40 gr. Bergers

[papa1htp]

Does anyone like the 40 Gr for coyotes? See a lot about the 35 but nothing on the 40.

[Rick in Oregon]

This may be because many, if not most 204R's with a 1/12 twist barrel do not properly stabilize most 40gr bullets, especially the longer 40gr V-Max.

The 35gr Berger may be the perfect balance between bullet weight and jacket construction being more ideally suited to coyote hunting. After about 16 years of the 204R being introduced, this seems to be the norm.

As an aside, none of my four 204 rifles would shoot the 40gr bullets worth a hoot....that is until I purposely built another rifle that employed a 1/11 twist....problem solved and it shoots any of the 40's lights out.

[papa1htp]

Rick, Thanks for the info. I got the t/c venture because my Savage wouldn't shoot the 40's and I have a goodly supply. The Venture just loves the Factory Hornady 40's. I hvve the Berger 35's but will try some 40's next. Will load the 35's for both guns.

[bigbuck28]

I have a 20" barrel from black hole coming soon.... Ive always been a huge fan of the 35s
But with the new barrel being 1/10 I may try the 40s....... How much speed can I expect to lose going from the 35s to the 40s?

[Silverfox]

Never used the 40 gr. Berger on coyotes, only the 35 gr. Berger. The 35 gr. Berger worked great for saving fur. The BC of the 35 gr. Berger is quite low and I have had some problems with wind deflection almost causing some missed shots. I have used some 40 gr. V-Max on coyotes and they were pretty rough on the fur.

[Getemclose]

I run the 40 Bergers in my CZ 527 with Benchmark barrel 1-10 twist. Smokin them outta there with H4895. I do run the 35 Bergers in my Sako 85 and Browning XBolt, I love Bergers.

[Getemclose]

Update on the 40 Berger, last winter I had devastating results pushing them that fast, I only shot 4 coyotes with that load and put gun aside until I could find a different bullet that can hold together a little better. Got some 39 sierra bk loaded with 27 gr H4895 and pushing 3866 fps will see how they perform.

[Fordevr]

My T3 Tikka Varmint with 1:12 twist always shot 40gr vmax ok but did much better with the 32gr vmax. For me the 32 vmax were amazing for fur and quick kills. Recently though the groups opened up and this resulted in me trying a Federal 40 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. It was so good I decided to try a 40 gr. vmax I was very happy with my groups with the Nosler but the .40 vmax was not as impressive. I don't reload yet but when I do get around to it I already have a box of Bergers to try.

As far as are the 40gr Nosler BT fur friendly I was very curious. I just shot my first 2 coyotes for the year yesterday and they were small yotes. Actually I was very surprised the one was still so small at this time of year. 12.5 lbs and 20.5 lbs. I had to make a 1/4 turn and instead of grabbing the shotgun in my haste I reached for the .204 and made a 52 yard shot on a 12.5 lb yote. As you can imagine my bullet was a little high at 52 yrds and darn near took his head off. The 2nd yote was a little further (forgot to range it). 60-70yrds and there was zero damage.

As a side note I always zero my rifle at 200 yrds and thought the wind didn't touch my bullets at 200 or less because they were so fast. Recently was testing my theory (not sure how much wind) and they actually do move a fair distance as you can see from my point of Aim and then the actual point of impact.