REMEY VLS .204

[paddy 09]

Hi ,im new to this site ! From ireland and just baught the above rifle .Looking to do some bench shooting and hunting .How do yes find the remmy in .204? Any tips on ammo ?Many thanks .

[Captqc]

Paddy,
Welcome to the forum! I shoot a Remington 700 VLSSTH in .204 Ruger and she likes the 32 Gr. V-max bullet best. Currently I'm using factory ammo from Hunting Shack and Hornady but plan to reload for next spring. I've also used other factory brands but the first two seem to work the best. Hope that helps. Gary

[paddy 09]

Thanks for the info. Gary.Lots of 32gr and 40gr ammo here in ireland but have to order in 39gr and try them out.The rifle is second hand but only about 100 rounds fired .Its free floated ,timmely trigger and target crown .Reason the gun was traded back to my gunshop was he could not get it to shoot 40gr .Its shoots the 32gr hornady really well .Less than half inch at 100 yards.Has anyone found this problem with the 40gr in the VLS?

[Captqc]

Paddy, mine doesn't like the 40's either. I have used some 39's and they did okay but not as good as the 32's. Gary

[Silverfox]

paddy 09--I have a Savage 12VLP in .204 Ruger and I didn't get the kind of accuracy I wanted with 40 gr. BT Bergers and 40 gr. V-Max bullets in my early reload testing. I was trying to find an accurate load that would give me about 4,000 fps at the muzzle and looking back, I think that was a very unrealistic goal. I have since settled on the 39 gr. Sierra BlitzKings and my muzzle velocity with that load is around 3,825 fps.

I may have been able to get the 40 gr. bullets to shoot with great accuracy if I would have been willing to shoot them at a more reasonable muzzle velocity. I don't think I'll ever know for sure because the 39 gr. Sierras shoot way too good out of my factory tube to make me want to test the 40 grainers again.

The 32 gr. V-Max factory loads and my 32 gr. V-Max hand loads were super accurate in this rifle. Another bullet that has given me super accuracy is the 35 gr. FBHP Bergers. It is a great short-range coyote bullet--up to about 200 to 225 yards. If it is windy, you will have to allow for a lot of wind deflection though.

[paddy 09]

Thanks lads ,good info on bullet size .The .204 never really took off here, so not much information . .Have a sako75 in .223 also, but would really like the .204 to work out better . Looks a flatter hunting round .If the 39gr bullet works out ,just how good is it at 300+ yards ?We cant legally reload here either .

[Rick in Oregon]

paddy: How good is the 39SBK past 300 yards? I'd say "excellent!" In the photo below, I was shooting my Sako 75 Varmint in .204 across the lake shown to the other side, at just over 600 yards to snipe our ground squirrels, about the size of a soda can. The 39SBK is the star performer in all three of my 204's for long range work. Second place goes to the Nosler 40gr BT, but only in my 11 twist rifle.



I'll take a gamble here and say that the vast majority of 204 shooters consider the 39 SBK the top choice for long range work with 11 and 12 twist barrels in the 204 Ruger. "Long Range" being pretty subjective, but let's just say this is the bullet for work past 300 yards.

[paddy 09]

The sako 75 is an amazing looking rifle .My one is the exact model of your sako .Sorry to say, but my new remmy vls .204 is just not as nice to look at or handle .That said its nearlly half the price of the 75 . So 39gr is my best bet .Cant wait to try some long shooting with this new .204 .If the .204 shoots out to 600 yards im selling my .223 sako . Thanks for all the help ,lads .

[Rick in Oregon]

paddy: By no means was I suggesting that you should sell what I'm assuming is your only .223. I don't want to be responsible for 'sellers remorse', and I truly believe that any rifleman, no matter where in the world he may be, should have at least one .223 Rem, preferably a bolt gun (less to go wrong), but one on the AR platform would run a close second, to me at least. The reasons are legion, I'm certain you're familiar with most of them.

Do yourself a real favor, save long enough to get the 204, but keep your .223 in the process......I promise you'll be glad you did in the end run.

[paddy 09]

I have the .204 baught and paid for ,just waiting for the paper work to clear . My mates and i shoot .223 and they are having their little giggle about this .204 bullet .Its all a bit of sport, but if its as good in the field as people say, ill be very happy !As for selling my .223 ,no rash decission will be made .

[Jim White]

paddy 09,

I have two 204's, a CZ-527 and Remington 700 VLSSTH and neither rifle would shoot the 40 grain worth a hoot. I tried three different powders over a range of 2 grains in .1 grain increments, 5-shots per increment so I settled on the 39's. I never really tried the 32 grs other than factory ammo to break in the barrel.

In the future I'm going to look at rebarreling the Remington with a faster twist but in the meantime I have some learnig to do so I pick the right twist for optimum performance with the bullets on the market.

[Glen]

My 700ADL wouldn't shoot the 40gr V-max either. I never tried the Noslers. On the other hand it shoots 1/2"--5/8" five shot groups off the bench with the 40gr Berger HP's. Those are my coyote rounds. The 39gr Sierras shoot 1" or less at 200yds regularly.

[paddy 09]

It is very clear from reading the replays that the 39gr is going to be my best round .Thanks for that lads.The VLS has some work done to it already .But if i were to get it bedded would it help much ?

[kenbrofox]

Hi paddy,
i too just bought a used (50 rounds) VLS 26" not the thumbhole stock. Best 5 shot group off bipod to date is 3/4" @ 100 mtrs. with 32g vmax; not tried 40g yet. I have bought some 35g berger hollow point bullets but not got round to loading them yet.I know some folks in the USA use the 35s for coyotes, so maybe someone will pass comment on them. It's hard to get ANY 204 ammo over here, whatever the bullet weight! i'm surprised that you can order 39g factory loads. You're sure right about the 204R not catching on....they just don't know what they're missing. A few enthusiasts over here are building wildcat 20s that seem to be gaining in popularity, the downside is, no factory ammo. I find my vls more of a ambush rifle than an hunter as it weighs in at over 13LB with scope, bipod and moderator. I'm just having a brno rebarreled in 204R with pac-nor sporter barrel to use as a lightweight hunter.Cheers, ken.

[paddy 09]

Hi Ken ,seems its harder for you in the uk to find .204 ammo .Yea the VLS is a heavy rifle .How much are you paying for a box of ammo ?About 25euro for a box of hornady 32gr .Thats a big jump when a box of .223 starts at around 10 euro.Have you shoot anything bigger than a fox with your .204 yet ?