New .204 results

[Combat_Wombat]

Got hot enough to have to leave it to cool right down after 10-12 rounds with a minute between shots. Also hard to judge because it was around 38 degrees that day too.

[Westy]

Never thought of the kibble bags.... Going to try it.

I was supprised by how well it worked actually much steadier then the bipod

Well Goodo then!!!!!!!

[Bennybigbores]

Just a quick question for the .204 shooters, how flat do they shoot? Roughly? Say if sighted for zero at 200m what trajectory etc at 50 100 150 etc, everyone seems to rate them pretty highly

[Combat_Wombat]

Not 100% sure mate but I'm taking it out Saturday so I'll run some tests and let you know.

[North East]

Just a quick question for the .204 shooters, how flat do they shoot? Roughly? Say if sighted for zero at 200m what trajectory etc at 50 100 150 etc, everyone seems to rate them pretty highly

Just get on to the Winchester ammunition website and check out there Ballistics Calculator.

[Tiiger]

Just a quick question for the .204 shooters, how flat do they shoot? Roughly? Say if sighted for zero at 200m what trajectory etc at 50 100 150 etc, everyone seems to rate them pretty highly

This is based on 40gr pill and 3,750fps muzzle velocity. (BC .239 if you really must know).

050m 0.0
100m 0.9
150m 0.9
200m 0 (zero)
250m -1.9
300m -5.1

Would be happy to input load data for you if you have something specific in mind?

[RealNick]

100m 0.9
150m 0.9
200m 0 (zero)

An inch high all the way while creeping down to 200.... That would be nice and easy to shoot.

[bigfellascott]

Tiiger,

Could you run the 26gn Barnes VG's running 29gn of 2206H and 8208 - I think that's right? They're doing around 4200-4300fps from memory. Would be interesting to see what they are doing according to your programme.

Also 39gn SBK pushed along with 28.2gn of 2206H doing around 3700-3800fps from memory.

Cheers mate, I appreciate it.

[Tiiger]

I used ADI max load data for this so I could input a known velocity, very close to your estimates/load anyway so it's going to make FA difference.

26gr pills to start.

28.2gr 2206h = 4,302 fps MV.
29.5gr 8208 = 4,309 fps MV.

Same velocity (-7) so trajectory will be the same for both, table is:

050m -0.1
100m 0.8
150m 0.9
200m 0 (zero)
250m -2.1
300m -5.9

39gr SBK came out the same as 40gr table posted originally.

So the heavier pills are flatter shooting in this instance as it turns out. Higher BC of the longer bullet letting it go faster for longer I guess. The 26gr are only 0.131 compared to the .239 of the 40gr table which matches the 39gr SBK.

[bigfellascott]

Thanks for that mate - I figured the heavier pills would be flatter over longer ranges with the BC, always good to see what they are doing none the less. I'll have to set up some targets at the diff ranges and see how accurate the data is hey.

Cheers mate, much appreciated.

[brett1868]

CombatWombat, are you getting much copper when cleaning your barrel? Was feeling a bit soft today and had to clean a couple barrels to man up, nothing like cleaning guns to make you feel like a man. I ran my usual copper solvent on a patch through it and got next to no blue on the patch so I repeated the process with the same result. Figured copper fouling isn't a big issue on this rifle so I just scrubbed the bore with solvent then patched dry and oiled before storage. Curious if you are seeing the same results or not.

[deye243]

funny that i have 4 howas and my mates have another 4 between them and none of them copper up bad either

[Tiiger]

No prob BFS.

[Combat_Wombat]

I've only put 40 rounds though it so far so I don't have a lot of evidence but haven't had any copper fouling yet hopefully it stays that way

[brett1868]

Finally got some .204 range time this afternoon.

Rifle - Sako Model 85 Varmint, SS, Laminated Stock

Best Group - 1/3" @ 50M
Load - 39gr SBK, CCI SMR Primer, 26Gr BM2
Series 1 Shots: 5
Min 3640 Max 3695
Avg 3671 S-D 22.6
ES 55

Shot Speed
1 3675 ft/s
2 3658 ft/s
3 3695 ft/s
4 3640 ft/s
5 3689 ft/s

Same as above but 25.5Gr BM2

Series 2 Shots: 5
Min 3547 Max 3649
Avg 3591 S-D 46.1
ES 102

Shot Speed
1 3559 ft/s
2 3568 ft/s
3 3547 ft/s
4 3649 ft/s
5 3632 ft/s

Same as above but 25Gr of BM2

Series 3 Shots: 5
Min 3462 Max 3555
Avg 3508 S-D 36.8
ES 93

Shot Speed
1 3506 ft/s
2 3462 ft/s
3 3532 ft/s
4 3555 ft/s
5 3485 ft/s

Conclusion
Faster is definitely better in this round but 26Gr of BM2 is my limit as I'm seeing primers getting flattened a bit. Still good but I wouldn't go any hotter and a 39Gr Blitzking at 3900fps isn't going to leave much meat on the bunny.

Usual disclaimer - These are my loads that I have tested in a good quality near new rifle. If you are not experienced at reloading then seek the help of your local club or gunsmith. I will not be liable for any damage you do to either yourself or rifle. These loads apart from the type of primer can be found on page 83/84 of the current ADI manual.

[bigfellascott]

Looking good Brett, they do seem to like em driven fast and with plenty of jump too, my seating depth was set of a 32gn Rem Accutip or whatever they are called, shot well enough with that and haven't bothered experimenting to see if I could do better.

I'm running 28.2gn of 2206H behind the 39sbk for around 3800fps from memory. I think the 26gn Barnes VG's are hitting 4200-4300fps from memory.

Both as you can see from some of my hunt reports are very effective on bunnies and foxes.

These are the groups I got using the factory ammo (4 shot groups @50m)

Fed 32gn Factory Ammo


Rem 32gn Factory Ammo


A little group I shot using the 39gn SBK's at 140m (1st shot was the one on the RHS of the group)

[greyghost]

Rem 32gn Factory Ammo

Is that 3 in the lower hole?

[bigfellascott]

Rem 32gn Factory Ammo

Is that 3 in the lower hole?

Yes mate sure is.

[greyghost]

And with factory ammo.

I like

[bigfellascott]

And with factory ammo.

I like

Yeah mate the little Howa's go alright, they've certainly served me well over the years of owning them all. It's a shame factory ammo is so expensive or I'd just shoot that instead of reloading for it.

[greyghost]

Not worth your while reloading for the .204 ?

[brett1868]

Not worth your while reloading for the .204 ?

Funny you say that cause I'm come to the same conclusion that factory seems to be as good as or better then stuffing around reloading. Having said that I've just bought some Nosler Varmageddon 32Gr projectiles I'll try out propelled by 23 gr of AR2207. Should be good for a fraction over 4000fps and if no better then the Hornady Factory stuff I'll stick to factory for this calibre.

[bigfellascott]

Not worth your while reloading for the .204 ?

Yeah definitely worth reloading for mate, heaps cheaper than factory ammo, last lot factory ammo I bought cost around $2 a shot!

[brett1868]

I bought 5 packs of 50 Hornady 32 gr rounds and think they were around $70 a pack which works out at $1.40 a shot. Still much cheaper to reload until factoring in the labour component then it's a close match between factory and reloads.

I'll still try the Nosler's though as I'm curious how fast I can push them before they vaporise leaving the muzzle If you think $2 a shot is steep, try $7 per round for reloads of the 50 or almost $9 per round for the .416. I saw 10 packs of Ultratech .416 Barrett with a $210 price sticker on them or $21 a shot.

Factory 50BMG is around $12 a shot when buying a 100 round case. This is one of the main reasons I practise excessively on the smaller calibres cause a miss on the big guns is a lot of money to waste making dust clouds.

[bigfellascott]

Unfortunately no Hornady were available when I bought the Rem and Fed stuff and living in the bush you tend to pay more, just a fact of life out here unfortunately. Trust me mate when ti comes to the 204 you really want to reload for it as ammo can be hard to find for them at times often as can reloading components, hence why I bought 1200SBK's a while back along with 32gn Hornady V-max, 35gn Bergers, 26gn Barnes VG's etc etc plus 1000 cases and primers, and enough powder to fill em.

I don't have to worry about the next panic buy up in the US for years for any of my cals, they all run the same powder, most use the same size projectile/primer and I can use the same case for all bar one to resize if needed so I'm set in that regard.

Yeah I know the bigger cals are expensive my mate has em too, great fun to shoot but bloody expensive when you burn through a $2k a day or so playing with em! but not much use having money if you don't use it to enjoy yourself hey?

I love the 50cal, that muzzle blast is something to behold, one really should experience that at least once in their lifetime!

[sha]

Too much for me to ever have a go.

Unless I can go to a range somewhere and buy 1 bullet

[brett1868]

"I love the 50cal, that muzzle blast is something to behold, one really should experience that at least once in their lifetime! "

Yep, nothing like getting a face full of dirt, dust and grass when shooting prone from the ground and losing all visability of the target till it settles . Curious how much crap the 416 & DTA 50/416 will throw back at me with their different style brakes.

[Kipper]

This might be of some interest to you Brett.

Pretty good comparison of 10 muzzle brakes here on YouTube.

Muzzlebrake testing 1
Muzzlebrake testing 2
There is no 3 for some reason...
Muzzlebrake testing 4
Muzzlebrake testing 5

The test are for recoil, not debris, but might as well know how they perform while you're looking at them, right?

[bigfellascott]

"I love the 50cal, that muzzle blast is something to behold, one really should experience that at least once in their lifetime! "

Yep, nothing like getting a face full of dirt, dust and grass when shooting prone from the ground and losing all visability of the target till it settles . Curious how much crap the 416 & DTA 50/416 will throw back at me with their different style brakes.

Whack her up on a table Brett, that's what my mate does, no issues with dirt and dust etc then.

[brett1868]

"Whack her up on a table Brett, that's what my mate does, no issues with dirt and dust etc then. "

My cousin built a steel bench for us to use which is plenty long enough and rock solid. It's more a problem when I grunt the canon up to the back paddock hunting those giant bunnies that's a problem. At least the DTA should be light enough to fire from a standing position so even with my short stature I shouldn't get dirt in my face