204 coal?

ktm300

ktm300

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Hey guys,
I know the standard overall length for the 204 is 2.260"ish but what are you guys using? I'm shooting a Savage 12fv. I've seen as high as 2.355" from other sources.
 
Hi. Don't shoot it myself, but it has to be short enough to fit in the mag.
Hodgdon gives 2.300" for a 50 grain bullet. Mind you, I'm getting suspicious of their site. Found several oddities. One of 'em is the OAL given for 35 grain bullets. Says 2.400", but 2.500" for 26, 32 and 40 grain bullets.
.204 OAL seems to be all over. I'd set it up to fit the mag and feed.
 
it depends on bullet design. a bullet with a rounded point style will have a shorter oal than a bullet with a more pointed shape like a v-max.the biggest factor will be what will chamber in your rifle that is short enough to fit mag.
 
Thanks for the advice. How do you measure the chamber to know when the bullet hits the lands? Or do I just make them fit the mag?
 
i took a case and split the neck so it holds the bullet snug but not as tight as an unsplit neck.seat bullet extra long then chamber it in rifle.the bullet should hit the lands then slide back in the case.becareful when extracting the case so the bullet doesn't hit the ejection port etc.measure the OAL then set seating die to bump bullet back some from lands or untill it will fit in the mag.the 204 should have an OAL similar to a 222 as they are same case just necked down to the smaller bullet.my 222 ammo with 50 grain v-max bullets have an OAL of 2.210 which is about 0.010 off the lands.my factory federal ammo with 50 grain sp bullets have a OAL of 2.076.the winchester factory with 50 grain sp bullets have an OAL of 2.047.
 
i took a case and split the neck so it holds the bullet snug but not as tight as an unsplit neck.seat bullet extra long then chamber it in rifle.the bullet should hit the lands then slide back in the case.becareful when extracting the case so the bullet doesn't hit the ejection port etc.measure the OAL then set seating die to bump bullet back some from lands
Click to expand...

I used the same approach and the bullets were key holing on me. I have since been seating them around 2.27 and they make nice neat round holes. I am using Hornady Vmax 40g and Sierra BK 39 g. I don't have my OAL data on this computer (out in workshop) but I believe the OAL on the keyholes was around 2.35.

Seems odd that they key holed as I used the same technique in my Rem 700 30:06 and it improved my groups.

So I guess my Rem 70 SPS Varmit in 204 Ruger likes them set deeper.
 
deadeyes40 said:
i took a case and split the neck so it holds the bullet snug but not as tight as an unsplit neck.seat bullet extra long then chamber it in rifle.the bullet should hit the lands then slide back in the case.becareful when extracting the case so the bullet doesn't hit the ejection port etc.measure the OAL then set seating die to bump bullet back some from lands or untill it will fit in the mag.the 204 should have an OAL similar to a 222 as they are same case just necked down to the smaller bullet.my 222 ammo with 50 grain v-max bullets have an OAL of 2.210 which is about 0.010 off the lands.my factory federal ammo with 50 grain sp bullets have a OAL of 2.076.the winchester factory with 50 grain sp bullets have an OAL of 2.047.
Click to expand...

I find that your approach does't work most times

What happens is that the bullet is lightly pushed into the lands. When you pull the case out of the chamber the bullet stays stuck in the rifling some times and gets pulled out after you pulled the case out abit and you get a length that is longer then what you want.

What I do is start back off the lands. Put the case/bullet in the chamber and close the bolt. When I take the case out and measure the over all length and it hasn’t changed from when I put it in. Its safe to say that I'm not at the rifling yet. Then I slowly move it forward. Double and triple checking each length.

When you do see a movement and you see that movement every time then you know that you are touching something. Now you have to find exactly where you are touching.

Now you should buy or make a bullet compensator. This way you aren’t measuring off the tip. The tip is different on almost every bullet.
 
The two techniques work well but with 204s you will find MANY that you cannot sit the bullet out far enough to touch the lands. Remington, CZ and Weatherby's I have tried, none would touch the lands. My own Rem 204 R I am shooting at 2.40 so they fit the magazine, but they are no where near the lands. At maximum length, it is at least 3/10s off the lands with almost none of the bullet left in the neck. Have not tried a Savage.
 
I load mine any were from 2.26 up to 2.33. Thats what size fits in my rem 700. I find the furthur that you seat them out the better the groups i get. But when i use varget and 32 grn bullets i seat them long as its a compressed load.
 
In my Tikka the mag limits are well below touching the lands. It seems like a lot of rifles have a long throat now, was just discussing this with a friend with a Rem. 700 204. Several other new rifles i worked up loads for had this same issue, didn`t seem to be a problem seating out to the lands on older rifles and still fit the mag.
 
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