A 204 Dilemma

[sundance]

Noted. Thanks. I've destroyed prairie dogs fireforming 223's into 223 AI's at 3850 fps. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be somewhere between there and 3950 with the 204R but I am going to let the target tell me. Plus, the real summer heat hasn't arrived yet so temp sensitive powders have to be carefully approached. We will see how it shakes out. What would you call a good speed for the 39/40s? What powder did you use for your 32's?

8208 worked its magic for me on that load.

 

[searcher]

It surely does pay to work up slowly and REALLY look at your cases for any signs of over-pressure as you go with the 20P. The pressure signs appear rather suddenly - so best not to jump in 1/2 grain increments or more when finding the "top". Also - this is a classic cartridge that is not kind if one substitutes Military brass like LC at your old "high test" level. The differences in pressure are SUBSTANTIALLY greater than if one were to do that in, say, a .223 or .308. The same holds true for temperature change. Not a cartridge to load right close to max in winter and be surprised in summer. I began using Tula or Wolf primers almost exclusively in my 20P because they are pretty tough and I find significantly less bolt face marring from gas leakage.