Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Which bullet to try- Rem 700 in 204 Ruger

I see some mention a 32 grain bullet seems to shoot better than a 40 grain 204 bullet, and I am assuming the remington twist is better suited to the lighter pills?

Wanting to select the best choice to start loading, what weight/ brand bullet seems universally a good choice for remington barrels?

I am testing at 100 yds, will try squirrels at 300 yds once loads are selected.

I guess the second question is, which powder also? I don't see enough about it to weed out poor choices....

Thanks
Allen

I am using Benchmark powder and 39 grain blitzkings on the advice of a 20 cal guru with astounding accuracy- Thats out of a Tikka, but suspect a Remington barrel would like the load too.

6mmbr.com has a lot of info on the 20 calibers (others, too). that is pretty interesting reading....

Tom

Start with 35 grain Bergers in front of Benchmark powder and I'm guessing your search will go no further. I've loaded that for 3 different 204's and all shot better with this load than any other. Best of luck.

Dave

They shoot better than the forties.....from a Remington bbl.

This the load i have settled on in my AR

Thanks all for the information. I will order the above from Midway today with the rest of what I need to reload.

I looked at 6mm BR a few days ago, I'll go back and look closer. That may be where I saw mention 40 grainers not the best choice.

I think the Rem barrel is important when comparing others accuracy information, maybe the twist is different than CZ and savage.


Thanks
Allen

All of the "factory" offerings are 12 twist which is just on the edge for stabilizing the 40 gr V-max. The 45 gr sp actually stabilizes better than the 40 v-max due to a shorter OAL.
Most factory tubes do quite well with the 39 gr sierra BK's.
What do you plan on using it for?
For yotes the 35 & 40 gr bergers and the hornady 45 gr SP are king. For varmints, my favorite is the 32 V-max and the 39 bk.
RL-10X, benchmark, H-4895 are my go to powders.

your gun may shoot the 40 gr . V-Max just fine . Many do , you just have to try it and see.

both my guns will shoot the long v-max , so I mostly load them for pdogs....for yotes I load the 40 gr Nosler .

I use TAC for the volume loads , but just about any of the medium burning rate powders suitible for the 223 will work nicely......going by my 2 examples , the caliber is exstremely non-fussy .

another vote for the 39gr Blitz king and H4895...was what worked best for me when I was running the .204

Ugh, me votum 39 Blitz King...shorter boat-tail, longer shank. Kinda spendy these days, tho. So try a hundred of each...39 BK, 40 NBT, and 40 VM. Nothing wrong with the 32 BK or Berger 35, but the rifle I've worked on likes the 39s the best. With the 32s coming in a real close second.

+1 on the blitz in 39 grain - the 32's were a bit flighty

Thanks again.

I ordered a box of 39 BK, 35 Bergers and 500 of the 32 gn Midway special hp's. I have h335, 4895 ( imr) h322 ( old batch- 1970's) 748, 4198..

I may have benchmark, I purchased some powder for my 221 FB a few months ago....will look when I get home from travel and all my goodies are here for the 204.

So does the 12 twist like short 40's better than long 40's?


Interesting side note. My FIL was shooting a 223 using 40 or 50 grain plastic tipped sierra's, and it wouldn't stabilize or shoot decent. Rep said to cut the plastic tip off and he thought the guy was flakey, tried it and groups went from 3/4-1" to 1/2" and below when he did his part.

Aerodynamics does things most wouldn't think ...It wasn't loosing the weight of the tip, just the way it cut the air?

Allen

it was the change in the LENGTH of the bullet , I'd wager.....


if you are ready to order more of the Midway HPs , check Midsouth first.......same bullet , usually less $$$$

Thanks

I forgot about them.

I do have a dealer discount on Midway, but I think Midsouth is still a better price.


Yes, the tech said it is the length that helped stabilize it, suggesting he is on the ragged edge. I wonder if windy days plays havoc on this marginally stable bullet?

Allen

My Remington 700 VLS shoots factory Hornady 40 gr in the .5's.

I am still struggling to find a load with the 39 gr SBK's that will do better than .75" and 32 gr Hornady's are even worse.

Go figure!

--Duck911

Hemiallen: Iddave is right, the 35 grain Bergers shot THE BEST in all five of my 204 Ruger Varminters!
BUT they are so expensive and so hard to find locally for me that I switched all my 204's over to the excellent 32 grain Sierra bullets.
They are more affordable and available and they shoot only a tiny bit less well than the Bergers for me!
Two of my Varminters in caliber 204 Ruger are Remingtons by the way.
Your Remington results MAY vary?
Be sure to try the H 4895 powder and Federal 205 Match primers (if you can find them!).
Best of luck with your 204.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

My Browning A bolt loves H-4895 with the Hornady 40 grain V-max lit by Fed. primers. Accuracy is superb & terminal performance is excellent. I have some Nosler 40 grainers, but have not tried them yet.

Thanks again.

I hope to be prepping brass tomorrow, mounting the scope and setting up the Canjar set trigger I picked up a couple of months ago.

Allen