Powder for the 204

[OldSchool]

I have been using reloader 10x for a little while now and love the speed and accuracy its giving. Wondered if anyone has found a powder that gives equal speed but a bit better lot to lot uniformity. I only have one more pound of that lot of 10x and I am getting worried. I am loading my moly coated 32's to about 4150 and the 39's to about 3900. Any advice would be great I don't want to spend my whole life punching paper load testing instead of punching groundhogs.
Thanks

 

[Silverfox]

OldSchool-- I switched from Rel 10X BECAUSE of the inconsistency of that powder from lot to lot. The powder I am using with my 39 gr. Sierra bullets now is H4895. The load I'm using is 0.3 of a grain over the max listed by Hodgdon for the 40 gr. V-Max bullets so if you are going to try H4895, start out well below that and work your way up slowly.

You may also want to try N-540 or even Varget. I have had good results with both those powders with the heavier bullets in several small caliber rifles, including the .204 Ruger. Heck, even AA2230 and/or AA2520 have worked good in my Savage 12VLP. I'm currently using 27.3 gr. of AA2520 with the 40 gr. Nosler BT in my .204 Ruger and getting excellent results.

 

[OldSchool]

Silverfox,
What kind of speed are you getting with the AA2520 and 40's and also how temperature sensitive is it?
Thanks

 

[Silverfox]

OldSchool--I am getting about 3,850 fps at 12 feet from the muzzle with my load of 27.3 gr. of AA2529 and the 40 gr. Nosler BTs with my Savage 12VLP with a 26" barrel. This translates into approximately 3,869 fps at the muzzle. I use a Beta Master Chrony and some folks say this chronograph shows readings that are 20 to 50 fps faster than speeds clocked with Oehler 35s????

You can click on the following link to the 204Ruger.com reloading data information that is specifically for use of the Accurate Arms powders in the .204 Ruger caliber.

http://www.rugerhunting.com/204_data_accurate.php

I have no clue about how sensitive this powder is to temperature changes, mainly because my load testing has been done when the temperatures have been within 10 to 11 degrees from one testing day to another,52 on the coolest day and 63 on the warmest). The day I was out shooting prairie dogs with these bullets, the temperature was about 77º and an inspection of the primers, bolt lift, primer pockets after resizing, etc., didn't turn up any excessive pressure indications, but then this load is 0.2 gr. under the maximum load listed by Accurate Arms.

AA2520 is a double-base medium-slow burning smokeless ball-type powder. If you need any further technical information, I would suggest that you go to:

http://www.accuratepowder.com/ContactUs.htm

and shoot them your questions.

When I exhaust my supply of AA2520, I'll be switching over to a load of 27.6 gr. of H4895. That load is 0.1 gr. under the maximum load listed by Hodgdon for the 40 gr. V-Max bullets, BUT, make sure you start lower and work your way up slowly if you use this powder. My average velocity at 12 feet from the muzzle was 3,918 fps on May 12, 2006, when the temp was at 62 degrees and and it averaged 3,917 fps on May 25, 2006, when the temp was at 58 degrees. I have never had a problem with temperature sensitivity,that I know of anyway) with H4895 even with loads well above Hodgdon's listed maximums. The preceeding statement pertains to my Savage 12VLP and ONLY my Savage 12VLP. Your mileage and experience may differ considerably!!!!