unknown at this time. By the way, Bob Green did the work and it is a 20 Tactical. It is a very light rifle so a little harder to shoot tiny groups.

From everything I've read, there are more DRTs with the 35gr Bergers than the 39gr or 40gr ballistic tips.... both seem to produce a higher degree of 'splash' shots if a bone is struck by accident...I use the 35gr in my CZ Varmint .204 for just that reason...

I haven't had a chance to see how the 35gr Bergers will do on a yote yet but I really like what they do on paper off of the bench, this photo is a 3 round group out of one my Ruger M77 MKII's, here is the load that I have the best groups with. Hornady brass, 35gr Berger, 25.5gr RL10X, COL is 2.30, CCI 450 Mag. primers.
Sorry for such a bad picture, I couldn't figure out how to resize it before I posted it.

I have now shot almost 15 coyotes with the 39 SBK. I'd have to check my log for the exact number. I've never had one get away after being hit and so far no splash hits although it may happen yet. Most all were DRT and the only followup shots were due to shooter error. I have not shot a coyote with the 39SBK over 350 yards yet so I cant comment on the long range performance on a coyote yet, but I imagine it would do well. I like the 39 SBK and I use them because I like the high BC bullets. Otherwise I would try the 40 grain Bergers if I didn't have a 1:12 twist.

Please excuse my ignorance- what means DRT?

Dead Right There......

Thanks

I started with the 40 G V max coyote hunting, and have stuck with it thus far! I have excellent load work ups for 26 G varm Grenades, 32 V max ,34 G Dog Town . Dont ask for them as they are for my barrel not yours! The dogs I shot with the 40 Hornady last winter totally folded on impact! They never knew what hit them. I have a box of Berger 40 and 50 G bullets and will be doing load workup shortly. I have heard good things about Berger Bullets.