I may post this on the reloading forum as well as here on the Varminting forum.
What I am up to is I just today began my first steps in "dedicating" different brands of 204 Ruger brass to each of my 3 204 Varmint Rifles.
Up until now I have been using exclusively the Hornady brass from factory Hornady loaded rounds. I used the Hornady ammo for barrel breakin of each of my Rifles and then I began Hunting Varmints with the Hornady factory ammo. I kept the Hornady once fired brass dedicated to the Rifle from which it was shot in! Then I began reloading the once fired brass and in all three Rifles I got very good accuracy with the factory Hornady rounds and then excellent accuracy with my handloads!
Just today I opened up one of my bags of Winchester brass - containing 100 pieces (actually 101 pieces!) of 204 Ruger brass and put them into an MTM 100 plastic box. Next I opened up a bag of 100 (actually 101 pieces again!) Remington 204 Ruger brass. And I placed them in a different colored MTM 100 box.
"We" are about to see if the brand of brass will detract from my excellent accuracy that I have been obtaining with the Hornady brass!
I will report back with my re-sight in checks with the two new brands of brass and how the accuracy holds up.
My question to any of you with 204's (or any other caliber for that matter) is - once you have changed brass brands for a particular Rifle have you noticed an increase or a decrease in that Rifles accuracy?
Now I have in the past changed brass brands many, many times - most usually from Remington to Winchester to Federal to Lake City and to and fro. I really have not noticed a change in accuracy with my previous brass brand changes! I have used top quality brass like LaPua and Norma in several Rifles but I have not had occassion to start with the more standard brands of brass (Federal, Winchester and Remington) and then go to any of the pricey brands of brass (like LaPua and Norma) for a particular Rifle.
Have any of you noticed a difference in accuracy for a particular Rifle once you have started using another brand of brass?
I even use nickel plated brass in several of my Rifles!
Do any of you have a preference for a particular brand of brass for your Varmint Hunting calibers and loading?
And by the way I also opened a bag of 100 Remington 22-250 brass today and it contained 101 pieces of brass as well! Is this the norm with these bags of brass? Or maybe my luck is running good?
I should have bought some of those Mega-Bucks lotto tickets - HUH?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VG

Over the years I've used several brands of brass. I don't mix head stamps. My finding has been the accuracy stays close sometimes a minor change. But what I do notice is the point of impact seems to change more than the accuracy.

Oh you should have bought that lotto ticket now you're going to be wondering if you wouldn't have been lucky winner two and split that pot.

VG-
I just happened to have a discussion with my gunsmith about this a few days ago. He ordered a 204 reamer made his own specs after spending abunch of time measuring Hornady, Rem and Win brass. He said that overall, Rem was biggest, and I think he said Win smallest (don't quote me). Hornady fell in the middle. Now, this guy is a benchrest quality gunsmith and a competitor, and very serious about accuracy.

So, when I asked him if he thought it would make a noticeable difference in accuracy to switch from loosest to tightest, he guaranteed me it would. Now, I only have one rifle capable of shooting small enough groups to really test something like this, but he has many he could do it with. Do I think a groundhog at 200 yards would notice? No. But maybe at 600.

Maybe the question would be- is there a difference in group size with new brass vs. fireformed? Again, I think you would need benchrest accuracy from a rifle to tell the difference, and as we used to say "statistical signifigance is not always signifigant."

Have fun.

Doug

ps- don't suppose one of your 204s is a Cooper? Thinking hard about getting one.

In my small number of trials doing basically the same thing my only conclusions are that although accuracy from one brand to another did not change. My initial observations were that Hornady brass was more consistent in weight, length to start with. The Winchester brass was the cheapest. Remington brass had the most defects.

Thanks all for your observations and experiences!
I will go along with skb2706 that the Remington brass did not match up (at least cosmetically) to either the Hornady brass or the Winchester brass.
Looks aren't everything (my wife often says!) but its an indication of some things for sure!
Does anyone know if Hornady 204 Ruger brass is available in bulk quantities as yet?
I will be needing some more of that in the near future. I just answered (partially anyway) my own question about the Hornady brass as my brand new Midway USA catalog shows Hornady 204 Ruger brass at $16.99 per 50 (fifty!)!
Thats about twice as expensive as the Winchester and Remington 204 brass I have bought recently.
Well with shipping and after checking my recent receipts for Winchester and Remington 204 brass the Midway supplied 204 brass is definitely more than twice as much as the other two brands???
DougK - you make a very good point in your fireformed vs. new brass accuracy comparison perhaps being significant.
I have noticed this though over the past 20 years or so, while doing load development with my new Varmint Rifles. I have been using about twenty brass for the barrel breakin procedure I use. Then I have the 20 fireformed brass to do serious load development with. Once I find a load my Rifle appears to like then I go back to the rest of my new brass and load up at least ten more rounds of the "accurate load" and test them.
In quite a number of Varmint Rifles I have worked on in this manner I have noticed the slightest of edges accuracy wise to the fireformed brass over the new brass. I do not recall a Varmint Rifle that had such an accuracy edge with the fireformed brass that I felt uncomfortable loading up the rest of my new brass (80 to 180 pieces normally) with the "preferred load" and going Varminting with them!
Many decades ago (when loading components were much cheaper and trips to the re-barrelling Riflesmith were much cheaper as well) myself and many of my friends would spend hours at our ranges "fireforming" our new Varminting brass!
Times have changed!
I don't do that anymore.
When a new Rifle comes on line for me I usually buy 200 pieces of brass for it and use 20 for testing and once an accurate load is found I load the rest and "fireform" them at Varmints!!!
I am gonna call the Midway folks and see if that "50" pieces of 204 brass for $16.99 is a "typo" or not.
Maybe Norma makes the 204 brass for them?
Thanks all again
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Doug: I was in such a hissy fit to get my hands on a 204 Varminter the first Rifle I could find in Varmint weight was a Ruger 77 V/T (Varmint Target style 26" heavy barrel with laminated Varmint stock).
I had my doubts with the Ruger as I generally prefer Remingtons when seeking accuracy!
Anyway the Ruger Varminter had a pleasing trigger right from the factory and it shot very well indeed right out of the box with Hornady factory ammo (which was the only thing avaliable at the time!).
But I was so impressed - no ASTOUNDED would be more appropriate, with the accuracy, flat trajectory, amazing wind bucking ability, and lethality on Varmints with the 204 Ruger that when a Remington 700 VLS (Varmint laminated stock 26" heavy blue barrel) came along I bought it also!
Same experience with this one as well - it shot extremely well with no modifications and I was smitten by then with the no recoil and amazing lethality of the 204 cartridge!
Now two 204's is probably more than any one Varminter really needs but when Remington came out with their new XR-100 Rifle in 204 Ruger! I thought I would really like this single shot thumbhole stocked Rifle so I called in an old favor and got an XR-100 wholesale! I was off on a honeymoon with my third 204! This XR-100 may be the most accurate of the three and the thumbhole stock fits me like a glove! The 40X style externally adjustable trigger in the XR-100 is "par excellence" trigger wise. And I like the looks of this XR-100 REALLY well.
I live not far from the Cooper Arms Company and in about every shop I hit in Montana they have a good supply of Coopers! And yes, they tempt me every time I see one!
I have actually bid on many different Coopers at Gunshows and shops that sell used arms. I have just not gotten my hands permanently on one as yet!
I will someday own one I am sure.
They are beautiful and accurate Rifles I do know that.
Have a garage sale soon and sell that motorcycle you aren't using much anymore and get the Cooper 204! You will be amazed with all the performance in that small case!
Long live the 204 Ruger!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I normally don't find that much difference in most brass.. although I usually prefer Winchester... who knows why.....

But I do have a habit, if I have several rifles in one caliber, like I do in 223 in particular.... I tend to dedicate on brand of brass to each rifle for the varmint season....

That way, I know the Winchester loaded brass goes to the Ruger... The Remington Brass goes to the Remington VLS....etc.....

Probably just anal retention on my part.... but hey, isn't that what we varmint hunters do best.... get NIT picky about Nothing... so we can pretend to know more than the other guys??????

cheers
seafire

No typo Hornady brass is all of "twice as much". For that reason only I pretty much stick to Winchester any more. I get 100/for less than $15.

quote:

get NIT picky about Nothing... so we can pretend to know more than the other guys??????

Thats great.........I may want to use that somewhere sometime..............

Skb2706: Damn! I was hoping I would not have to rob a bank to buy another 100 pieces of brass!
Sheesh.
Thanks for the clarification!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy