Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Loads for 40 gr Nosler BT .204

I picked up a box of the new Nosler 40 grain BT's tonight. I've got some Benchmark powder already as well. Anyone got any load recipes they care to share?

I could not get the 40 NBT's to shoot out of my LV SF with five different powders. My rifle loves the 39 grain SBK with 26.0 of Benchmark. Work up to that, it's slightly over Hodgdon's book max. I hope you have better luck with the NBT's than I did, good luck! Use primers with hard battery cups, like the CCI BR4 or the Remington 7 1/2.
1D

Benchmark will not get you optimum speeds with the 40 but it should be plenty accurate...

As 1D has said, some folks cannot get the 40BT's to shoot well as they go to the 39 BK...

So, that said, I do not have load data for the 40's with Benchmark but do so with the 35 and 32's...

Good luck!

Deuce,
What type of speeds are you getting with the 26 grains of BenchMark and the 39's? I was going to pick up some 35 gr Bergers, but Cabelas was all out and the 40 BT's were sitting nearby calling my name. I haven't heard of anyone getting good results witht he 40 BT's, so I don't know why I thought I might get different results. Hopefully they will prove me wrong.

Listen to the voices! I'm shooting the 40 Bergers exclusively for eastern stuff. H4895 is the hot lick in my rifle with the 40 Berger. I'm going to have to find my notes for the speeds of the SBK's w/ Benchmark, I'll post them later this evening..........got to go on a shopping run!(GRRRR!!)

This is typical with the 40 Bergers out of my rifle.
I'll be back,
1D

Following up from the earlier post: 26.0 of Benchmark yielded 3579 avg. with 39 grain SBK's, and 3550fps with the NBT's. The 40 grain Bergers with 28.0 of H4895 average 3773 fps. This is from a 22" barrel on my Remington LV SF. I can't find any record of any group under 1.5" for five shots with the NBT's, using RL 15, RL 10X, BL-C2, WW 748, Benchmark, or H4895. I gave up on the Noslers after that! 40 V Max's got down to around an inch, but no better. The Sierra's and the Bergers will shoot .5 and under with their favorite powders.

Lots of other folks have had different results, in their rifles, so you've got to try them all. Your rifle may be totally different.
Good luck!
1D

dwc5050--I have two different loads I worked up for the 40 gr. Nosler BTs in my Savage 12VLP in .204 Ruger. The one I am using right now is a load of 27.3 gr. of AA2520, WW casings, and Remington 7� primers. This load and any other loads I list are safe in my rifle. You should start 10% lower in charge weight and work your way up slowly. This load is giving me between 3,868 fps and 3,888 fps at the muzzle, is very accurate, and gives the prairie dogs lots of hang time.



The other load I have for these 40 gr. Noslers is a load of 27.6 gr. of H4895. This load gives me 3,936 fps at the muzzle and is every bit as accurate as the AA2520 load.

The amazing thing about the AA2520 load with the 40 gr. Nosler BTs and the load I use for the 39 gr. Sierras is that with the rifle sighted in for 1" high at 100 yards with the 39 gr. Sierras, the point of impact is about 3/4" high with the 40 gr. Nosler BTs and the horizontal impact point is dead on line with no need for windage adjustments when I switch from one bullet to the other. I think I got pretty lucky that way.

The 39 gr. Sierra usually is a wee bit more accurate out of my Savage 12VLP than the 40 gr. Nosler, but doesn't quite give as much LIFT to the prairie dogs as the 40 gr. Nosler BT. I have not tried the 40 gr. Noslers on coyotes yet, but the 39 gr. Sierras have worked great on the only two coyotes I shot using the Sierras. Dead right there and no fur damage.

Deuce/Fox,

I really appreciate the info and encouragement guys. This is a recently acquired (and my first) .204 and I'm excited at the prospects. It's a Remington SPS synthetic/blued. I already painted the stock, which turned out WAY better than I dared hope for my first attempt at that sort of thing. I also had the barrel cut down from 24 to 21 3/4, floated the barrel, and lightened the trigger. I'm headed out tomorrow with some of my father's 32 grain V-Max's that have always shot well, but I'm looking forward to trying some of the 40 grain BTs as mentioned. As it turns out, dad's got some Varget already, and Nosler shows some load data with that as well. I'll check and see if pops has any of the powder's you gentlemen offered. It looks like both of you had good luck with the H4895 as well, so maybe I should pick some of that up and give it a whirl.

dwc5050,
You'll hear lots of anecdotal comments from folks that have had no bad experiences with the 39 grain SBK's, but here's why I stopped using them: SPLASH WOUNDS! Several of us here in VA were using them on groundhogs, and if you had an angled shot that hit shoulder bone or hip/pelvis, the bullet tended to blow up and not penetrate into the vitals. The groundhogs would usually crawl away and into their holes. I have not had this happen with the Bergers, and I killed 103 groundhogs this year.
The Sierra bullets would be great for pd's, but I personally would not use them for anything larger than colony varmints or foxes. There are plenty of stories about coyotes that have gotten away from the Sierra's when hit point on the shoulder, and splashed. Sierra will tell you that they are made to blow up on small animals and they don't reccommend them for coyotes, they told me that right on the phone last year!
It's your choice, try them all, just trying to help make your decision an informed one.
Happy hunting!
1D

1deuce: I have been using the 32 gr. Sierra BlitzKings in 4 of my 204 Ruger Rifles here on the high plains of the Rocky Mountains and have killt Coyotes, Fox, large Badgers, large Rock Chucks, large Jack Rabbits, Porcupines, Raccoons, feral cats, feathered Varmints, Prairie Dogs and Ground Squirrels and I have as yet had one crawl off with a center mass hit with this bullet!
I have NOT tried the 39 gr. Sierra BlitzKings to date myself, but several of my Varminting buddies use them and I have not heard them complain of the phenomenon you and your crew describe.
Maybe they are thinner of jacket or have some design feature that causes the surface splash you describe!
I just loaded up some ammo today for my Remington XR-100 in 204 and used the 32 gr. Sierra BlitzKings without giving them a second thought lethality wise!
Interesting your observations are though.
I am also NOT hot-rodding my 32's in any of my 204's. Maybe "slowing down" the 39's would make for more penetration on those Ground Hogs?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Varmintguy,
Glad your experiences with the SBK's have been good ones. I've been a Sierra fan for almost 40 years, mostly for their accuracy. All the SBK's, according to Sierra, have thin jackets designed for "instant, violent expansion on small, thin skinned animals" as I was told on the phone by one of their tech guys. Slowing them down some might indeed help hold them together a little longer, but then you're not realizing the ballistic potential of the cartridge.
I'm tickled silly about the way the Berger 40 shoots and performs on critters out of my rifle. The 35 Berger has a pretty large following among the fur seeking coyote hunters. I've never shot anything but paper with the 35's so I can't vouch for it, one way or the other on critters.
I think most of the 20 caliber bullets will perform adequately with perfect shot placement, but if you shoot enough critters, especially predators, you'll make some shots that aren't perfect now and then.
I'm in no way trying to stir up any controversy over the merits of the 39 SBK's, just relating the experience of a handful of guys that have shared results. Some still use them, and others have switched, especially for coyotes.
Good hunting!
1D

1deuce: No controversy intended - I just am digesting, comparing and appreciating your experiences with the 39 grainers.
Like I say I have not shot a 39 gr. Sierra as yet.
And again I am sure happy with the 32 gr. Sierra BlitzKings.
Originally I was so happy with the 35 gr. Bergers and wanted to go with them in my then 3 204 Rifles as they were both splendidly accurate and quite lethal on all manner of Varmints. BUT - they were so hard to come by in my neck o'the Rocky Mountains! So, I tried the Sierra 32's which are MUCH easier to find and turned out to also be very accurate and lethal on Varmints.
So as of this spring/summer I have all 4 of my 204's dialed in with the 32 Sierra's!
Having said that I just returned from the west coast where I saw and bought 5 boxes of Berger 35's at the new Cabela's store in lacey, Washington! That will be enough for one of my Rifles to get through the Ground Squirrel and Prairie Dog season this coming year! I just have to review my records and choose which Rifle shot the 35 Bergers the best and switch it back to the se Bergers.
Nope, I greatly appreciate you relaying your and your friends experiences!
And you are EXACTLY correct in pointing out that my suggesting maybe slowing down your 204, in effect destroys some of its best attributes - like flat trajectory, ease of aiming in the field (i.e. "hold on fur"), its wind bucking capability and as we all know speedier bullets are more lethal bullets!
I had robbed a Leupold 8.5x25x40mm variable scope off of my XR-100 in 204 in October to put on my main Antelope and Mule Deer Rifle - as I am perpetually one scope short! I just remounted it on the XR-100 in 204 and am waiting patiently for the Montana winds to subside so I can re-sight it in.
Hopefully tomorrow will be calmer than it has been of recent.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Varmintguy,
I've never shot any 20 cal. bullets lighter than 39 grains at any living being, so I don't know first hand how the 35 Bergers perform. Higher bc's have usually served me well in all my varmint shooting, considering wind, drop etc.. We don't have wind like you do out west, but wind is wind, and you'll miss a lot of varmints if you don't learn to contend with the wind!
Since you have the experience, how do the 35 bergers compare, on game, to the 32 grain SBK's? I'm thinking terminal performance here, goo factor, penetration, hang time, etc.
Anyone else with 20 cal experience using these bullets please feel free to join in. Maybe a bunch of us can learn something.
1D

The 35 Bergers give the best combination of speed, penetration, and accuracy for a hunting bullet out there right now...

I've tried to get them to "splash" as have some pards and we cannot get them to do it...

I've been shooting them for 2 season after switching from 32 grain Vmax/BK's...

Their BC may suffer a bit compared to the 39/40's but IMHO they are "the" bigger predator killing bullet out there along with the 40 Berger...

Just a small sample of the testing media...grin...







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All were .204'd with 35 Bergers except for AR kills shown...
I get exits on broadside fox kills but no exits on cats/coyotes...

I have too many curious/weird wounds with the 32 Vmax/BK's. Some swear by them which is fine but I do not. Given enough kilss with them you'll probably get your share of shoulder shots/splashes to make you not trust them 100%. We've tried to get the 35's to "splash" and we cannot do it...

Bang flops or the bang/bite/flop are norms...

Greg,
Good post, but what species are the third and fourth critters(from the left) on the tailgate? I'm guessing the syco tweety had something to do with at least several of the critters shown!
I've only killed three coyotes and three bobcats with the 40 Bergers, and only one exit... on a bobcat. Foxes are a different story, they come apart easily and the 40's make a mess of them!
I don't save fur, but if I shoot something with a nice pelt, I'll give it to a friend that traps so he can sell it. Only one of almost 40 foxes has been worth saving!
1D

The random pilings of critters on the gate were from a night testing one of our new hunting areas...

The orangish cat (third from left) is a feral cat that came in to the call and the other is a coon (fourth from left)...

Honestly, the Tweety is more of my close range coaxer as I have better luck with some custom handcalls anf the L'il Dog...

Greg,
Just yankin' your chain about the kitty! Most of us don't readily display them
My FX5 does most of the calling, because I can get lazy! I've had some awsome results with the syco tweety on red foxes. It's like it's got a little magic built into it! My average at attracting critters may be slightly better with hand calls, than with the FX, but I get busted way less with the e-caller.
1D

Even though I own a Foxpro I'll not go in detail about my opinions of them. They have a cult following and just show what good marketing can do...grin...

I'm not scared one bit to show a feral cat. They are plentiful here and do bad things to turkey and quail populations...

Wish we had any amount of reds down here. We're lucky to see one every few years let alone kill one. We're just overrun with greys which is not a bad thing...

Greg,
My part of VA has seven contiguous counties that don't have an open firearms season on foxes. However there are loopholes that allow them to be shot. Foxes are plentiful in those counties, but the more coyotes we get, the more reds get scarce! I help make them scarce too! It's pretty easy to kill over 50 reds a season with a little effort, but a year and a half to kill a half dozen coyotes! I'm waiting for the end of deer season to turn up the heat on the predators.
I won't get into a whizzing match over e-callers, but I'll stand behind my recommendation of Foxpro, and the Dillons.
For the kitty, it's the other white meat, right?
Turkeys we have in abundance, but quail are fast becoming a fond memory in this area, it's a shame, too.
1D

Sounds like you kill reds like we kill greys. We've had some amazing nights calling greys. Have to be seen to believed for sure...

We're both waiting on deer season to end.

Good luck to you...