SmallCaliberCentral

My 204's seem to favor Benchmark powder. I'm looking for ANY help loading the 45gr SP with Benchmark. I can't find much on this bullet...

I emailed Hodgon and am waiting to hear back. If I do, I'll post my findings.

Anything out there?

I can't help you with the Benchmark as I have never used it, but I do load the 45gr. Hornady with IMR8208XBR along with H4895. So, if you switch to one of those I can help you out.

http://www.adi-powders.com.au lists Benchmark2 in their load data. They have a powder comparison chart which lists this as the equivalent to Hodgdon's Benchmark. It's possibly even the same powder, as ADI make a lot of Hodgdon powders.
Unfortunately there is no load data for 45 gn projectiles.
They suggest for 40gn - min. 24gn max. 25.7gn
And for 50gn - min. 22.5 max. 24.0

I would certainly do more research before assuming 24.0 is a safe bet.
Perhaps send Hodgdon and/or ADI an email and ask if they have any recent test data.

This is an awesome forum with a wealth of experience and knowledge, but sometimes it pays to asks the guys that make the stuff. Don't keep us in the dark though

Good luck

Don't know if this will help:

Hodgdon lists the range for 40 gr Vmax with Benchmark as :
24.0 3419 45,200 PSI 25.7 3646 55,400 PSI

50 gr Berger with Benchmark as:
22.5 3110 47,800 PSI 24.0 3256 54,300 PSI

Must be somewhere in between.

Update:

Found my 49th ed. of Lyman's book;

Benchmark with 45 gr. Jacketed SP

22.8 - 24.0 gr. Using Hornady brass and Rem 7 1/2 primers.

Mind you, I've used Lyman's data for other calibers and found them hotter than listed. You can see that their load data is almost identical to Hodgdon's for the 50 gr. Berger. Also, I've found Hornady cases to give me inconsistent velocities as compared to Win cases using the same loads.

Not saying to use this data. Only provided as a reference.