Midsouth 34g Varmint Nightmare load?

[Cujo]

Good morning,

I figured I would give these bullets a try since the price was right. I've been using 32g SBK with success (26.5g Ramshot X-terminator) out of an LRPV.

Since I have about 5 lbs. of X-terminator left and plenty of BR-4's, I'm going to try my new loads with it (26.0 grain).

Any recommendations as to COAL and powder charge would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, gents.

[Bunnybuster]

The COAL will vary from rifle to rifle. Even if you had sequentially serial numbered rifle it would probably vary slightly. Every rifle has it's own preference for case length, and COAL, due to slight machining variances.

The two brothers and I have 257-AIs, built on tuned Mauser 98 actions, with "identical" barrels from the same manufacturer. They were all reamed by the same gunsmith, and set up as close to the same as he could get them. Measuring fired cases, and measuring the OAL to throat, using the Hornday OAL gauge, they are identical, at least as close as we can measure.

They all want slightly different COALs, and powder charges to shoot the same bullets with the highest accuracy. And the COALs they like vary with the bullet weight, and powder charge. AFAIK, they could like defferent set ups for different air temps, and barometric pressure.

So, all I can recommend is to buy a OAL guage, (Hornady's is good, and you can get it and the modified case for a 204, for about $35), measure your chamber, and start tweaking.

To me it's all part of the fun.

[Rick in Oregon]

Cujo: Good to see you here again.

On the OAL issue, Bunnybuster is spot-on. I've found that if you want peak accuracy in a 204, it is usually best to load as close to the lands as possible, but considering the SAMMI chamber arrangement on the 204, a huge jump is usually in the works if you want to feed from the magazine.

On the other hand, if you want to shoot single shot and use a BR single shot follower in place of the mag follower, load either just to kiss the lands or a short distance off them, accuracy will usually increase, but the magazine length is the determining factor if you intend to magazine feed the rifle, and this of course affects the COAL or OAL.

Amazingly, some 204 shooters get excellent accuracy from factory overall length cartridges, which has the bullet so far into the case as to intrude on the powder space, which is the way the SAMMI round is designed (for mag feeding through 223-length actions).

As you are an experienced handloader, you most likely know all this, but as Bunnybuster mentioned, you just have to see which seating depth your rifle likes, and decide how important it is to feed from the magazine. For what we do (and you too), single shot works best from the bench for squirrels or PD's, as you can then reach the lands in many 204's, but not all of them.

For us, single shot gives another advantage other than the accuracy it offers; with the bolt open between dispatching squirrels, air circulates through the barrel to cool it prior to the next shot. It just all depends how important magazine feeding is to you for what you do with the rifle. Out of the three 204's I own, only one gets fed from the magazine, as it's intended as a walking varminter; a Kimber Model 84M Varmint, which I'm at this moment working up loads for in the Man Room with Benchmark and 35gr Berger's. (Gonna try the famous "Hawkeye Load".... )

[Cujo]

Thanks Bunnybuster and Rick!

Thanks for all of the advice. . .You guys are always spot on as usual. I think I just might have had a severe case of the "lazies." Yes, I'll be reloading the .204 just off the lands. I really like Benchmark and it is what I've had the best results with. I just have a bunch of X-Terminator that I really need to burn up. The Dillon (err, my right arm) is going to be getting a super workout this week.

I'm still shooting single-shots for the varmints from this fantastic bench that I purchased from some fella up in Oregon (about 5-6 yrs. ago). We just go through so many rounds during the week of shooting that I thought I'd give the relatively inexpensive Midsouth's a go. The Sako's will be going too and I'm still debating/on the fence as to whether to take my Homeland Defense Les Baer up there.

Rick, I'm glad you're doing alright and are on the mend. You gave me a pretty good scare there! Breakfast/coffee is still on me if we can get together.

BB and RIO, thanks again for all of the helpful advice!

[Bunnybuster]

Cujo, since you have a bolt gun, try making up a dummy to find the lands. Start with a resized, but unprimed case, it isn't anything special just resized however you will resize the rest of the run. Leave the bullet out above the SAMI spec of 2.260, as far out as you can get it steadied up, (you need about a tenth of an inch into the neck of the case). See if you can close the bolt, and chamber it in the rifle you're loading for. If not push the bullet in a bit with your press and try again until you can. When your close it should take just a bit more force on the bolt than a factory round.

When you can get the bolt to close while pushing the bullet up against the lands, you will have the max for your rifle, and a dummy round to set your seater die up with.

Put the dummy round you just made into your seater die, with the seater stem backed off, and turn the stem in just until it hits the bullet. If you have one of the micrometer seaters write down where your at, if not you can always set it up from the dummy round. Just be sure write on the dummy what rifle it is for, and what bullet is in it.

Now that you have the seater set up for the OAL of your chamber, with the bullet on the lands, you can start trying different distances back to see what your rifle likes from there.

[Cujo]

Thanks again, BB:

There are a bunch of good folks on this forum! That's a great option. . .I know exactly of what you speak. I usually use the Hornady tool to measure to ogive. Take care and kind regards from Vegas.

[Bunnybuster]

On bolt actions I usually make up the dummy rounds for the various bullets. Just because, it avoids any potential error introduced in measuring and transfering things back and forth.

The dummy round is what it is, and I can't transpose numbers that way.

I spent 30 years in Vegas, before I moved to central Idaho. Sometimes in the winter I miss the weather there. But the rest of the time it's nicer here, and it is lots easier to find places to shoot than Vegas was when I left.

[Cujo]

They are building the Clark County Shooting Park about 2 miles down the road from me. It's supposed to be the largest facility in the country when complete. For practice and long-range (600-1000 yds), we just travel 15 minutes north of town off of either I-15 or I-95 (BLM land). We also have Desert Sportsman which is on the eastside of town where they hold several rifle/pistol matches.

Don't worry, summertime down here is still a blast furnace. . .The winters are pleasant. You're not missing a thing, believe me.

The only bad part for me. . .NO FLY FISHING!!!!

Sorry if I got a little off topic.