204 ruger

[maddysdad]

what are your faverate loads for groundhog hunting.also are you shooting a custom rifle or a factory one

 

[just_jon]

29.0 grains IMR 8208 XBR with 31 grain hammer hunters. I’m running them at 4,345 fps in a 26” TC Encore.

 

[Rick in Oregon]

One of my chuck rifles in 204 is a Cooper MTV, all factory except for a Jard 10oz trigger. It shoots well for a factory rifle, so chucks here try to avoid it. I don't shoot much paper, but here's what it did during load development:



This rifle mainly gets used for ground squirrels in the alfalfa, and to that end, she does purty well:



When the velocity is over 4,000 fps, the results are always "juicy".......

 

[Hotshot]

I've owned more than a dozen 204's and helped friends with a couple dozen more. Seems like the 39 Sierra is the most accurate bullet in nearly all of them especially 12 twist. I always rebarrel with 11 twist. Thankfully I have a good stash of 39's but as hard as they are to obtain these days, I always try the 40vmax first. If they shoot well I use them because of good availability and economy. Over the years I've used R10X, H4895, H335, Benchmark, IMR8208 with great results. A few years ago I scored a great deal a large lot of Tac. It's been a great powder for the 204R. I seldom load to max. The last half grain to reach max doesn't give you much velocity. If you have a good load for 32 grain bullets you probably won't notice the difference out to 400 yards.

 

[17VLD]

Gold right there^^^

 

[17VLD]

I have 2 XR100s and a 1B in 204 and really like em.Benchmark and Rel10x work well for me with the 39BK and the 40 VMax.Rick Its always a pleasure to see pictures of your Coopers in their appropriate environment. I’ve had 13 small caliber Coopers over the years and never wound up with a 20 Tac or 204, maybe one day.Wish I had been more motivated to look back when they were more available.Hindsight is one of my best acquired skills, glad I was fortunate enough to latch on to my 17Jav,17HeBee,19-223, and two 20VTs. Shooting small caliber Coopers or any other small caliber is certainly a worthwhile pursuit and I’m glad we have at least one legitimate factory 20 caliber offering.Long live the 204.

 

[brokeasajoke]

Rem VSSF II Leupold 8.5-24x50. Using 35 gr berger FB and varget. I have some 39gr Sierra I want to try.

 

[ohlongarmisle]

what are your faverate loads for groundhog hunting.also are you shooting a custom rifle or a factory one

Thompson Center Venture,1/10 twist rate,1pound trigger done by Mccarbo,my go to round,Fiocchi Extrema BT,40 grain at 3700 fps ,0.275 BC wind bucker for sure ,5 shots at 100 yards. For less than $500 i'll live with it.

 

[JB10]

Ruger american predator. 35gr berger in hornady brass. Federal 205 primers. H4895 at 28.0gr charge. Shoots about 3,880fps.

 

[Jrjones]

24.6 R10x 39gr sierra BK. Ruger 77 varmint target grey. Point and shoot affair! Any living creatures that can be classified as varmints are In very serious trouble if I have a few seconds to rest and hold on em. Crows come down in pieces! Chucks are bang flop!

 

[RegionRat]

My answer would be just like Hotshot's but I will add that I like the Hornady 40 VMax and 39 Sierra too.

There has been some dry spells to find Sierra 39 lately, but the Hornady 40 VMax has been easy to get and works very well for us.

I have also run bulk varmint ammo through the progressive using ball powders like CFE223 and H335 with surprisingly good results. Not the same performance level as the trickled extruded powders, but inside 450 yards in an AR and no issues on small prairie dogs or sage rats.

For the heavy bolt guns, I like the temp stable extruded powders in order to keep the DOPE stable no matter what happens to the weather. The H4895, Varget, etc., are more stable in those situations where you don't get sighers. Those loads get trickled to keep the velocity tolerance tight.

 

[Hal]

I just bought 2 boxes of 39 gr .20 Sierra at a local store. Maybe they made a few.

Hal

 

[RegionRat]

I just bought 2 boxes of 39 gr .20 Sierra at a local store. Maybe they made a few.

Hal

Yes. There was a drop of these a few months ago, but that came after a long dry spell.