New gun today.

[Tom Kat]

UPDATE- 1 year later and I still like the gun. It took a lot of testing but I found a load and am sighting in a 3x9 VX2 I had extra. I got a .406 group with 50 gr NBT and H322

[Rick in Oregon]

UPDATE- 1 year later and I still like the gun. It took a lot of testing but I found a load and am sighting in a 3x9 VX2 I had extra. I got a .406 group with 50 gr NBT and H322

But no pics of the finished rifle or the .406" group target? Try to remember that most here are "visually oriented".

[COhntr]

I have the Tikka T3x in 223 but with the 1:8 twist barrel, by far the most accurate 223 i have owned, especially with the sporter weight barrel. Mine shot better each time i went to the range. It shoots 53gr, 55gr, 69gr, and 75gr bullets very well but prefers 55gr V-Max and Varget. Will try to find the pictures of some groups i have shot

[Tom Kat]

Here we go

[Tom Kat]

Just another black rifle

[Rick in Oregon]

"Just another black rifle".....but it appears it wants to shoot. If it were me, I'd now work with seating depth to see if it can be tweaked a bit more, as it's under a half inch now. Is it bedded?

Looks like that rifle has potential. Keep us posted.

[skipper]

Thanks for sharing pictures. Nice looking rifle and a nice looking group.

[Tom Kat]

A little more shooting today

[Tom Kat]

I am at max OCL. Do you think a deeper seat would help it?

[skipper]

Unless you have a custom ream job done by a professional you're probably not going to get anywhere near the lands. Having the bullet loaded somewhere in the neighborhood of half the bearing surface into the neck may provide enough neck tension. You're just going to have to try different seating depths to find out what your rifle likes. If you have bushing style neck die you can adjust neck tension as well. One variable at a time, plenty of testing.

Most factory 204 Rugers have an excessively long jump to the lands built in. The further out you load your bullets the less and less bullet you will have in the case providing tension. It might help to check for runout and focus on load consistency.

[Rick in Oregon]

Most factory 204 Rugers have an excessively long jump to the lands built in. The further out you load your bullets the less and less bullet you will have in the case providing tension. It might help to check for runout and focus on load consistency.

Spot-on. And take notice of Skipper's last sentence. The farther out you seat a bullet trying to chase the lands, the larger the influence of running a much greater TIR, as there's not enough bullet left in the case to provide both good neck tension and axial alignment. Seating a bit deeper in steps and testing at the target is the only way to tell for sure, but by doing so, you'll eliminate a variable that has great effect on the overall result and will tell you if you're headed in the right direction.

Trying to reach the lands in a factory chambered 204 is pure folly as many here have found over the years. Just live with that huge "jump", and load accordingly. It's amazing how well some factory 204's shoot with the .100" jump to the lands.

As an example, here's one of my targets when I was working up loads for one of my 204's, this one was my Cooper MTV. It performed best with the jump at .040". The only way I can get a 32gr bullet to hit the lands in any of my 204's is with my custom chambered M700 that used a reamer specified and designed by me, taking the bulk of the data from the TK 204 Match reamer. Otherwise, I don't even try to reach the lands with any of my factory 204's.



And keep in mind, you don't have to reach the lands in a factory 204 to kill varmints. They don't seem to care or notice.

Good luck with the project.