32 gr. Seirra Blitz King or 32 gr. V-Max
27.1 gr. Bench Mark
once fired Hornady brass COL:2.250"
CCI 400 small rifle primers.
Sorry no chrony
Sub MOA groups all day, out of stock model 11,Savage with Accu-Trigger and 24" barrel.

Brent Duvall: Thanks for the load recommendation for the nifty 204 Ruger cartridge. I bought two new 204's last summer and fall and I have just been thrilled with them! I am happy the Sierras are working for you as I was using the 35 gr. Bergers in my 204's and they were a bit pricey!!!
I found 2 boxes of the 32 gr. Sierras at a store in Idaho a couple weeks ago and I am sure antsy to try them out. I did go on a three day Varmint Hunt with two friends from the coast last week. They both had 204's and they both were shooting handloads using the 32 gr. Sierras! It was absolutely amazing to watch that bullet perform in the Colony Varmint fields! They had both raved about the accuracy of the Sierras at their home range and with the speeds they were shooting the wind did not move that Sierra bullet much at all. This was the first Varmint Hunt for my two friends with their two new 204 Varminters and they are now sold on the 204 as well as myself. In fact I have on order a third 204 - this one will be the new remington XR-100 Rifle.
My friend Groundhog Devastation is sure high on the 204 cartridge using AA 2230 powder. He gets amazing speeds and accuracy with this powder. You should look up his loads on the small bore forum and the Varmint Hunting forum.I have bought some of it and I will add your load recommendation to my handloading log book!
Thanks again
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Varmint Guy, The .204 is now my favorite cartridge to shoot, the 32 gr Blitz Kings are the most accurate bullets I have used in my gun. I haven't tried the Berger's, 1/2 inch groups and a touch under, has been good enough for me. Though, I would like to shoot some hollow points and see how they perform at 4000 + fps. I have noticed the 32 gr Blitz Kings come apart at about 4000 fps, and they dont blow up on varmints as good as the V-Maxes do.
Let me know how the new Remington 100 shoots I am looking at getting another one.

I saw my buddy shoot his Savage 12VLP in .204 yesterday at 500 yards....I could cover his group with a quarter....if I had not saw this with my own eyes, I would have questioned it. It was a new target with no holes when I put it up....NOW THAT's A SHOOTER!

Actually Josh, (marmonthunter) a dime will cover it!! I'll send you a pic of the group if you want it! It measured .440"! The load was 28.8 grains of AA2520 and the 32 grain Sierra. GHD

204 is an awsome round i love mine.
the 35 bergers are good bullets less explosive i think than the blitzkings .Makes for a good coyote round.
the 32's are good for chucks ,poodles and crows.
the 39 gr blitzkings shoot real well in my gun.
As well as the 45gr sp.

Really now boys..........a quarter or a dime @ 500 yards. the bs is quite deep.

mine likes the sierra 32 grain bullet with 27.5 grains of varget...only 3700 fps but puts 'em in less than a half inch from the bench.

-Matt

The following is the result of testing my 26 inch TC Encore!

Date: April
Barrel .... 26 inch TC Factory barrel
Case ...... Hornady
Bullet ..... 32 grain Hornady V-Max
Primer ... CCI 450
Powder .. 23.0 grains IMR 4198
O.A.L. .... 2.265 inches
Temp ..... 44 deg F.
3-Shot muzzle velocity average .. 4125 fps @20 ft!
3-Shot group center to center ..... .330 inches @100 Yds

I bought 32 grain Hornady factory ammo and used the fired brass for my reloads!
NOTE: I was getting 3/8 inch groups with the factory 32 grain ammo! I was surprised and pleased!
I tried some 40 grain factory ammo and the best I could get was a 5-6 inch group and the bullets all keyholed!

Anyone have any more to contribute? I'm looking for loads for my DPMS .204!

Rifle:
Thompson Encore
Thompson Center Factory 26" Heavy Barrel
Rifle Has Custom Oversized Hinge Pin and Heavy Duty Locking Spring Installed Plus Trigger Job
Load:
35gr Berger Hollow Point
Once Fired Hornady Brass
25.5gr Reloader 10x
Federal 205M Primer
.2" 100yd 3 Shot Group
Have Not Chronographed This Load Yet. Expect Near 4100fps

Thanks for the info AGR!

my Cz varminter likes this round however the coyotes do not
berger 35 grain
brass trimmed to 1.840
27.8 grains of H4895
CCI 450 primers
coal of 2.240
while I can not cover up a 500 yrd group with a dime it works for coyotes.
If you can shoot a five shoot group at 500 yrds and cover it with a dime you should quit your job and shoot with the pros.
I have heard 1/4 inch groupd all day long one to many times

hoggunner- Does the Berger 35gr hold together better for coyotes then the Vmax and the other bullets on the market for the 204?

I'm not looking for something explosive (prairie dogs). Something more suited for coyote, bobcat, fox hunting.

Buglemintoday
yes the berger is a lot tougher then the v-max and anchors coyote nicely. however I do not think you can shoot 500 yrd .440 groups with them for that you would need the magic bullets.
Sportingly

hoggunner, I shot the group! Will the rifle do it or CAN I do it again? Probably not! But the rifle will shoot that load with the 32 grainers "all day" into less than 1/2" @ 100 yards! But I don't need a rifle that only shoots at 100 yards. Groundhog hunting starts at 400 yards. But that's not my favorite load for the 204. That would be 27.5 grains of Accurate 2520 and the 39 grain Sierra. My COL is 2.398 so it won't fit in the AR magazine. GHD

Hows the 39gr Sierra hold up on impact GHD?

This is why I love this forum I have a
26" heavy TC encore factory and all these new loads to play with when I cant hunt something
!!!

Bugle, The 39 grain Sierra (this load is 3791fps) seems to hold up pretty well on the groundhogs out to 400 yards. After 400 yards I rarely get a pass thru. The bullet just seems to go in and dissapate it's energy and renders a dead groundhog. That particular load has become the "go-to" load for at least 8 different 204's I can think of from Cooper, Remington, Savage and Howa. GHD

I chronographed my aforementioned 25.5gr Reloader 10x load this weekend. It averaged right around 3825fps. Not sure what I was smoking when I expected 4000-4100.

With that accuracy it's hard to complain agr

Heard BL-C(2) is good in the .204 R. Anybody use it? I have bunch that I want to find something to use it on.