Favorite prairie dog loads please

Around 27 grains of Ramshot TAC and the 40-grain Hornady V-Max.

Bugger: When loading to "similar" pressures the 32 grain Sierra Blitz-Kings fly extremely flat out to just at 500 yards - from there on the "heavier" bullets start to drop less (fly flatter).
Recoil is very mild with the Sierra 32 grainers and lethality is very impressive on Prairie Dogs (as well as Badgers, Coyotes and Rock Chucks) even at the 500 yard ranges.
I just brought on-line my 7th (seventh) Varmint Rifle in caliber 204 Ruger last week and it also shoots the 32 grain Sierra Blitz-Kings extremely well.
All seven of my 204's are sighted in with the Sierra 32 grainers - the bullets do everything, very well, indeed.
As of now Varget and H 4895 are my Rifles powders of choice.
I use three kinds of brass and they all perform well for me - they are Winchester, Hornady and Remington.
I really have no preference as to brass brand.
I use Federal 205 M (Match) primers in all my 204 Rifles.
In short my preferences are for Sierra 32 grain BlitzKings and Federal 205 M primers.
Best of luck to you.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^



This. For sure. Seated so they'll fit in the magazine.

VarmintGuy,

The 40-grain V-Max has the highest ballistic coefficient of any of the commonly available 39-40 grain .204 plastic tips. It shoots just as flat out to 400 yards as the 32-grain Sierra BlitzKing when both are loaded to maximum velocity, and flatter beyond 400. But trajectory doesn't matter all that much anyway if we use scopes with easily-adjusted elevation turrets, as I do on all but my shortest-range varmint rifles.

Instead, the 40-grain V-Max's big advantage is shooting in any sort of wind. In a 10-mph wind at 90 degrees to the shooter (certainly not unusual when prairie dog shooting) the 40 V-Max drifts 8 inches less than the 32-grain Sierra at 500 yards. (This also applies to any other 32-grain plastic-tip.) That's the real advantage of using heavier, higher-BC bullets in any cartridge for longer-range shooting.

I'm glad you like the 40g v-max. Someone told me that those were his favorite. I have a PD shoot coming up, a new to me 204 with 500 40 grain v-max bullets but no load data. I just bought 300 more Hornady brass so that rifle will be covered. I'll bring a couple223's and a couple of 6mm's with 58 grain bullets. I suspect the 204 will be the star of the hunt for me.
Thanks again.

Oh yeh, I have a bunch of 75 grain hollow points for the 6mm too.

Thanks for your reply too Varmitguy And Ingwe

Isn't the Sierra Blitzking 39 grainer .287 to Hornady .275??

Sierra lists various BC's for different velocities, which is actually the way BC works, while most companies (like Hornady) list one average BC across "normal" ranges, because it's easier for the average shooter to understand.

Sierra's .287 for the 39 BlitzKing is only for over 3600 fps, and when started at 3800 it drops below 3600 at a little over 50 yards. By the time it gets to around 300 yards the BC is down to .236. The average BC over 400 yards is around .260.

If you compare a 39-grain BlitzKing to a 40-grain V-Max it's apparent the V-Max is more streamlined, especially the much longer and more tapered boattail.

Roger that.

The rifles that won't stabilize the vmax, will the BK. In that case the higher BC is moot. The nosler BT is more accurate in both mine, so again, the BC means squat to me.....

All pretty good points.

TAC is great stuff, and I had best luck with the 39 Blitz Kings in an earlier Ruger Mk2 -- precisely because the boat tail is shorter and I could load to meet the rifling.

The 39 BK and 40-grain Ballistic Tip also drift less in the wind than any 32's--and I've had great results with both, the reason I've got a bunch of both on hand.

But have four .204's and all would shoot the 40 V-Max well.

10X with 39 gr Sierra BT

John, in those 204s of yours, can you load to the rifling with all of them, or do you have long throats? I know the SAMMI drawing is pretty long.

They've all been factory barrels with SAAMI-standard throats. The SAAMi chamber drawing shows the throat as parallel for for about .1 inch until the rifling starts to taper into the bore for slightly less than .1 inch. The maximum SAAMI overall length for the .204 is 2.26 inches, which means magazines are normally at least that long, and maximum case length is 1.85 inches, so there's plenty of room to seat them out close to the lands.

However, many years ago Remington gave me a few cases of their "Accutip" 40-grain factory ammo--which is loaded with 40-grain V-Maxes with Remington-green tips. It shot so well in all my .204's that I've always seated 40 V-Maxes in my handloads to the same depth. I believe that's close to the lands, but haven't bothered to check for several years. Might have to!

Ever run the 40 V-Max in 1:12 barrels with good results or can it vary between 12 twist barrels?

The standard factory twist rate is 1-12, and all my rifles have had factory barrels--one Savage, one Ruger and two Remingtons. All have shot the 40 V-Max well.

I suspect one reason some rifles don't shoot the 40 V-Max accurately is the occasional rifle that doesn't like boattailed bullets. The boattail on the 40 V-Max is much longer and more tapered than the stumpy boattail on both the 39-grain Sierra Blitzking and 40-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip.

Also, the V-Max has the secant ogive typical of Hornady bullets, and secant ogive bullets have a reputation of being somewhat sensitive to seating depth. However, my rifles have all shot Hornady factory ammo with 40's very well, as well as Remington Accutip ammo.

I just bought my first 204 , a CZ 527, gathering up components and most brass is scarce, I found 50 Hornady local, and I can find Norma online. Opinion on Norma brass for the 204?
Thanks,
Ronnie

Okay, that's what I wanted to know. Thanks.
Friend won a 204 when they first came out, and Editor John sent me some Accutips. Shot patterns. The Hornady stuff shot "groups" -- so I pulled everything to get the brass and started from scratch.
Brass was TERRIBLE. Such a rush to get it out, so many cases not concentric.
Rifle went back to Ruger, came back with a new tube with the same long throat and same results. So then I sent it to Colorado for a 230 neck and a short throat, but like an idiot didn't ask to clean up the chamber to totally virgin metal.
With perfect brass, sorted for concentricity, it would drill them right in. But the brass at that time was not great. Wild flyers, like 2 inches from aim. Not good if you're spotting shots and correcting off a flyer that isn't your fault.

I've been dragging my feet to order a min-spec no-throat 204 reamer with a 230 neck, and a throating reamer.

That's all very interesting!

Bought my first .204 in 2005, after waiting a year after the cartridge's introduction to see if it would stick around. Purchased the cheapest Savage sporter in a local store along with some 32- and 40-grain Hornady factory ammo. It shot very well, and the fired cases shot very well when handloaded. Apparently by that time they'd started using good brass.

Acquired a bunch more brass--Hornady, Remington and Winchester--over the next four years, through going on several "industry" prairie dog shoots where various companies provided ammo. I kept my fired brass (the companies have no use for it), plus some from other shooters who didn't own .204's themselves, and in 2008 I won a Remington 700 .204 in a drawing, along with several cases of ammo. I still have a little over a case left, and it's shot well in my last two .204 barrels, both Remington factories. Must have been lucky as all the brass I've acquired has been good, whether Hornady, Remington or Winchester.

Hornady cases
Fed 205
32 gr Vmax
29gr IMR 8208 XBR
Kissing the lands
4155 fps
This is my favorite load but I don't think the dogs like it very much.

Think it was just the luck of the "draw." The barrel WANTS to shoot, I got a couple of screamer groups after bedding it, slicking the trigger really nice, it rode so well I could watch the shock wave. Just amazing.

But there were "screamers in the making" with wild flyers.
When I sorted the brass for concentric fireforming, the best cases shot well enough. But the banana cases didn't. Didn't help to FL size and start over, they'd just toss another crazy flyer.
The flyers improved a bit after I had the neck and throat redone, at a good price, in a good turnaround, nice work, I have the smith's name in my records and could dig it up if anyone's interested.
I guess I didn't want to shoot virgin brass and have to pull all the flyer cases, the attrition was pretty bad, waste of a bullet to find out.
So, I want to get the back half of the chamber downsized so a virgin case doesn't have to do the juju.
Probably the most frustrating (AND EXPENSIVE) experience I've ever had with a rifle that kept telling me it wanted to shoot. Someday, it WILL shoot. Either this one, with the chamber properly cut, or a shiny new aftermarket barrel cut the same.

Dave, it looks like it might indeed be the luck of the draw. My experience mirrors Mule Deers ( he talked me into the .204) I "built" a Remington...with a Remington new take off barrel, sporter contour, and it has literally shot everything I crammed into it well. And most to identical point of impact. Easiest rifle I think I ever had for load development.

Put components together, put in gun, go bang...and.....we're done!

Have a sporter barrel take off from a Ruger Action, I put on another Ruger. It shot very well, but the brass attrition of the Hornady brass I had ( lots of range pick up stuff), was ridiculous.

I pulled the 204 barrel off finally, and replaced it with a 20 Practical barrel, that was done by the gunsmith in Colorado that did a couple of our veterans campfire projects.

it shoots very well, and I don't have any brass issues just necking down 223 brass.

I haven't been real impressed with Hornady Brass, experiencing a short life, regardless of what the caliber has been.

I know others who have 204s that just rant and rave about their awesomeness. And I was getting "potential" signals all through my extended nightmare.
And yep, Seafire, I was scrounging for brass in those early days, did the whole case-prep on a couple handfuls of scrounged range brass -- about half of those (HDY) ended up as keepers in the "round" stash.
Don't know what I'll do when the rifle is recut and back together, maybe I should just can all the existing early brass and start with new cases.
Overall...it WAS edumakayshunal. I learned all about things that can jump up and bite if you pretend they won't.
As for my own 20 -- it's gonna be a Tactical. Just love the way those 20s fly, when they fly straight.

If I was starting all over again would probably build a .20 Tactical or Practical instead of a .204, but with close to 2500 .204 cases on hand am gonna stick to to the commercial version. Plus, my last replacement barrel was a brand-new Remington stainless take-off that as I recall cost $80, and shoots very well....

There ya go J.B.!!

That there is my definition and shining example of a rifle looney.

Mule Deer: Here is a tip I learned 50 years ago this summer and have been adhering to it stringently!
DO NOT set-up in a Colony Varmint Hunting situation with the wind "90 degrees to the shooter" like you illustrate!
It is simply standard procedure for those in the know to set up with the wind either in your face or at your back - this negates much windage induced troubles.
I guess one could set-up in a Colony Varmint situation with the wind "exactly 90 degrees to the shooter" but long ago I learned the successful hit ratio (fun factor!) is greatly enhanced with positioning oneself so the the wind is as close to directly in your face or at your back as possible!
Try it - you'll like it!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

We don't have prairie dogs but we do have a slightly (?) smaller ground squirrel that will do in their place. I reworked my loads after rebarreling ... wore out the first one ... and they came up exactly the same despite changing stocks and barrel contours. Never had that happen before. Anyway, in my gun:

WW brass + Rem 7-1/2 primers for all

28 grains of H335, Nosler 32 grain ballistic tip or Hornady 32 grain VMAX

27.5 grains of Varget, Nosler 40, Hornady 40, or Sierra 39 grain.

I have a couple boxes of Speer TNTs which I have not tested. I suspect I'll try Varget.

Tom

Until I got the RAR-Predator, I was lukewarm toward the 204. My rifles were Remington 700s and Savage 10s on which I swapped barrels from 204 to 223 and back again at least a couple of times. The RAR-Predator is very easy to shoot well, even better when bedded in Boyds laminated Heritage style stock. When I got it in 02/15, I had a variety of Hornady and Winchester/Olin factory ammo on the shelf and found that it shoot pretty well with both 32 and 40 grain ammo. I subsequently got a good deal on mixed lot of 1,000 rounds of Fiocchi 32 and 40 grain ammo, loaded with VMax bullets. The 32 grain ammo has been slightly more accurate than the 40 grain ammo, but both have been MOA or better if I do my job.

Another thing that has puzzled me about the RAR-Predator is the reluctance of some people to believe that a rifle that regularly sells for under $400 can be so accurate. On multiple occasions I have had people at the range ask to shoot my rifle and then express surprise that my RAR-Predator with a Boyds stock and Weaver V16 scope is more accurate than their Remington 700 based outfits costing twice as much or more.

VarmintGuy,

Apparently you think I was SUGGESTING shooting across the wind. Well, gee, no, that's not my point, and yes, I did figure out that shooting with the wind is easier many years ago. But I've also noticed that often the wind changes, especially in the West.

Have also found that in more than a few of the places I shoot it's not always possible to set up with the wind, due to the terrain, a public road, houses, or whatever. As one example, a local gopher field can only be shot in ONE direction, with a public road behind the shooter, shooting across a field between two other properties with buildings. Luckily, the prevailing wind usually is in the shooter's face, but not always.

Another example is a smallish prairie dog town I shoot on a ranch about 100 miles from here. It covers a cattle pasture about 600 yards across (or at least that's what it covered this year) but the only way to shoot most of it is from a slightly higher ridge running from one corner to the other. Otherwise you can't SEE most of the dogs, much less shoot at 'em. And the wind does not always cooperate with possible shooting directions.

Here's a hint for you: Less wind-drift is often very helpful when shooting in open Western country.

Hold into the wind John!

LMAO

Seemed tounge in cheek to me.....

That cheek is stretched pretty tight.

I would say that I have had the best fun dogging when I was able to shoot upwind, with the center of a 90 degree arc being straight upwind. It is absolutely amazing how much quieter shooting seems to be with a little breezy help.

Wouldn't the poodles wind you if you had your back to the wind?? Seems kinda fugged up to me!!

Every varmint shooter need a suppressor as a means by which to reduce noise pollution and not disturb the remaining live targets.

Jim,

I don't think VarmintGuy is capable of being tongue in cheek. Or at least I can't recall much evidence of it in all the years he's been posting on the Campfire....

Haha! Fair enough.

Being the FNG has its disadvantages....

My favourite load is 26.7 grains of h4895 federal small rifle primer, Hornady and Winchester cases. 40 grain Hornady vmax. Shoots consistently under 1/2" in my browning Abolt stalker

Ah, back on topic, thank you Tuschi!

Seriously, another factor that has me liking TAC in the OTHER PEOPLE'S 204s I've made loads for is -- TAC pours GREAT compared to Varget or even 4895. Both the stick powders work fine at trigger time, but case fill is much simpler with TAC.

I just tried some CFE223 in mine and it loved it...also easy to meter.

CFE223 and the 35-grain Berger hollow-point resulted in the most accurate load in my present barrel. Unfortunately, CFE wasn't as accurate with 32/40-grain plastic tips, and the Berger doesn't hold up in the wind like 'em.

Hey Bugger,
Hope you are doing fine. I'm trying to put together a ground hog rifle that will not break the bank. Sounds like U have got it pretty much together on your rig and ammo. I would be greatly pleased if U could throw some info this way so I can get started. Thanks greatly for any help!!!
Huntfish101

John I put the CFE223 behind Hornady 45 grainers....looks like a pig load.

that's what 223's is for, stunt shooter.

Im gonna give it a whirl...and the .222...

.223 is too big......

I wanna whomp one with the 17 whore-gnat......

I know some people are using the 17HMR on them..the Whore-Gnat might be a bit much......

I'd like to shoot one in the nutsack with a 17MachII, too......

Makes my sack hurt thinking about it.