204 ruger criterion match chamber

[Mt.Boy]

I just picked up a used older savage 12-fv-s in 204 ruger. I am thinking of changing the barrel on it to a criterion prefit from northland shooter supply. I talk to them and they offer a sammi chamber and a match chamber. The sammi chamber has .100 freebore and the match has .035 freebore. Anyone one have any suggestions on which one might be better. And is anyone using a criterion 204. Thanks

 

[Mark M.]

.035

 

[Mt.Boy]

.035

Thanks for the info

 

[dfrosch]

Yep, match.

 

[Ruddy]

I did the match on mine, shoot mainly 35 & 40 Berger’s with no problem

 

[Mt.Boy]

I did the match on mine, shoot mainly 35 & 40 Berger’s with no problem

Thanks for the info. Are u happy with the criterion

 

[Ruddy]

Very happy with it. I have tried multiple bullets and powder even the HSM factory loads with the Berger’s and have yet to find something it didn’t like.

 

[Mt.Boy]

Thank you for the info!!

 

[RegionRat]

I have found 204 Ruger to be very forgiving to jump in both bolt and AR platforms. None of the ones I have loaded for have been picky at all and they all did fine with both 39 Sierra and 40 VMax.

Maybe I have just been lucky across several brands and platforms, but I look at 204 Ruger the same way I look at 6 BR... pretty easy to develop and not jump sensitive.

For logistics reasons on PD trips, I wanted to test ammo between guns and found that ammo loaded long for bolt guns performed well in a WOA AR platform being single fed because it was loaded too long for a magazine, and ammo loaded at 2.250" for the WOA shot great in the bolt guns. WOA ARs used a long jump and so did the Rem 700 bolt guns. My experience is that if you load quality ammo at the right speed, that 204 Ruger will shoot very well even when the jump is not optimized.

I would ask whoever designed that "match" reamer what bullet and seating jump they were intending to use.

 

[Mt.Boy]

I have found 204 Ruger to be very forgiving to jump in both bolt and AR platforms. None of the ones I have loaded for have been picky at all and they all did fine with both 39 Sierra and 40 VMax.

Maybe I have just been lucky across several brands and platforms, but I look at 204 Ruger the same way I look at 6 BR... pretty easy to develop and not jump sensitive.

For logistics reasons on PD trips, I wanted to test ammo between guns and found that ammo loaded long for bolt guns performed well in a WOA AR platform being single fed because it was loaded too long for a magazine, and ammo loaded at 2.250" for the WOA shot great in the bolt guns. WOA ARs used a long jump and so did the Rem 700 bolt guns. My experience is that if you load quality ammo at the right speed, that 204 Ruger will shoot very well even when the jump is not optimized.

I would ask whoever designed that "match" reamer what bullet and seating jump they were intending to use.

Thanks for the info

 

[jepp2]

The sammi chamber has .100 freebore and the match has .035 freebore. Anyone one have any suggestions on which one might be better.

I tend to shoot the lighter bullets more (32 and 35 gr). I find with these bullets and the 0.100" freebore, you can't even get close to the lands. When seating long (about 0.100" bullet seating depth), I had a primer fire but not light off the powder, but it shoved the bullet into the lands. Not good.

So when I had mine rebarreled I went with zero freebore and am very happy with it.

When I spoke with John at WOA about why the standard freebore was so much in the 204 Ruger, he explained it got set since it was a high pressure round to get the bullet time before it hit the lands. And he also echoed what has been said about they tend to shoot well with jump.

My smith told me that the Remington twists might be different than stated. I measure my VS SF II and found for a 12T it was actually a 13.25T, and my VLS for a 12T was actually a 9.5T. Once I knew this, I rebarreled the VS SF and only used the 39 and 40's in the VLS.

I did record my touch measurements and will share those. The top line is zero freebore, the bottom is 0.100" for OAL with these bullets.

 

[RussellJ]

I just picked up a used older savage 12-fv-s in 204 ruger. I am thinking of changing the barrel on it to a criterion prefit from northland shooter supply. I talk to them and they offer a sammi chamber and a match chamber. The sammi chamber has .100 freebore and the match has .035 freebore. Anyone one have any suggestions on which one might be better. And is anyone using a criterion 204. Thanks

I would go with the .035" freebore. I have a factory Kimber 84M 204R rifle. To touch the lands of the rifling with a 40-grain V-Max bullet, the bullet is barely in the neck of the case. The 204R is a long cartridge for standard magazines. Below is a case cut out to show the seating depth on a factory bullet 204R resulting in loosing case capacity. I like the 20 Practical cartridge better do to not having seat the bullet so deep do to magazine length restrictions. Both cartridges below are the same cartridge overall length.

 

[Mt.Boy]

I tend to shoot the lighter bullets more (32 and 35 gr). I find with these bullets and the 0.100" freebore, you can't even get close to the lands. When seating long (about 0.100" bullet seating depth), I had a primer fire but not light off the powder, but it shoved the bullet into the lands. Not good.

So when I had mine rebarreled I went with zero freebore and am very happy with it.

When I spoke with John at WOA about why the standard freebore was so much in the 204 Ruger, he explained it got set since it was a high pressure round to get the bullet time before it hit the lands. And he also echoed what has been said about they tend to shoot well with jump.

My smith told me that the Remington twists might be different than stated. I measure my VS SF II and found for a 12T it was actually a 13.25T, and my VLS for a 12T was actually a 9.5T. Once I knew this, I rebarreled the VS SF and only used the 39 and 40's in the VLS.

I did record my touch measurements and will share those. The top line is zero freebore, the bottom is 0.100" for OAL with these bullets.
View attachment 1236417

Great info thanks

 

[Cowmooch]

I bought one from them 4 years ago, match barrel 11 twist. Crazy accurate

 

[Mt.Boy]

I bought one from them 4 years ago, match barrel 11 twist. Crazy accurate

Thanks

 

[Mt.Boy]

I bought one from them 4 years ago, match barrel 11 twist. Crazy accurate

Thanks

 

[varget204]

Get the Match, have a LT Varmint & a Varmint Match ,they Both shoot Bugholes both 26" 1-11 twist w39, 40, 45 grain bullets

 

[Savageseven]

does anyone use the 32 grain with the 1-11 twist in the 204 match ?

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

No question on your choices 0.035, 1/11 twist is as slow as I would go. But I don't shoot many 32 gr. My TC factory is 1/10, so I ordered my 20p 1/10 also.

 

[B23]

I tend to shoot the lighter bullets more (32 and 35 gr). I find with these bullets and the 0.100" freebore, you can't even get close to the lands. When seating long (about 0.100" bullet seating depth), I had a primer fire but not light off the powder, but it shoved the bullet into the lands. Not good.

So when I had mine rebarreled I went with zero freebore and am very happy with it.

When I spoke with John at WOA about why the standard freebore was so much in the 204 Ruger, he explained it got set since it was a high pressure round to get the bullet time before it hit the lands. And he also echoed what has been said about they tend to shoot well with jump.

My smith told me that the Remington twists might be different than stated. I measure my VS SF II and found for a 12T it was actually a 13.25T, and my VLS for a 12T was actually a 9.5T. Once I knew this, I rebarreled the VS SF and only used the 39 and 40's in the VLS.

I did record my touch measurements and will share those. The top line is zero freebore, the bottom is 0.100" for OAL with these bullets.
View attachment 1236417

And I thought the freebore in my CZ 527 Varmint 204 was excessive.

For comparison, in my CZ 527 204, touch with a 32gr Vmax was 2.408. If touch in a .100 freebore chamber is 2.437 w/32gr Hornady then the FB in my CZ must have been around .070. I don't recall if I ever measured the actual twist rate of that gun if I did I don't remember and I don't have anything about it in my notes but per factory spec they're supposed to be 12tw. I will say it shot the factory Hornady 32gr ammo extremely well and the OAL on that stuff is pretty short at 2.249 which is jumping a long ass way.

I have a Tikka Compact model 204 now and per factory spec it too is supposed to be a 12tw but I've never actually measured it and I haven't measured the OAL to touch in that gun yet. It'll be interesting to see what the OAL to touch is with my Tikka compared to the CZ and Rem.