35 Bergers over Benchmark

[skipper]

I'm loaded up and ready to go to the range again. I'm trying to get into the 0's and I had a really good trip last time using Benchmark. I think I'll make it this trip. The jury is still out though. The bullets below are 35 Bergers loaded .015 into the lands. I weight sorted all the bullets and then compared the bearing surfaces. That sorted them into another grouping. I don't know which has more importance, weight or bearing surface but I went with bearing surface. The brass is Norma that has been fired twice and fully prepped, weight sorted, trimmed, uniformed and the whole nine yards. I ran them through a .223 neck sizing bushing to tighten up the neck tension a little more. Last time I sized them with a .224 bushing and the velocities were much more consistent. I was afraid that some of the jacket material was going to be scraped off so I ran the brass through the chamfer tool again. That did the trick. The primers are CCI BR-4's. I used a Sinclair primer pocket uniformer to get all the primer pockets the correct depth. I don't know why Norma makes their primer pockets so shallow but you have to ream them out or the primers stick out past the case head. I used my Redding Competition seating die to seat the bullets and the run out is almost nonexistent. I did encounter a problem with the first couple of rounds. My shell holder wasn't clean and was causing a seating problem. I cleaned the shell holder and the problem disappeared. I am considering a K&M arbor press with Wilson Dies but I haven't taken the plunge yet. The Redding/RCBS combination seems to be doing a good job as is.

I'll post the results and pictures when I get back from the range this weekend. Keep your fingers crossed. I don't want to sound the alarm too quickly but, I think I've found THE load for these Bergers.

[Lee C.]

Skipper, Good luck on your load with the 35gr bergers. I'll be looking for your pictue's of your test. They did real good in my savage and now i'm working on the 40gr. bergers. I got them shooting in the low 2s but i'm hopeing to get them in the ones like the 35gr bullets. Any ways heres hopeing thing go good at the range for ya.

[acloco]

Too bad the Bergers are cha-ching in the money department. My 204 is a one holer with them.

Probably should just buckle down and buy a bundle. ugh....

[Bubba]

Skipper,
How many rounds are you firing for your one's and two's?

So far my best five shot group is .286 w/ 39 SBK's and H4895.

Keep shootin' and be sure and let the rest of us know your results with the Berger bullet.

Bub

[Ryan S Albright]

Go Skipper Go!

[Hawkeye Joe]

Anybody see Skipper??? He sure knows how to keep us hangin

[Gmoney]

Skipper,

My load is 26.4 of Benchmark over the 35 Berger....
Very accurate and has killed DRT on everything I have shot with it including coyotes...

By the way I live in Houston now too having just made the move from College Station...

[skipper]

First of all, let me say thanks for your patients. I didn’t mean to leave everyone hanging. I just wanted to be absolutely certain of my results before I posted. I actually shot my first group in the 0’s a couple of weekends ago. Just one group though, while load developing, so I was very apprehensive about saying anything because it could have been a fluke. I wanted to make sure the rifle could do it again before I started jumping up and down. This last weekend I did it again. Now, I’m sure it wasn’t a fluke. One group measured .288 and the other a whopping .272. When I subtract .196 for the actual hole size that leaves group sizes of .092 and .076. I don’t have any other way of measuring my groups so these are probably not perfectly scored targets. To me, it doesn't matter whether or not these groups are perfectly scored. They really impressed me.

I was shooting the 35 gr. Bergers with 26.4 - 26.5 gr. of Benchmark, Norma brass and CCI BR-4 primers. I did increase the neck tension from the .224 bushing to the .223 bushing and increase the seating depth so that the bullets were jammed into the lands .015. (Thanks, Mr. GH Jacobs) That helped reduce my ES but, it’s still in the twenties. I can’t explain why a round with an ES in the twenties can shoot so well but, it does. The average velocity is not that fast at 3842 fps but, the accuracy is there. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that the .204 Ruger isn’t accurate. It may not win a benchrest competition but, it can sure make a good showing. I’m positive that someone who is better at doping the wind could get better results than I can. My idea of doping the wind is to sit at the bench and wait for it to die.

I owe thanks to so many of you on the .204um. I almost lost faith in this project several times. After my first outing with RE-10X that only produced groups in the 1’s I got real nervous. That is my XR-100’s favorite powder. The switch to Benchmark really tightened up the groups. (Thanks, jo191145) I still want to find a powder that will produce the same groups with a little better velocity. I intend to keep load testing to see if H4895 does the trick. I really want to thank Stick of SG&Y Precision Rifles. The workmanship of my rifle is second to none. I guess I’m not really qualified to say that since this is my first 100% custom built rifle but, I’ll say it anyway. Thanks, Stick.

If I had any advice to give, it would be to get a good barrel and reamer. My XR-100 shot worse the closer I loaded to the lands. With this Lilja barrel, it is just the opposite. The bullets like to be jammed hard into the lands. So now I wonder why so many manufacturers cut their chambers and throats so long with this cartridge. My rifle does have all the right parts and was put together by the best but, I will be putting the same Lilja barrel cut with the same Dave Kiff Match .204 reamer on my XR-100 when it’s time.

O.K. I’ll shut up now. I’m sure ya’ll are getting tired of me and my quest on this varmint hunting forum.

[Hawkeye Joe]

Vey nice Skipper!!! How many shots per group?

[skipper]

That's five shots per group. On the first one I had a hard time pulling the trigger on the last shot. Ever been there?

[Hawkeye Joe]

AAHH, yes sir. Hopefully I'll be there tomorrow night .Finally got my key card for my new club.

[jo191145]

Wow I appreciate the thanks Skipper but Benchmark is not new and your the guy who put the cash on the line and pulled the trigger. And yes #5 is a real gut wrencher isn't it. Good Shooting!!! I'm sure theres plenty more where that came from.

Good to see this forum up and running again. I'm waiting so patiently for a 8lb jug of Viht 135 to arrive so I can get back in the game. No reloading, no 204m, I've been relegated to watching TV

So 3842fps is slow As Glen once said the target don't care, its dead as soon as the staples go through it. That cracks me up.
So Skipper you want speed and to be competitive in a full blown BR match ahem ahem Viht135 ahem Viht135
If you happen to see a jug in a gunshop you might consider it. Its got me dreaming of making Tony Boyer sweat as I shoot on the bench next to him with my Sav 12

Keep us updated on your developments. Theres no varmints in CT.

[WrzWaldo]

That is quite impressive skipper! Not only do you have the hardware to make those groups, but your shooting skills seem to be in order as well. Well done!

P.S. I finally picked up a pound of 10x.

[acloco]

Speechless. Good work!!

[Lee C.]

Great shooting Skipper,