SmallCaliberCentral

I recently bought a CZ 527 Varmint in .204. It is the only bolt rifle I currently have (I played with a 700 in .243 a year or two back) and bought it because small bore shooting has caught my interest. I'd like to make -1" groups at 200 yards (the length of my club's range). I reload for .30-30, .38-55, .38spl., .357 mag., .41 mag., and .44 mag., using bullets I cast mostly out of wheel weights. I have a Lee Classic Cast single stage press rigged up with a Hornady LNL bushing adapter, plus powder measures, a scale, a powder trickler, a lube-sizer, a case trimmer, and other miscellaneous reloading accessories.
I realize that loading for this rifle will be a somewhat different game than what I'm used to. I'd like to get off to a good start, so I'm asking what I should to start with in the way of equipment and components. I'm not rich (my wife keeps reminding me ), but I don't mind spending money on the critical things - I'm just not sure what they are .
Which brass should I buy? How many loadings should I expect it to last?
I've read a few things about Redding bushing dies - are there alternatives, or is that the best choice?
I've done chamber castings of my lever guns - is that the way to go with a bolt, or is it even needed?
Is there another press I should consider for quality loading?
Is there a book that you'd recommend that explains this stuff? I have and have been using Modern Reloading, 2 different Lyman books, the Speer #13, The ABC's of Reloading, and others.
I'll be happy to receive suggestions of all sorts.
Thanks!

homefront. welcome to the 204um, I use the redding bushing dies and forster dies. And rem. brass cause good brass will cost you $80.00 a 100 but thats up to you. The powder i use is h4895 and benchmark. But if you go to the favorite loads at the top of the page you'l see alot of the loads guys have came up with. Just be safe and start a little lower an work your way up as you go.There are a few other things you'l need if you don't have already.

calipers, case trimmer, a chamfer tool to do the in side and out side of your necks, a flash hole uniformer, and a primer pocket reamer. Between what you have already and these few thing should get you started. There are alot more you can get but it's up to you how fare you wan't to go with this. I'm sure a few of the other guys will jump in here and let you know about a few other things you can get too. Let us know how things go ok?

Lee C.,

Thanks for the list. I actually have all except the flash hole uniformer and primer pocket reamer.
Is it critical to accuracy at this level to measure (and correct) runout? If so, which tool would you recommend?

$80/100? Wow, I thought .38-55 was getting pricey at $25/100!

Lyman makes a pretty inexpensive flash hole reamer. You can get the primer pocket uniformer and brush from RCBS.

I use a RCBS electronic case prep machine that has stations and the tools I mentioned above take the same threads so I can use it on my machine. It's a little pricey I guess but it saves me time and wear and tear on my fingers.

howdy homefront

Nosler brass is $60.00 per 100 from Powder Valley Inc. If your not already familiar with PVI thats my first and maybe best tip. Nosler comes all pre prepped so no flash hole deburrer would be needed. Good thing to tell the wife anyways.
Hornady brass is pretty good. Some folks have complained of issues with it but I've never personally had a bad batch.
Both Rem and Win can be a crap shoot. You might get some serviceable brass or you might wish you had spent more.
I'd go with the Rem first.
Sorry Winchester but you burned me a few too many times in the small calibers.

I use a Lee classic cast and I see no reason for an upgrade.
The folks here claim run out is a big issue with the 204 and I believe them. The long freebore in the 204 makes it a slightly different animal than most conventional cartridges. I'm sure run out factors heavily in that.
I've been shooting the 204 since 2004 and still don't have a run out gauge. It is getting pretty high on my list tho.

One thing "I think" drastically improved my run out was removing the shell holder retaining clip from the ram of my Lee classic. Pretty hard to prove without the ability to measure I know. All my cartridges used to enter all my dies at a slight angle. Hard to notice unless your looking for it. Removing the clip fixed that problem. Keep your eye peeled for that issue. Loading long stuff like the 6.5x284 it shows up easier.
I pick up my shell holder off the floor more these days but my accuracy seems to have improved You can use an O ring to retain it but I go without.

I use Redding dies on just about everything. They're worth the extra $$$
204 has a bushing die but I still use my original standard seating die. Once again, the long freebore means I do most of my tuning with powder charge as opposed to seating depth. Thats just me tho.
The bushing die will save you money in the long run by lengthening your brass life.
I don't think I've ever wore out a batch of brass. I still have some Hornady that must have 20 reloads on it. If I'm ever desperate enough to unbag it I'm sure it would need to be annealed.

Last but not least Benchmark and Bergers.
Stick around, we'll get you there.

Jo191145,

What kind of accuracy are you experiencing using your methods?
I'm looking to have a chance at good accuracy from the start. From what I've read, less than MOA is the norm. Playing with loads and seating depth and getting MOA would be a good start. I think I need to learn a bit more about how to progress from there, unless this rifle turns out to be miraculous on its own.

Thanks for the input!

homefront

Try reading this article on case preparation. It's pretty good reading and can be eye opening when it comes to wringing out all the accuracy you can. The big thing, for me, is consistency. You want to keep everything the same from round to round. It's not uncommon to have Extreme Spreads in the 50's or higher with the 204 when you first start reloading for this little caliber. Eventually you will find out what works best for your rifle and then fine tune that. Shooting groups in the .3's is common with this caliber if you keep refining your loads. Some members can shoot smaller than that given the right conditions. I would never settle for simply MOA. Quarter inch or better is more like it. I second Berger bullets and Benchmark for some outstanding accuracy. The Benchmark gives up a little velocity, though. RE-10X and H4895 give up nothing to velocity and are just about as accurate in a lot of members rifles. Redding dies are worth the money. Forster Ultra series dies are really good also. Run out is a killer with this cartridge. Good Luck.

http://www.6mmbr.com/jgcaseprep.html

Excellent, Skipper! Thanks for the link .

homefront wrote:Jo191145,

What kind of accuracy are you experiencing using your methods?
I'm looking to have a chance at good accuracy from the start. From what I've read, less than MOA is the norm. Playing with loads and seating depth and getting MOA would be a good start. I think I need to learn a bit more about how to progress from there, unless this rifle turns out to be miraculous on its own.

Thanks for the input!

I've run the entire gambit on accuracy Best 100yd group ever was .059. Worse groups wouldn't stay on a target at 200. Theres a good chance you'll see it all. Sorry buts you gots to pays your dues.
With my current Savage tube I can usually keep it in the low threes using 40 Bergs and Benchmark and a fully tweaked load. Shot a nice .121 about three weeks ago. Didn't pan out in subsequent tests of that exact load though. Been playing with a 6BR lately and that has my undivided attention for now.

If I were to clean the bore for every five shot group they might be better but thats not my thing. Without cleaning my barrel likes at least twenty rds through it before I start to see fliers disappear. Accuracy suffers some but consistency improves. I'm personally after consistency more than the occasional scorching group. I shoot eggs for fun and one flier is the easiest way to lose a match.

Your first step should be to find which bullet your CZ prefers. I've never had consistent luck with anything but Bergers but every tube is different. Whenever I screw on a new tube I run some various factory ammo through it to see what it likes. Gives me a starting point.

Gotcha.
I'll try a couple of different weights - maybe 32 and 39 grain, with 4198 and 4895, both of which are in my cabinet.
Thanks for the advice.