Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles The .204 in Texas

According to the stability figuring, NOTHING will stabilize in a 1 in 12 twist .204 down at the lower elevations in Texas.....Cant be...any experience out there?


Also, according to the stability calculator, nothing will shoot in the .204 up where I am...and I KNOW that is false....

Feedback, especially on 40 gr. bullets in the .204 at low elev. please...

40 grain hornadys work fine at sea level

40s ... depends. (Probably not what you want to hear.) With a 1-12" twist, sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. My .204 is on it's 2nd PacNor super-match 1-12" twist 3 land and groove barrel. A pretty good comparison, I think. The first barrel shot everything from 32 to 45 grains that I tried in it well except the 40 grain Hornady. The second barrel shoots all of the same bullets, PLUS the 40 grain Hornady, very well. The 40 grain Hornady has a very long boat tail .. at the ragged edge of too long.

Range level is about 2000 feet. Field shooting was from 300 feet above sea level to about 3500 feet above sea level. I didn't notice elevation making any difference, nothing that close to the edge of works / doesn't work.

If you can't pre-test, I'd stick with the 39 grain Sierra and 40 grain Nosler. They seem to have a little more margin of error. If you can test your specific gun, then try the 40 grain Hornady. Might work, might not. The most accurate bullet in both of my .204 barrels has been the 39 grain Sierra.

Tom

Thanks guys...Ive heard some guns are picky about the 40 grainers...but mine isnt one of them..killed a bazillion gophers and prairie with 40 grainers...my favorite out in the wind up here. According to the stability calculator, it said 32 grainers wouldn't work in my gun either, but they sure do! Thanks for the input and info...if I have any doubts I might give those 40 gr. Nosler a go!

I'm only at about 700' above sea level. My CZ 204 shoots 32's, 35's and 40's just fine.

The only 40's I've used are the Hornady V-Max, and yes, they work great. Roughly 1/2" groups at 100 yds, and very good on rockchucks.

Guy

My sps 204 doesn't shoot 40's for shiit, loves the 32's... I'm at 700'-800'

My T/C Carbine loves both the 32 & 40 grain bullets here at the Ranch in N. TX. Elevation here is 1750.

Tom,

One of the problems with computer twist formulas is most consider plastic tips part of overall length. But the tips are so light it doesn't work that way.

The guy who developed the twist formula used in most programs today, the late Don Miller, eventually figured out all that. The JBM Ballistics formula includes this factor, so works far more accurately with plastic-tips:

https://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmstab-5.1.cgi

Thanks JB...that makes sense.


I'll try it!


I just tried it, and it came up with a more realistic answer.

I also checked another load Ive used in my .223 that I KNOW works down there, but that the Berger stability formula says doesn't....


Looks good!

Thanks mucho!

I’m shooting 40 grain VMAX here in OK and we have no issues.

have 3 factory 204s.........2 will shoot the 40 gr v max , one will not

they will all shoot the 40 gr Nosler , and 39 gr sierras

around 1500 ft elevation