204 loads

[Jeff303]

Gday all.
After wanting one for ages, i scored a near new savage 10 in 204 with a leupy vx3 4-14 for a song.
Its a cracker & im struggling to miss & im leaving a trail of destruction every time i take it out.
Currently using s&b factory ammo, which is both cheap & really good. Only thing i dont like is the bunnies tend to go splat & pancake rather than get air .
Ive got a ton of cases, so, who has a pet load that grenades bunnies?. I want fliers gentleman.

[Stix]

Almost any balistic tip should do it...the lighter the better...!!

Can you chrono the factory load that works in your rifle...?
If so, sit at a bench one day & reproduce it might work.

But...bunnies with a 204 is not generally overly spectacular, despite what we are led to believe on yoochoob...

And i think you'll probably find that cats & bunnies doing any double flip triple pike gymnastic type reactions by to being shot are usually indicative of having their spinal cord/brain just clipped...
So when you do this with a 204...

120 yd 204'd bunnies

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And you go to skin the head out for the farm dog...

Skin out head for dog food

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And you find this...

Hmmm...

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You realise the signal system to the springs was removed before the electrical impulse got beyond the control box....

Ill pipe in with my very mild loads later...but your rifle will be different...

[Jeff303]

Nice work, and yes, we have started decapitating them , simply because we can.
Once upon a time , using 22-250s, you'd just go for the furry bit in the middle, but this rifle is a laser beam , so we're pushing ourselves.
No chrono unfortunately, but theyre 32 gners, and very accurate.
By all means forward any pet loads you have.
I like to tinker

[bladeracer]

Gday all.
After wanting one for ages, i scored a near new savage 10 in 204 with a leupy vx3 4-14 for a song.
Its a cracker & im struggling to miss & im leaving a trail of destruction every time i take it out.
Currently using s&b factory ammo, which is both cheap & really good. Only thing i dont like is the bunnies tend to go splat & pancake rather than get air .
Ive got a ton of cases, so, who has a pet load that grenades bunnies?. I want fliers gentleman.

24gn NTX on 30gn AR2206H make 4400fps in my Ruger for varminting.
For closer work the 32gn ZMax on 8.5gn of Trailboss makes 2400fps and is much easier on my ears, my rifle, my brass, and my neighbours.

No rabbits down here for last couple years though.

[Stix]

What brand is "NTX's" Blade...?

[SCJ429]

I use 39 grain Sierra Blitz King with 27.7 grains of 2206H. Not particularly hot but shoots 1/4 MOA at 100 and has taken a 50 kilo goat.

[Stix]

I use 39 grain Sierra Blitz King with 27.7 grains of 2206H. Not particularly hot but shoots 1/4 MOA at 100 and has taken a 50 kilo goat.

Hey SCJ...what do those Sierra 39'ers do to a fox's pelt...?
Much damage with a chest shot...?

[SCJ429]

It blows them apart, you might do OK if you shot head on but side on shots do a lot of damage. I head shoot if I intend to skin it.

[Stix]

Ok cheers.
Im wanting the opposite effect...

[SCJ429]

The only other bullets I have used are Vmax and ZMax which are equally frangable. When I am spotlighting I shoot them in the eye. I have tried two side on shots, one had a front leg hanging off and the other left a 300mm tear in the pelt. Not worth picking up. You might try a Nosler but at 204 speeds it is hard not to damage things. Do light pills. Like a 32 grain do less damage?

[bladeracer]

What brand is "NTX's" Blade...?

Hornady lead-free so it's about the size of a conventional 32gn bullet.

[bladeracer]

Ok cheers.
Im wanting the opposite effect...

If you want to save the pelts you can use FMJ, just make sure you're on target and they should make a neat hole.
Or reduce the velocity considerably.

[Bruiser64]

I use 40 grain vmaxs and a midrange load (from the ADI reloading data) of Benchmark 2. I don’t shoot many bunnies with that load. Those I do shoot end up very dead. I shot one bunny recently where one of its legs flew up in the air and was hanging off the fence it was right next to. I would never have believed it without seeing it. And I had a mate who witnessed the whole thing. As effective as that load is from the 204, the 87 grain vmax from my 243 takes things up a notch or two when it hits a rabbit.

[Stix]

The only other bullets I have used are Vmax and ZMax which are equally frangable. When I am spotlighting I shoot them in the eye. I have tried two side on shots, one had a front leg hanging off and the other left a 300mm tear in the pelt. Not worth picking up. You might try a Nosler but at 204 speeds it is hard not to damage things. Do light pills. Like a 32 grain do less damage?

Thanks SCJ...
My 204 32 Zmax load is (embarrasingly) very mild--28gr of 08 (only doing 3650-ish from memory).


Yes, 32''s do considerable less damage from what i can gather--particularly if you hit em central...

The current batch of 32 Zmax i have (& i have another 600 to go yet) dont completely disintegrate inside the chest like the last batch did, so i get some small exit holes.
These are all 32g Zmax...
Here is a cat i took a quick opportunistic shot on at 90 yds when it pulled up to my whistle.
Entry to left of screen, exit to right.

90 yd side impact-cat-Entry & exit 32 Zmax

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Close up...can see skin is also bruised...

32 Zmax Entry & exit

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Different cat about 120 front on--no pelt damage--but only JUST-

120 yds front on

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See the damage to chest & even up under front left (right of screen) leg--stuff knows how that happened with no pelt damage...

No pelt damage

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Here is the tanned pelt...no apparent damage.

Tanned

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But then i get this at further ranges...
This is exit wound at 260 odd yds--blown shoulder off & hanging on by skin...?

32 Zmax 260 odd yds exit wound...

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But need to hit them flat on & central... if hit them towards the edge of body it gets a little messy...
This one was 180-200 ish coming at me from my 1.30 to 6.30 & for some reason i wacked at the trigger as if someone tazered my elbow , pulling the shot off a mile & clipped its side...

32 Zmaz side glance...

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Sorry about the bloody pics...

[Stix]

Ok cheers.
Im wanting the opposite effect...

If you want to save the pelts you can use FMJ, just make sure you're on target and they should make a neat hole.
Or reduce the velocity considerably.

Im not sure about a heavy jacket...the thing i like about the 204 is what ever it hits falls over right there--just as if they have a massive heart attack (well i guess thats what actually happens)...and they are hard enough to find in a paddock as it is without one running off a bit before blood loss pulls it up.

Dont really want to slow mine down anymore...i think ive got it where the slow node is so dont want to argue with it.

[Jeff303]

No foxes where i go, all ate dingo baits.
The odd moggy, a lot of roos, & a bazillion rabbits.
Any dog food gets a 22 or 22 mag in the scone, the rest get a 204 up the blurter, so i want dancers.

[SCJ429]

What is the blurter? The date?

What bullet are you using and how much damage are you doing? Are you skinning the dogs?

[Jeff303]

Yes sc, the blurter is the arsehole.
Im meant what im feeding my dogs gets shot in the head. Theres no wild dogs or foxes left where i go due to judicious baiting. Currently using s&b factory ammo with 32gners, which work well & pancake them , but im looking for more splat