yea ive ask stupid ones before so

[scooterman27006]

ok i am trying to find a great load for 204 ruger and have had poor results so far and while i have been reading a lot i have come up with one question -- everybody wants the fastest with the most pressure from what i read - well i like to be conservative and safe so what i dont understand is - do you usually get the most accurate from the fast stuff that pushes the primer out and makes the bolt hard to open cause if that is the case then i think im going to sell all my stuff that needs the hot loads to shoot in a dime - i wanted to ask this because i have a few guns that shoot great and are loaded on the lower end of the powder load - also from what i have read ruger/hornady have their own powder mix for this 204 and it cant be duplicated - so whats the chance that reloaders might come up with an accurate load for this cartridge even if you dont get the speed -- if its not likely then i am going to stop trying - i assume that all the old loads for other calibers have been played with until a good combination was found without buying factory stuff- i feel sure ruger and hornady worked on this load for a long time but do you think eventually someone will find something or ruger/hornady will release what they use and put it on the market or will they keep it to themselves forever and charge the terrible price for the factory stuff

[skb2706]

At one time I was asking myself the same basic question you are trying to convey. I took mine straight to the "experts" I called Sierra and asked their tech what they found when doing load development for the .204.
First thing they told me was in their extensive testing that time after time in several different guns that H-322 at mid level ....short of their listed max was the most accurate load tested using their 32 gr. bullet and the competitors. I still have the printed response. Thus far I have used H-322 and RL-15 with great success but only with the light bullets and under max loads.

I have about 400 rds. loaded up as I type this....much to the dismay of several hundred CO prairie dogs come tomorrow morning.

[skb2706]

PS - That was far from being a stupid question by the way........

[scooterman27006]

sk i just posted this in another post but i will put it here as well:------ok here is my findings on what i have tried so far - i just left the bench few minutes ago - as far as the gun - its a ruger 77vt mkII stainless 204 caliber-- as far as grading how it shot - i dont know how to do it like a pro so i will use best good fair poor - simple but it get the message across- all were using once shot hornady factory once fired brass and 205m primers-- now 1st load hodgdon 322 -- 27.5 gr with 32gr v max and 2.27 col was fair---- AA2230 -26gr- with 40gr berger and 2.26 col a little better than fair ---- Varget 27.0 gr with 40gr berger and 2.26 col good --- 748 -27gr - 32 gr vmax and 2.30 col poor---- 748 -27gr- 40 berger and 2.26 col was fair - the plan is to use VARGET with 40 gr and play with the col and the powder amount will post back shortly-- i sure hope this helps a few

[scooterman27006]

having read this i believe i will try 322 again with the 32 and 40 's and add a little more powder- i am not sure of the max but i will look it up before i get started - sk what rifle are you using these 400 rounds in because it sounds like you have found a good load lol - and may i ask what col are you using and with which bullet - i will post my findings as soon as i get these loaded and used up - these that i have tried already were shot just a few hours ago and no wind whatsoever and very cloudy day and off of rest and bag so i feel pretty good about my shooting -- i sure hope this 322 shows some promise - would you go over much on the max - reason i ask i read where some were going over without any signs of problems

[skb2706]

scoot - I am shooting a TC G2 Contender carbine and can load the rounds as long.....OAL as the chamber will allow. I don't have that dimension here with me but I can get it.
I shoot tons of prairie dogs and I need a load that will work reliably with less concern for max speed but extreme accuracy.
As with all rounds that I handload I have found it to be totally unnecessary to load 'over max'. It serves no purpose and for high volume shooting it is wasteful. If I were shooting a few times a year I may be inclined to push it but like this last weekend I took out three rifles and fired nearly 600 total rounds at "reactive" targets. Not one time in three days did I feel like a grain or two more powder would have made any difference.
Thus far I have used 32 gr. V maxs and 32 gr. Blitz kings with equal success but have not tried any 40 gr. bullets at all.
Just for reference I did shoot my loads thru my Chrony and I get 4100 fps.

[scooterman27006]

skb i sure hope you post your col for me - reason i say this - in order for me to get the cartridge anywhere close to being long enough i had to use the 50 gr berger and then it was still too short - i will look the figures up and post but i couldnt even come close to what the stoney point was reading as far as how long they should be to even come close to the lands - and from what i read 204 just wont shoot the 50 gr stuff so i stuck with the 32 and 40 bullets and made them a tad longer than factory stuff - now this was the problem with the encore barrel and will be less of a problem with the ruger i believe but at least the ruger shoots fair unlike the encore 23" barrel (i believe 23") anyhow i havent tried the different amounts of powder or longer col yet but im off again this weekend so i will get to it