Range Results: 40gr Bullets in my 11 Twist 204

[Rick in Oregon]

I finally was able to get out in some decent weather to test both the Nosler 40gr BT and Hornady 40gr V-Max in my 11 twist 204, affectionately known as SPOD, or the Silver Princess of Death. (you know why if you've been here long ). It was a beautiful day and a nice break from snow, wind and rain. Time to get out to my special spot in the desert. Snow capped mountains in the distance, clean fresh crisp morning air, and new loads to test....good stuff.



Anyway, I was only able to test one powder this time out, RL10X, as I also use it in my Sako 75 Varmint 12 twist, and it shoots it very well with SBK's, so thought I'd try it in the 11 twist. Here's SPOD yesterday doing her thing:



A top load of RL10X (over book max....do NOT duplicate without working up, which I did!) gave this nice group, except for the called flyer some fool was able to ruin the group with on the 4th shot.....a bad caress on the Jewell....shame on me. (A friend here gets 100 fps more using this exact same load in his Howa. Maybe it's my three-groove barrel slowing things down a tad.....dunno)



Next up was the 40gr V-Max. After raising my elevation so as not to obliterate my aiming spot...duhhh, it shot well, but the speeds were so slow as to not even be usable. Can you believe that even with a top book max load of RL10X, it was 600 fps slower than the Noslers using the exact same load? Wierd, but the chrono don't lie. The Noslers even appear to have a slightly longer bearing surface and shorter boat tail. It illustrates why we chronograph our loads. This was a mid-range load of 10X:



Moral: 11 twist 204 barrels DO indeed shoot 40gr bullets well, you just have to find the right one. So, I've got 600 40gr V-Max's for sale or trade from the lot that shot the above group for other 204 bullets if anyone's interested. Let me know.

[Hotshot]

Nice groups RIO! Glad all that stuff Gary said about your shooting isn't true.
Pretty rifle, too. Is that a Cooper?

That Nosler load would be pretty tempting. My Savage shoots them real well and so does my Shilen barrel Browning but the cost is high, availability is erratic, and the 39 SBK does have a slightly higher BC. I approach 3800 fps with 24.8 grains of R10X seated .010 off the lands from the 26 inch 1:12 twist barrels. I've tried 40 v-max several times and I'm always disappointed. If my source of cheap Sierra's dried up and I had a good connection for the Nosler's that would be my next choice.

P.S. I think the 40 grain Nosler is the best for splattering prairie dogs of the 3.

[Jim White]

[quote="Rick in Oregon"] Can you believe that even with a top book max load of RL10X, it was 600 fps slower than the Noslers using the exact same load? Wierd, but the chrono don't lie. The Noslers even appear to have a slightly longer bearing surface and shorter boat tail. It illustrates why we chronograph our loads.
[quote]

Thats percuilar. -600 fps

On a different note, what type of chamber do you use for your 204's. Both your & Hotshots distance to lands caught my eye. For now, I have factory tubes with throats as long as Al Capone's rap sheet but the day will come when they're shot out necessating replacement. I'm figuring the 204 barrels is good for 2500 rounds, at least, but who knows.

[acloco]

600 fps slower? something is up there. Weird!!!

[kenbrofox]

Rick, .008 off, is that with your 1.990 COAL. Wish i could shoot like that Thanks,ken

[jdefranc938]

I'm tempted to get a Lilja barrel on my M77MKII. I like using the 39 SBK's so should I get an 11 or 12 twist?
I ended up getting decent groups with this rifle with the stock target barrel, but the only problem is to get good groups I have to load it at least .5 grains under min. And by doing that I'm losing a bunch of velocity and i'm assuming that will hurt my overall bullet drop. I may give it one more chance this weekend to see, but I wanted your input as to what you thought.
Thanks!!

[Rick in Oregon]

Hotshot: Ha! So, Gary is still spreading vicious rumors about my shooting ability eh? I'll fix him once we get back out into the field. Elevation knobs have been known to change unexpectedly for no apparant reason.....

The rifle shown, SPOD, is a blueprinted M700 wearing a Pac-Nor SS Super Match 3-groove 11 twist barrel, and the chamber was cut with a custom tight neck .204 Ruger Match reamer I designed from a previous design by Todd Kindler, and ground by Dave Kiff at Pacific Tool & Gauge here in Oregon. Todd gets all the credit, I just changed a few reamer dimensions to my liking, such as neck O.D. and freebore.

I agree with Noslers having the best splat/launch factor too. I use them in 80% of my varmint rifles for PD's, ground squirrels and rock chucks, and have since around 1969. Nothing beats the "new" poly-tipped stuff for visual gratification though.

Jim: With the chamber my reamer cuts, I can locate the bullet in the case almost to the base of the neck, and still have the bullet able to reach the lands if wanted. The chamber is cut the way 99% of other accuracy/target/varmint rifle chambers are cut, and not like the factory 204 with it's horrendous jump to the lands. Granted, many 204's don't mind the jump, but I wanted to build a conventionally chambered rifle in 204 to see how'd it work. So far, I'm pleased with the way she shoots, and in the field with squirrels, well, you'd just have to be there...... Still can't explain the -600 fps though, no one else seems to be able to either. I'll just stick with the 40gr Noslers, and be a happy guy.

Ken: Yes, the load has the bullet .008" off the lands with a comparator overall length of 1.990"

[Rick in Oregon]

jdefranc938: Sorry for the separate post, the forum text window gets squirrely once you get a few paragraphs down. Anyway, chances are your rifle has a 12 twist now if it's a factory tube. My Sako has a 12 twist, and it shoots the 39 SBK's just as good as my M700 shoots the 40gr Nosler's above. You just have to see what the rifle likes.

If you only intend to shoot the 39 & 40's, then a 11 twist makes sense. But be sure to try all the available bullets before you scrap that 12 twist barrel, as it may really like one of them and shoot it at "varmint speed".

The thing about a nice accurate load being too slow for your needs is understandable too. The V-Max load above shoots great, but who wants to shoot a 204 Ruger at 2,800 fps? Nobody. The same barrel shoots the same exact powder charge in the same case and primer but with a Nosler 40 in place of the Hornady, and the thing shoots exactly 900 fps faster. Go figure. Good thing we have chronographs now or I'd believe the loading manual that the Hornady load was going over 3,600 fps.....wrong!

[bow shot]

Wow!! someone's doing something right, LOL!!!

Congrats Rick!!!

I'm hoping my day behind the weapon is soon. We just got dumped with 3' of snow over the past few days. That don't work, LOL!!!

[Captqc]

Hold the Phone! When did I suggest that Rick is a bad shot

[Richard]

Rick,

I just had a similar experience with velocity differences using Sierras, Nosler and Hornaday with identical powder charges. The Sierras were 200-300FPS slower than the Hornaday, 150FPS slower than the Nosler. I had 3 different powders, and the Sierras were the slowest. They were consistent, but slower. The chrono doesn't lie, but sure has me scratching my head. I used H322, Winchester 748, and VihtaVouri 140. The 140 was well below published velocities, pressure marks on primers seemed to indicate low pressure. Probably too slow, even for the 40 grainers.

[FireBallGuy]

Nice shootin' Rick! I recently discovered in BRUTALLY cold conditions that my VSF will shoot them tiny groups with barnes varmint grenades as well. It was -33C with the wind and we were at the range punching paper!?! As you can tell, I get bored really easy! One of my customers at the store swears by the VG's. He says to 300 yards they are lethal on yotes' and other vermin. Going to give them a try once spring breaks on varmints, as our shots in farm country tend to get MUCH shorter in the summer.