lets talk powder.....

Share information about reloading the .204 Ruger.
17hm2lover
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.204 Ruger Guns: Thompson Center 15" Bull Fluted

Re: lets talk powder.....

Post by 17hm2lover »

H335 & H4064.
Bill K
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.204 Ruger Guns: also now, a Savage switch bull barrel in 204R. 23 inch SS
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Re: lets talk powder.....

Post by Bill K »

And when will we see the rest of the story or question ?
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joelw1959
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.204 Ruger Guns: Ruger M77 MKII Hawkeye Predator

Re: lets talk powder.....

Post by joelw1959 »

I found some REL 7 locally from a guy that I'm trading some of my H335 to. I have a 35 Remington project going on at the moment and hoped to use the REL 7 on some lower velocity cast bullet loads, but am anxious to give it a try in my .204. I have a bunch of the 32 gr. VG, 32 & 40 gr. V-Max and 39 gr. BK to try. Wish me luck.

Anyone use Pro-Varmint with 39 or 40 gr. bullets?
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Rick in Oregon
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.204 Ruger Guns: Sako 75V, Cooper MTV, Kimber 84M, Cust M700 11 Twist
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Re: lets talk powder.....

Post by Rick in Oregon »

From dinking with 204 powders since the cartridge came out in all four of my 204's, I've found that RL-7 is best suited for the smaller 221FB case....221FB, 20VT, 300BLK and the like. It is a bit too fast for the larger case capacity of the 204R.

My best performance with both 32's and the 39SBK has all been with RL-10X, Benchmark and similar burning rate powders. H335 is excellent in the 204 by the way.
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Rick in Oregon
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joelw1959
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.204 Ruger Guns: Ruger M77 MKII Hawkeye Predator

Re: lets talk powder.....

Post by joelw1959 »

Thank you Rick!!
mike4aera
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.204 Ruger Guns: Rem 700 204 Ruger

Re: lets talk powder.....

Post by mike4aera »

H322 works very well with 40 grain Vmax in my Sav 110 Varminter. It meters very consistently through my Dillon 550.
Stugots
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.204 Ruger Guns: Built an AR15 with a 26" White Oak Armory
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Re: lets talk powder.....

Post by Stugots »

I settled in on H335 with great results on my .204.
Yes, I realize speling is a chalunge for sum of us...I am inkluded in that grup, so pleze fourgiv me. Ski-U-Mah!
Bill K
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.204 Ruger Guns: also now, a Savage switch bull barrel in 204R. 23 inch SS
Location: Lake Forest, Ca.

Re: lets talk powder.....

Post by Bill K »

I have some fine and accurate loads in my 204r's with CFE 223. :)
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TD-Max
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Re: lets talk powder.....

Post by TD-Max »

Rick in Oregon wrote: Mon Aug 01, 2022 9:36 am From dinking with 204 powders since the cartridge came out in all four of my 204's, I've found that RL-7 is best suited for the smaller 221FB case....221FB, 20VT, 300BLK and the like. It is a bit too fast for the larger case capacity of the 204R.

My best performance with both 32's and the 39SBK has all been with RL-10X, Benchmark and similar burning rate powders. H335 is excellent in the 204 by the way.
Boy it's quiet in here.

Well I was thinking of revisiting my loading and trying different powders, but RL-10X is just what I have been using. I never really did any formal ladder testing, just fell into a load that worked, but I think I'll run a ladder just for good measure. I've not annealed in the past so I had fairly erratic SD, but that didn't seem to affect accuracy at 100yds.

I'm surprised to see CFE223 come up as a recommended since it's so much slower

I saw on a FB group some yo-yo was talking up his load of 27.3gr *208 pushing 39SBK's at 4200+ Those stupid FB groups have no moderation so I suggested the party that was asking come here to look.
Sako VLSS Set Trigger in .204 with Leupold VXIII 4.5-14x50 LR
Sako VLSS Set Trigger in 22-250 with Swaro Z5 5-25x52 BRX and turret
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Tom Kat
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.204 Ruger Guns: CZ 527, Ruger American Predator in Magpul Hunter stock

Re: lets talk powder.....

Post by Tom Kat »

I have had good luck with 8208XBR. Im not sure of the burn rate...
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Jim White
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.204 Ruger Guns: CZ-527, Remington 700 VLTHSS, Cooper Model 21, Remington 40x

Re: lets talk powder.....

Post by Jim White »

I've had good luck with Reloader 15, H4895, Varget, Benchmark, Reloader 10x, 8208XBR and many others in similar burn ranges.
jsh
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.204 Ruger Guns: Encore, savage LRPV

Re: lets talk powder.....

Post by jsh »

I see a lot of reference to powders that have not been on the shelf or seen for 3-5 years. Not talking about finding NOS either, a gent found an 8lb of H4198 last week, happy for him but does the majority little good.

My question is do the VV powders fall into a fast to slow burn rate? I am seriously considering 133,135,140145,150 for some testing in things from 20 caliber to 6mm.

I have used 135 in years past and found it to act like a premium 4895. I was gifted a small dab of 120, used it and never persued it any further at the time.
skipper
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.204 Ruger Guns: Remington XR 100, Custom build Lilja/Panda/Shehane/Jewell
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Re: lets talk powder.....

Post by skipper »

I've used Vithavuori N-130 and N-133. Started using it because of rave reviews over on 6mmbr.com. I forgot to take into account that they were shooting 6mm BR or PPC. My rifle was 204R. Got much better results with Benchmark or Reloader 10X.
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Rick in Oregon
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Re: lets talk powder.....

Post by Rick in Oregon »

In regard to using VV powders, I found that N133 in the 223 using both 50gr and 40gr bullets for chuck and rat shooting gave me the smallest groups I've ever fired in those 223 rifles. One-hole groups in the sub .2 and .1 realm......fantastic!

Only caveat is the cost of the stuff at over $80/lb now, when I'm used to paying $25 or less pre Bidenomics. Not having a vast disposable income for such things, paying that inflated price for powder to shoot varmints is just not in the cards for me when a pound of H335 or the like can be had for much less, and bring almost the same results....almost.

We've got some very good choices in regard to available powders, but it pains me to pay the price for VV powders for what I do. I've still got a jug of N133 on the shelf for that time I want to impress myself (or my BIL :wink: ) with a target worthy of bragging rights in our small group. I wonder if the price of components will ever return to what we now fondly recall as "normal"?
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Rick in Oregon
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Oregon, East of the Cascades - Where Common Sense Still Prevails

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jsh
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.204 Ruger Guns: Encore, savage LRPV

Re: lets talk powder.....

Post by jsh »

Rick, I have not seen $80 lb VV powder. I just ordered some N150 and it was cheaper than a lot of the other powders. In years past I thought VV powders expensive, by today’s standard it is a bargain and seems more available. LT30 and 32 prices have went way up.

I am just pretty PO’d about the availability because of the “green” tree huggers. They are fine with it if they don’t see it on tiktok or YouTube. Do it over seas and pump out more crap than we ever did hear, but it’s not in my backyard it didn’t happen attitude. Sorry for the rant.

Dropping old stand bys, coming up with “new”, then dropping those a few years later.

My PCP air rifle looks better every day.
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