SmallCaliberCentral

finnaly got my 32gn load dialed for my rem SPS .
32 bk
26.5 benchmark
neck size sorted hornady brass
COAL 2.350
cci BR4
5 shot group .468 not bad
Also tried some 39 bk's @ 25 and 25.5 gn benchmark. Groups not so good 2" not shure if I will have to back off this load or change powder to get the accuracy of the 32's. Any suggestions?
I am useing the same coal and primers as the 32's

sodwyer,
Seems most 1:12 twist .204's like the 39's, don't give up too soon. Maybe see what you get with RL-10X? I shoot the 32gr V-Max exclusively, so I'm just throwing out a guess until more informed people jump in here.

my savage mdl 25, 1-12 twist shoots 40gr v-max sub moa with a good dose of 27.3 gr of h4895

.5grs is too big a jump in the 204. It's a small case & bad things can happen quick with it. You may have missed your load in between.

work up from the lowest charge in .2 grains of powder instead of .5 with such a small bullet and case capacity any change makes a big diffrence! when i got my sps i thought it would not shoot the 39 sierra but when i tried loads with .2 grain changes i found that 25.8 grains would give me sub 1/2 moa but 25.6 and 26 would not get below 1.5 moa! DO NOT USE THIS LOAD WITHOUT WORKING UP TO IT CHECKING FOR OVER PRESSURE SIGNS THIS LOAD IS OVER MAX DATA!!!!! remember patience is reworded! good luck and safe shooting

You might want to try some Winchester 748 powder and CCI magnum powders with the 39gr SBKs... As said, work up slowly and I use .1gr increments when working up loads for mine... Most of my really accurate loads for any of my rifles seem to fall between .4 and .7gr below the bullet manufacturer's published max loads...So I will start at one full grain below max and work up from there...

Some reloaders tend to push the velocities above max, but IMHO that overworks the brass and I'm too cheap to want to replace good brass due to split necks early on..

OldTurtle wrote: Some reloaders tend to push the velocities above max, but IMHO that overworks the brass and I'm too cheap to want to replace good brass due to split necks early on..

very true old turtle and well said with my rifle i let it choose my loads and this is what it likes and does not group well with other lighter loads and i am having no pressure signs or advanced case wear i have loaded some cases more than 8 times so far and not the first one has had any problems, and lol i got more than 500 winchester and hornady cases stored for future use if i need them!

IMR 4895 or 10x, maybe H 4895

I use 27.3 gr. of IMR 8208 XBR for the 39 gr. Sierras in my Savage Target action .204 Ruger with a 26" Lilja barrel with a 1 in 12 twist and 3 grooves. The muzzle velocity for this load is 3,887 fps and accuracy is under 1/2" at 100 yards.

In my old Savage 12VLP in .204 Ruger, I use a slightly hot load of 28.0 gr. of H4895 with the 39 gr. Sierra bullets. This load works in my rifle, but may be very dangerous in your rifle. Start with lower powder charge and work your way up very slowly--like .1 or .2 of a grain at a time and WATCH for excessive pressure signs VERY CAREFULLY!!! This load gives me a muzzle velocity of 3,860 fps and accuracy is under 1/2". This rifle still has the 1 in 12 twist factory tube on it and a total of 2,702 shots down the barrel.

I have another Savage 12VLP in .204 Ruger with a Pac-Nor 1 in 11 twist and 3 groove barrel on it, but I shoot the 40 gr. V-Max in that one using 27.2 gr. of H4895 and I get an average muzzle velocity between 3,835 fps and 3,840 fps. Accuracy is under 1/2" with this load too.

This Pac-Nor barreled .204 Ruger shoots a tiny bit more accurately with the 39 gr. Sierras, but the 40 gr. V-Max cost about $4 to $5 less per 100, so I go the "cheap" way. My best load for the 39 gr. Sierras in this rifle was 27.4 gr. of IMR 8208 XBR and that gave me an average muzzle velocity right around 3,845 fps and under 1/2" accuracy at 100 yards.

I can highly recommend H4895 AND IMR 8208 XBR for the .204 Ruger.

Like several shooters mentioned about you going a full half grain from one test load to the other, I would NOT recommend that practice. I usually go .2 grain at a time when trying to find a good load or two and when I get to a sweet spot/s, I will go .1 grain above and below those sweet spots so I don't miss a hummer load.

I hear allot of users seem to like H4895, I use IMR 4895 my powder chart shows burn rate is vary close to H4895. I beleive not sure, Hodgden bought out Imr? Also 10x has close to the same burn rate as xbr. Hence ayone reloading for 204 would do well with either of these four powders. I have yet to try 748 and though this powder has a slow burn rate, I have heard so does Hodgdon Superformance? I am curous to see if that is true?

[quote="Valar"]I beleive not sure, Hodgden bought out Imr?quote]

Incorrect. You are referring to two completely different brands of powder. Hodgdon is run by Bruce Hodgdon and is a separate company from DuPont, which owns and manfactures the IMR line of powders. It is true that Hodgdon is now making some IMR powders (imported), but they are and have been two separate companies for the 40+ years I've been using their products.