Vihtavuori N140 and .204 reloads

[radshooter]

I had a reply to a post elsewhere implying N140 is a great powder for .204 reloads...anyone have any luck with it? If so, with which bullets. Thanks for any input.

 

[Laurie]

Radshooter,

that was probably me. I used N140 and the Berger 40gn HP to take the UKBRA 100yd Factory Sporter title last year in a Savage 12 LRPV. Brass was either Nosler Custom or Norma (I prefer the latter); primers CCI-BR4. The load which worked in this rifle was 26.4gn, a low load that wouldn't make the Nosler cases obturate fully in the chamber, only 3,405 fps. This shot from low 0.2s" - 0.4" on a 100yd BR range beset by tricky winds.

N140 also worked well with 32 and 40gn V-Max in my rifle, smallest groups with the 40 again very low - 26.1gn at 3,436 fps. 32gn V-Max with 27.5-29.0gn N140 ran at 0.4 - 0.6" and 3,635 fps up to 3,910 fps. N540 28.4-29.5gn larger groups 0.5-0.7" (32gn V-Max); N530 24.8-26.0gn + 40gn V-Max reasonable at 0.4-0.75" in strong gusting crosswinds. Only one set of chrono readings due to poor light - 25.4gn 3,716 fps 31ES.

In my Savage at at any rate, N140 has proven itself the best all-round powder for grouping size alone, which is what you said you're interested in on the other post. The smallest group obtained ever was 40gn V-Max and H322 in the 1s, but I couldn't repeat it, so believe it was a fluke.

Generally, this rifle shoots the Bergers, especially the 40gn HP better than V-Maxes. Extreme spreads are large - .204 rarely gives small strings. It often produces several shots with identical or near identical readings, then one way out. I haven't sussed out why. However, get a sweet spot and it'll group OK.

Laurie,
York, England

 

[radshooter]

Laurie-
Thanks for all the info. I have a Copper .204 and am just starting to find some "sweet spots" myself. Loaded some 32 GR Sierra Blitzkings and got consistent groups in the .5 range with H335 (seemed to do better than H322). I may have to try the N140 myself. Also, I am impressed how well you rifle shoots with the 40 GR Bergers...Berger great bullet but what I have read and been told by some bullet makers is that a lower wt bullet should shoot tighter grps...but, as I am sure you know, every rifle is different!
Alex

 

[Laurie]

When .204 rifles first appeared over here, many people also found that 32s gave better groups than 40s, and there was a suggestion that the 1-12" factory twist rate might be marginal for the longer / heavier bullets. My Savage definitely prefers the heavier bullets, although it has shot many impressive groups with 30s and 32s too - it just seems a little harder work to get them to group well.

Asking sporting shooters what they use, H335 and H BLC(2) are popular here giving good enough accuracy and high MVs. I seem to remember some .204 aficionado calling H335 the powder of choice for the cartridge. I tried both Hodgdon spherical numbers with the 40gn V-Max and H335 gave very acceptable results, 5 X 5-round batches covering 25.4-26.8gn giving 0.3-0.8" groups and MVs peaking in the mid 3,700s. BLC(2) gave the promised MVs but larger groups from 0.6" - 1.0", and primers started to crater with the charge weight that gave 3,779 fps even though they went on up to 3,871 fps, the highest 40gn MV I've seen with the cartridge in this rifle.

(Factory 40gn Hornady 'Varmint Express' averaged 3,645 fps in it, 200 fps short of the claimed velocity and grouped into 0.4-0.8"; the 32gn version produced the full promised velocity averaging right on 4,100 fps up to 4,120 depending on ambient temperature with very consistent 0.5-0.6" groups - really quite remarkable for off the shelf ammunition. The 32gn version cratered primers quite badly in the Savage.)

After initial interest in the cartridge in the UK, its following is now modest. With no equivalent to prairie dog shooting here, most fox shooters have either stuck to, or returned to, the tried and trusted .223 Rem and .22-250 Rem. If they are of an experimenting / custom rifle bent, they'll try PPCs, .22BR,.243 Win with light bullets etc. There is a widespread perception that twenty calibre bullets are more wind affected than .22s, and several former .204 users have quoted that to me as a reason for returning to .22 or 6mm calibres.

Laurie,
York, England