Help...204 issues

[Darkker]

Well...... She shootin for you again, or no??

[kjw204]

Make sure you have proper torque on the action screws. Trust me it matters. Adam

What type of wrench are you guys usung to set the action screws to 90 in/lbs? The wheeler I have only goes to 65.

[Sth Oz Dan]

I borrowed my dad's torque wrench. It's pretty old. Australian made Warren & Brown. Goes to 180"lb. Only problem is I don't have a screw tip that fits. Gonna have to visit the old fella again soon, see if he has one.

[tonyb]

Hello.............Well i took the 204 out for the big test , the one after the barell super clean with the valve gringing paste and Brasso , Here is the verdict...............it`s a little bit better .... The first 6 shots were looking good , apart from the very first shot which i guess is a ( lets put some crap back into the barell ) shot , I stuffed around a bit and let things cooooool down then fired some groups of 3 , all was going ok , the groups were about .60 inch , now , i waited again for another 20 minutes or so then fired another 3 shot group , well this group was still reasnoble but a inch and half high and inch right , things were nice and cool and NO scope or mounts issues , so what i did then instead of NOT cleaning the barell like last time, i cleaned it to see if it would return to it`s original zero, well it did`nt , it stayed there so i re adjudsted scope and fired some more, still ok , By this time i sorta had enough of the whole drama so packed up and went home , what made things worse was me mate was there with his new Tikka T3 .204 and he was just plonking bullets in the same holes at ang given time , but thats good ,goes to show the 204 is a good cartridge with a good rifle , Now my Ruger is cleaned up and in the safe, dont know weather to persue the problem or not , want a new rifle either Sako or Tikka , dont know what calibre,sorta bit skittish about going 204 again even though my mates Tikka is superb (my luck , i would get a faulty one ) , so thinking about either a 223 or 22-250,
Well thats the update folks any comments
cheers Tony..

[Sth Oz Dan]

That sucks mate. I'm still having a few question marks over mine too, but I'm putting it down mostly to inexperience on my behalf.
I've just spent a few hours mucking with my Hawkeye - shaving bits off the stock to guarantee barrel clearance, thorough clean, snipped a little off the trigger spring (probably not advisable to beginners like me, but read a few reports on forums and people seem to be having success with lightening the trigger pull - and if things went pear shaped I was prepared to buy an after market adjustable one anyway). While the action was apart I lightly buffed the sear and trigger engagement areas very carefully. Put her back together (struggled to get the reccomended 95"lbs on the forward action screw but come fairly close). Passed the $50 note free floating test all the way to the chamber which I don't think it did before. A couple of dry fires confirmed the trigger pull is definitely lighter and crisper but still very safe.
Got a few 39BKs loaded with AR2208 and AR2206H.
Eager for the wind to back off now.
I'll let ya know how it goes.

I hope you can find the patience to persist with yours and work out the issue. We might all learn something.

PS - I was down in Tassie in December for the first time. Absolutely beautiful part of the world. I'll definitely be back.

[tonyb]

Hi sth oz dan , good luck with it all , good work on the trigger , one thing i like about the Ruger Predator is the duel stage target type trigger , i got it down to about a pound or something and its great , How does the 2208 go ? I would have thought it `s a bit too slow in the burn rate , I was thinking of trying Benchmark 2 or 748 Win. powder , as to reduce powder fouling a bit , you know............. faster burn......bit less powder.......cleaner burn......less fouling ???????? I have a Rem>700 in 260 Rem . and it dosnt like the slower powders , seems to leave a lot of residue in the barell , was using 2209, no good , tried 2208 , not bad, 2206H really good , faster burn and almost no residue , of course thats a different calibre but the princibles are sorta the same, just scaled up a bit , Anyhow , i dont think i will get rid of the 204.....i actually really like the rifle and it IS a awsome cartridge, I am pretty well convinced that my problem is poor barell manufactoring and not anything else so worst case scenario .....new barell ....

On another subject......I just ordered a Lyman DPS3 powder dispenser, sick of weghjing every loads on a balance scale , anyone got one and are they good ???? big question ......They say the RCBS combo is better but it was 100 bucks dearer so money won out in this case , Got it for $395 from Cleavers in Qld. Cant wait...

[Darkker]

I am a BIG fan of the Win 748!
Too bad that things didn't work-out as well as they did for me...
Best of luck trying to get it to come around
Cheers

[tonyb]

does anyone know what sort of powder they ues in factory loads ???? I pulled apart a Hornady factory round with a 39SBK in it ......the powder weighed 26.7 grns. and it looked sorta like Win ball powder, but the balls were sorta flattened a bit , wonder what it is ???????

[Rich V]

If you think you have a carbon problem try slip 2000
http://www.slip2000.com/

[bow shot]

tonyb, Just a couple FYI's for ya:

1) My bolt gun needed about 20 rounds down the tube after a shiny bore cleaning before it would group (JB bore paste). After that, it would place everything in 0.5" (I shoot bipod in front, bag in back) often 0.3". I've experimented a lot with that rifle, and at one point I had it up to 200 shots without cleaning and it still grouped.

2) The hornady factory ammo was disaterously awful for me. 6-8" groups. I'm not kidding.

Just some things to consider...

[Ol` Joe]

does anyone know what sort of powder they ues in factory loads ???? I pulled apart a Hornady factory round with a 39SBK in it ......the powder weighed 26.7 grns. and it looked sorta like Win ball powder, but the balls were sorta flattened a bit , wonder what it is ???????

The factories don`t use powders available to us reloaders as a rule, and when they do they are generic versions that don`t exactly match.
The big boys buy boxcar sized lots of powder that meets a general spec and they then test it to determin the exact charge wt they need to achive their desired results. You found a charge of 26.7gr of ball in the cartridge you tore down, tear down a different lot of the same load and the powder may be an extruded, or 30,2 gr of what may appear to be the same ball you found this time.
I don`t know it for certain but, I strongly suspect $$ comes into play in their choice too on occasion too.

From Wiki------

The 204 Ruger was developed from the .222 Remington Magnum, which has the second largest case capacity in the family that began with the .222 Remington. Only the European 5.6x50 Magnum is larger, which itself is a lengthened version of the 222 Remington Magnum. The 222 Rem Mag provides about 5% more usable (below the neck) case capacity than the most popular member of the family, the NATO 5.56×45 mm (.223 Remington). To make the 204 Ruger, the 222 Rem Mag case was necked down to .204 inches (5 mm) and shoulder moved forward and angle changed. Bullets available in .204 caliber range from 26 to 50 grains (1.7 to 3.25g), and although the selection is limited, it is growing as the cartridge gains wider acceptance. The Hornady factory load is listed at 4,225 ft/s (1288 m/s) with a 32-grain (2.1 g) bullet. To achieve these velocities, the factory uses a proprietary powder composition known internally as SMP746, specially formulated by Primex, and not currently (2010) available to handloaders. The propellant features a de-coppering agent that helps prevent fouling. Reloading data from Hornady, using commercially available powders, indicate velocity peaking at just under 4,200 ft/s (1,300 m/s) with the 32-grain (2.1 g) bullet in longer barrels. Many AR-15 rifle manufacturers, including Remington, now offer the .204 Ruger as an alternative chambering alongside the usual 5.56x45/.223 Rem.

[Pmoper]

does anyone know what sort of powder they ues in factory loads ???? I pulled apart a Hornady factory round with a 39SBK in it ......the powder weighed 26.7 grns. and it looked sorta like Win ball powder, but the balls were sorta flattened a bit , wonder what it is ???????

Yes, its Primex SMP 746......and no, you can't buy it.......

[RedLeg]

tonyb, Just a couple FYI's for ya:

1) My bolt gun needed about 20 rounds down the tube after a shiny bore cleaning before it would group (JB bore paste). After that, it would place everything in 0.5" (I shoot bipod in front, bag in back) often 0.3". I've experimented a lot with that rifle, and at one point I had it up to 200 shots without cleaning and it still grouped.

2) The hornady factory ammo was disaterously awful for me. 6-8" groups. I'm not kidding.

Just some things to consider...

bow shot,

6-8" groups? Do you mean .6-.8"? No offense, I am hoping for 6-8" groups. Would give me an excuse for my poor shooting skills, using factory Hornady 32g and 40 grain Vmax.

[tonyb]

thanks for all the really helpfull ideas and tips guys, its a good forum , i am going to persist with my 204 , like i said before.....i think it was a tad better after the bore clean job so i will give her another go , i mean it should be ok........all the load development and the bedding and trigger e.c.t. , surley Ruger barells cant be that bad, they may not be match grade stuff but ol Mr .Ruger has been knocking them out for a while now ,

keep you all informed.

[Sth Oz Dan]

Tony - I did some more tests this morning and started getting a little impatient toward the end coz the temp was getting above 30C and wind picking up. So I kinda rushed the last few shots and didn't let the barrel cool for long. These shots started spreading a bit wider.
Just a thought - once yours started shooting high and right, have you left it a while without adjusting scope, then shot again?