got 100 40 gr Hornady factory loads in the deal.got the Jewel trigger and the 8.5-25 LRT and the neck size die set on the bench waiting.
what are yall having the best luck with.the 32 or 40 V-Max or the Sierra`s.Anybody tried the Bergers??

all help will be appreciated.

I traded my VLS 6mm and the VSSF 308 for this one so I sure hope it lives up to all the hype...

and will my regular Dewey cleaning rod work or will I need a smaller one like for the 17.

I like the 32 gr w/ 29.5 of 747 & a rem 7 1/2 primer. I believe you'll need a 17 cal rod. the bore brushed etc. are threaded for the 17 rod. I've been using hornady 32 gr, but have some sierras on order. Always liked sierras.

wonder how long Nosler will take making a 30 something Balistic Tip???

Nosler has said it will be after their expansion before they put out any 20 cal stuff, no room.

i settled on 27.6 grns of w748 & 71/2 BR's w/39grn Sierra's (3790Approx)
( 26grn is start & 28.3 is max)

Here is a link to all kinds of factory reloading data. Start low and work your way up. I'd recommend a primer with a thick cup such as you'll find in the Remington 7 1/2, the CCI BR-4 or the CCI 450.

.204 Ruger Load Data

The 32 gr. V-Max have worked real good in my Savage 12VLP for prairie dogs. The 35 gr. Berger FB HP has been a good fur bullet for me so far. I have a stockpile of Sierra 39 gr. BlitzKings that I need to test at the range and I look for them to be my long-range prairie dog ammo this summer.

I had a little trouble getting the 40 gr. V-Max to shoot accurately in my rifle, but I think part of the problem was that I was pushing the bullets too fast. I did get the 40 gr. Berger length tolerant bullets to shoot super good in my 12VLP.

MR. Big: As for the cleaning rod! I would say no do not rely on a 17 caliber rod. I have 17 and 20 caliber Rifles and highly suggest you do not risk bending a 17 caliber rod in your 20 caliber Rifle. I bought one of the Dewey 20 caliber rods from Russ Haydons Shooters Supply. Good price and good service.
17 caliber rods bend very easily and they are expensive. I use the "two hands on the rod" method anymore for cleaning both my 17's and 20's. One hand being on the handle and the other handing nearer the action helping to feed the rod down the barrel.
Good luck with your 204!
I have had good luck accuracy wise with the Berger 35 gr. Bullets. Again from Russ Haydons Shooters Supply. But I have observed the Sierra 32 gr. bullets in use on Colony Varmints (2 friends use them) and the Sierras are more explosive on small Varmints.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Another bit of good news concerning the 204 is that its expansion ratio is almost identical to the 6.5X55 and 260 Rem. No problem burning out a 204 bbl!

Of course the velocities are much higher in the 204 so the powders are faster. However, bullet velocity itself has nothing to do with bbl erosion...its just that 4000 fps has historically been associated with expansion ratios that are 50% higher than the 204. This is a new breed of cat...nothing quite like it ever existed before now...

Mr.big, just got back from a little outing this evening to try a few reloads. I found that 23gr of IMR4198 worked very well, two three shot groups with the largest group being .580. This was done off the hood of my pickup with about a 15 mph crosswind.
IMR list a max of 23.5gr of 4198 and I will look into that a little more on the next outing. Everything below 23gr was a bit of a disappointment compared to the two groups I got with 23gr.
I also had a start on GHD's recommendation of AA2230 which is showing some really good results, just not enough brass to load yet. Almost forgot, everything was loaded in Hornady brass with Federal gold match primers and using Hornady 32gr V-Max bullets. Can't wait to get out on a 'dog' town with this thing

Be cautious with your loads using AA2230. Here is a link to Accurate Arms reloading data and they list 27.0 gr. of AA2230 as the MAXIMUM LOAD. I think GHD went above that powder charge weight when he was testing the 32 gr. bullets. Approach 27.0 or anything beyond that with GREAT caution.

Where is the link?

SF, Yes I was above that level in my testing!!! However, there was ABSOLUTELY no data available when I did my testing. The 2230 had proven to be a "pretty darn good choice" in the 222MAG and data was available for that so I just used some "common sense and mathematics" and came up with the starting loads. I also placed a call to WESTERN POWDERS, Miles City, MO. after the 2nd range test day and THEY requested my data!!!! My upper limits of testing will not be listed here!!!! Was it accurrate.....yes!! Was it fast? Definitely!!! I think 4565fps qualifies as fast!!!! Am I using that load?NO!!!! No need for it!! "How dead is dead"? 4200fps will render a varmint pretty dog-gone dead!!!!! If you don't want to go to the 2230, then stoke a few up with 28.8 grains of AA2520!!!(32 Sierras)! They're only running 4076fps but seem to have some usable qualities!!! A pic of a 500 yard group shot with them is on this board somewhere!! I didn't post it and can't remember where it is!!! As far as the 2230 goes.....26.0-27.3 grains should give you some dramatic speed and accurracy probably also!!! And that's without sacrificing brass or safety!! GHD

groundhog devastation-- I think most of us who shoot the .204 Ruger and have followed your postings on your load work appreciate the work you have done testing loads in the .204 Ruger. Like you, I had no published load data to go by when I first started to reload and tried some loads in my testing that are WAAAAY above the max loads I now see listed in the published data. When I say some of these loads were WAAAAY above the now published maximums, I did have a couple loads that were like 7% or 8% above what they list the max load at now. Many of these loads were NOT accurate in my rifle. However, I have a couple of loads that I still use that are "slightly" above the max and I still shoot them.

Keep the good information coming. Here's that photo of your 500 yard group measuring .440" using the 32 gr. BlitzKing and 28.8 gr. of AA2520 powder with a COL of 2.392. FANTASTIC SHOOTING!!!! I saved that information and will be testing the AA2520 powder myself. I found a pound of it in Minot, ND, so I am getting anxious to try it.

Swede44mag-- Sorry about not remembering to put the link in my post. My only excuse is I'm OLD!!!

Anyway, here is the link to the Accurate Arms reloading data for the .204 Ruger:

.204 Ruger Accurate Arms Reloading Data Link

SF, Glad the bullets got there today!!! As far s the data on the Accurrate powders goes.....I hope it helped you all find a starting(or better yet), a "stopping point".....that being the place where you decide this is "good enough"!!!! Now if I could just find 1000 more of the Sierra 32's and 39's!!!!!! 32 Hornady's are plentiful but the Sierras are not to be found!!! GHD

Charlie and Silverfox.......what dies did you two end up getting for the 204? I was waiting for Lee to come out with the Collet die in standard production for it, but it does not look like it is happening.

sll-- Initially, I started with the Hornady New Dimension dies. I had the FL, seater, and the neck sizer dies. They were about the only company out there that had the dies available when I started reloading for the .204 Ruger. The dies I am using now are the Redding Type S bushing style neck sizer, the Redding body bump die, and for seating I have the Forster Ultra Micrometer seating die. I'll keep the Hornady full length die as a backup.

If Lee would come out with their collet die for the .204 Ruger, other than to custom order it, I would have one right now.

sll, I'm using RCBS .204 die set and ordered the .204 RCBS Neck die a year ago, got it, and have been pleasantly surprised with results so far! I talked to LEE in May 2004 and inquired about their "collet dies" for the .204 and they wnated $50.00 for the collet die only!! They should have "tooled up"!!!! The LEE collet dies have proven(at least to me) to be absolutely the most affordable, accurracy proven production dies available today!! From the little guys up to the big guys,(what I call the big guys, 30's) out there at affordable prices!!! I wish they had standard production collet die sets available for all the stuff I shoot!!!! GHD