SmallCaliberCentral

Hi guys, im going to reload for my new .204 when i arrives. Question is....cause I live on a Island its hard to get reloading stuff over here, so

If you had to choose one type of powder and basicly stick to it, what sums up best when accuracy, concistencey are basicly what I would be looking for?

I will most likely be using 39 SBK's or 40 grain V-Max's ( 1/11 twist barrel)

Any advise would be great guys

Cheers

Steve.

with the 39 and 40 grain bullets you will get the best results from H4895, Reloader 10x, or IMR 8208 xbr. Good luck and let us know what you decide on.

wirelessguy2005 wrote:with the 39 and 40 grain bullets you will get the best results from H4895, Reloader 10x, or IMR 8208 xbr.

As for the above powders, I do have a bit of experience with H4895 and RE10x. My pet loads are 39gr SBK's and RE10x, and for the 40gr bullets I have found a load with 40gr Vmax and H4895. My rifle is a 1-12 twist though, and I personally don't have any experience with IMR8208xbr. There are some shooters here using it and getting great results. I would not hesitate to listen to wirelessguy. He is a valuable member here, and I don't think he would steer you wrong.
Just my .02 cents.

H4895 has always been my "go to" powder for the 204. That said, I have also had success with Reloader 10X, W748, IMR 4895, and probably a couple of others I am forgetting. My latest experiments have been with XBR 8208, and they look very promising.

I've been using H4895, H335 (very accurate but too temp. sensitive), 8208 XBR and just started some tests with Varget.

The 8208 is a sweet powder, giving me excellent results from 26gr. Barnes, 32 gr. Vmax and 40 gr. Vmax. Meters well and doesn't know a hot day from a cold one.

But, always one to experiment, I'm working on some Varget/40 gr Vmax loads. So far, even with a load range from 26.3 gr. to 26.9 gr. my groups run from .3 to .5 and back to .3 . A little tweaking on seating depth is the next step to finding that bug hole shooting load.

10x for me and imr 4895 wich is so so similar to h4895 as Hogdon bought out IMR

It seems I'm the only one that likes Benchmark...

Its easy for me to get 0.5" with just about any bullet (40 Berger, 32 and 40 VMax, and 32 and 39 SBK) in my Savage w/ 1:12 26" barrel. I can print 0.3s with the Benchmark if I'm shooting well.

My AR (1:12, 24" barrel) was just as easy to get 0.5's out of also.

benchmark powder would be my powder of choice if i could only have one for 204 and even 223!

bow shot wrote:It seems I'm the only one that likes Benchmark...

Its easy for me to get 0.5" with just about any bullet (40 Berger, 32 and 40 VMax, and 32 and 39 SBK) in my Savage w/ 1:12 26" barrel. I can print 0.3s with the Benchmark if I'm shooting well.

My AR (1:12, 24" barrel) was just as easy to get 0.5's out of also.

+1 for Benchmark.......Simply awesome for my xr-100 and 32 sbk's 0.3s if I do my part!

Thanks for all your helps and advise guys. Yes I live in the Isle Of Man, getting reloading stuff over here is a complete pain in the ......

Will have to sum up all your advise, have a think and make a dessicion.

Thanks again fellas


Steve.

Lots of fine powders, but for the 40 V-Max I get real fine groups with 26.8 gr of RL 15.

bow shot wrote:It seems I'm the only one that likes Benchmark...

In my previous post, I did forget that my pet load for the 32gr, Vmax is Benchmark.

What would be a good powder to try with the lighter bullets? (26gr-32gr)

Boomer68,

I use IMR 8208 XBR, Win cases and Rem 7 1/2 BR with 26 gr. Barnes.

Groups run in the .200". Best one was .183 CTC with an avg to center of .088"