The gunpowder that Hornaday uses to get their high velocities with the .204 is from a company called Primex, and the powder is called SMP 746. Has anyone out there heard about this stuff being offered to the public yet or about a competeing company making a knockoff or reverse engineered version?

I bet if you try some VihtaVouri N130 you can exceed their velocities. I tried it in my 22.250 and was very surprised how easy it was to get a 40 grain BT to +4k fps.

Thanks, I'll check their website and see if they have any pressure tested data for the .204. I have used the old methods of working up loads but am now a bit leary of them. BTW, what king of varmints do you blast in your part of the worls with that 22-250 of yours?

Here is some load data from Walt Berger of Berger bullets (sorry about the formatting):

You can download it in a Word Doc format here
http://www.reeldeahl.com/berger204.doc

204 Ruger
Bullet Powder Start Load Approximate Start Velocity Max Load Approximate Max Velocity Max Load Density
30 Grain H4895 19.5 3479 23.1 3980 91.7%
30 Grain VIHT N133 21.5 3321 25.7 3896 98.5%
30 Grain IMR 3031 23.0 3474 27.0 4074 103.6%
30 Grain NORMA 201 23.0 3305 27.2 3921 101.5%
30Grain WIN 748 24.0 3370 28.3 3994 96.5%
30 Grain BL-C(2) 24.5 3337 28.8 3952 97.2%
30 Grain H335 23.5 3359 27.8 3967 93.8%
30 Grain TAC 23.5 3346 27.8 3952 97.2%


Bullet Powder Start Load Approximate Start Velocity Max Load Approximate Max Velocity Max Load Density
35 Grain H4895 22.0 3158 25.7 3646 97.2%
35 Grain VIHT N133 21.0 3209 24.7 3693 96.7%
35 Grain IMR 3031 22.0 3306 25.8 3852 101.0%
35 Grain NORMA 201 22.0 3144 26.1 3725 99.0%
35 Grain WIN 748 23.0 3214 27.2 3803 94.6%
35 Grain BL-C(2) 23.5 3186 27.6 3752 95.0%
35 Grain AA 2495 22.0 3197 26.2 3819 102.5%
35 Grain TAC 22.5 3185 26.6 3744 94.9%


Bullet Powder Start Load Approximate Start Velocity Max Load Approximate Max Velocity Max Load Density
40 Grain H4895 21.0 2988 24.8 3475 95.3%
40 Grain VIHT N133 20.0 3029 23.7 3496 94.2%
40 Grain IMR 3031 21.0 3137 24.8 3660 98.6%
40 Grain NORMA 201 21.5 3050 25.2 3556 97.4%
40 Grain WIN 748 22.5 3168 26.2 3624 92.6%
40 Grain H414 24.0 2917 28.3 3484 100.0%
40 Grain AA 2495 21.5 3112 25.1 3619 99.7%
40 Grain VIHT N135 21.5 3054 25.5 3577 101.3%

Thank you for that. Much appreciated. I was hoping to be able to replicate factory ballistics, so far only one source did that and the loads were not pressure tested. I would think that by now one of the manufacturers would have reverse engineered something that would duplicate the Primex powder used in Hornadays factory loads. Either Brian Pierce or Stan Tronziec (I forget which) reached 4150 with 32 gr, bullet using h4895 and 3950 with 40 grain bullet using 335. Has anyone out there been succsesful hitting these numbers safely?

safariman-- I heard about the Primex company being the manufacturer of the powder Hornady used in their factory loads and that the powder was a mixture of two different powders. I also heard, just recently, that some company is working on manufacturing a powder specifically for handloaders of the .204 Ruger caliber that will give us "safe" loads AND the higher velocities.

As for some of the powders we have now, here is a link to a Web site that specializes in the .204 Ruger caliber information. I have copied the URL of the Web page that lists powder and bullet company load data hyperlinks.

.204 Load Data at RugerHunting.com

The information provided for the Berger bullets is very interesting, but from my experience with my Savage 12VLP in .204 Ruger, the loads for Hodgdon powder listed are well below the max loads listed by Hodgdon. For example, the max load Berger lists for the 35 gr. FB HP bullet with H4895 is 25.7 gr. and Hodgdon lists the max load at 28.2 gr. The Berger load is 9.7% below the Hodgdon load. And, for the 40 gr. projectile Berger lists 24.8 gr. of H4895 as the max load and Hodgdon lists 27.7 gr. as the max with that powder. The Berger load is 10.47% below the max listed by Hodgdon.

I believe the max pressure level for the .204 Ruger is right around the 57,000 to 58,000 PSI mark and most of the max loads you see listed at the Hodgdon site are below that pressure mark or right at it.

I contacted Mr. Don Golembieski at VihtaVuori and asked if they had done any testing of their powders with the .204 Ruger and the only powder he had load data for in that caliber was N140. He listed as follows:

32 gr. Hornady V-Max with N140
Start 25.3 gr. for 3,600 fps
Max 29.2 gr. for 4,200 fps

40 gr. Hornady V-Max with N140
Start 25.0 gr. for 3,480 fps
Max 27.3 gr. for 3,800 fps

I also asked him about using N540 with the 40 gr. projectile in the .204 Ruger and he guesstimated these numbers. These N540 load HAVE NOT been factory tested!!!

40 gr. Hornady V-Max with N540
Start 25.0 gr. for 3,400 fps
Max 28.3 gr. for ???? fps BUT the pressuer he guesstimated for this max load was 64,229 PSI--WAY above where the PSI numbers should be.

I have used H4895 with the 32 gr. V-Max and the 35 gr. Berger FB HP and although I loaded a wee bit above the max, I did not see any signs of excessive pressure. I did achieve velocities very near the 4,225 fps that was hyped by Ruger and Hornady when this rifle first came out in early 2004. As a matter of fact, I shot several loads before I had access to any of the load data from any of the powder and bullet companies, that exceeded the 4,225 fps speed. Most of these loads did not show any signs of excess pressure either.

Last summer, 2004, I was using a load of 29.3 gr. of H4895 (this is .3 gr. over max) and shooting over a Beta Master Chrony I was clocking anywhere from 4,218 fps up to 4,253 fps. I used this load for prairie dogs and two early coyotes.

This spring I took some of my loads from last summer to the rifle range and fired them over the chronograph again on May 20, 2005, and the temperature at the range during this test was 80º. I shot the first 3-shot group and averaged 4,275 fps at 12.5 feet from the muzzle. That increase in speed from what I experienced last summer surprised me, so I let the barrel cool off and then fired another 3-shot group which average 4,281 fps. The first group measured .374" and the second group measured .583".

On June 12, 2005, with the temperature at 75º, I fired 6 shots over the chornograph and the actual muzzle velocity of those 6 shots was 4,300.8 fps!!! I knew I had better back down on my powder charge or I'd be burning up this accurate barrel of mine. Shots 1, 4, 5, and 6 measured .625", but shots 2 and 3 were low and slightly left of that cluster, thus opening up the 6-shot group to 1.25".

Since that date, I have backed off on the powder charge to 28.5 gr. of H4895. I also moved the bullet a wee bit closer to the lands by .015". My muzzle velocity is now 4,173 fps and groups are in the 1/2" range.

I began testing the 32 gr. Sierra bullets late this summer and am using 28.5 gr. of H4895 and another load of 27.7 gr. of Benchmark. I am getting some groups in the .1s, .2s and .3s with the Benchmark load and groups in the high .3s, .4s and .5s with the H4895 load.

I hope you find a load that will work for you. If so, please post what is working for you.

quote:

Originally posted by safariman:
Thanks, I'll check their website and see if they have any pressure tested data for the .204. I have used the old methods of working up loads but am now a bit leary of them. BTW, what king of varmints do you blast in your part of the worls with that 22-250 of yours?

I shoot coyotes, bobcats and foxes. Thats about the only thing around my area that I feel comfortable shooting with a small cal.