204 Ruger Reload-What Brand of Death?

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VPELT

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Hey all. So after a lot of reading I hear people having a lot of success with the lighter end of he bullet spectrum in their Tikka T3 Lites in 204 Ruger. So I have it narrowed down to the following:
Hornady 32gr v-max http://www.hornady.com/store/20-Cal-.204-32-gr-V-MAX-250/
Nosler's 32gr Varmageddon Polymer Tip http://www.nosler.com/varmageddon-bullet/
Nosler's 32gr Ballistic Tip Varmint Spitzer http://www.nosler.com/ballistic-tip-varmint-bullet/
Sierra 32gr BlitzKing https://www.sierrabullets.com/store/product.cfm/sn/1032/204-dia-32-gr-20-cal

The Sierra BlitzKing claim the highest Ballistic Coefficient. So thats what I am leaning torwards.
What are your success stories? Pros-Cons, lets hear them!

Will be using it mainly for :sniper: coyotes, maybe a wolf in the future.
 
I've always had great success with the vmax with only 1 exception and that was on a jackrabbit at 250 paces with a 22 mag. 30 gr Vmax. First shot took the lower jaw off. He was spinning while the second shot landed between the neck and shoulder. I killed him quick but the bullet only showed a dent in the jacket. No expansion. Any and all fired from the center fire rifle has been flawless. 223 and 257 mostly
 
Ok.
But it is next to impossible to find 35 grain bergers. I might give them a whirl. But as I said. It sounds like a lot of people are finding success with 32 grainers out of their tikkas
 
Friend of mine had a Tikka T3 Varmint in 204. He likes the 32gr Blitzkings but his all time most accurate load was a mild doze of RL10X under a 39gr Blitz King in a hornady Case and set off by CCI 450 primers.

As for my CZ527 Varmint i can get it to shoot damn near anything from 40gr and down if i can keep the velocity up. I think thats what the real issue is.. a slow twist... get the RPM up and i feel you should have no issues.... and yes it is next to possible to find 35gr bergers but when you do... you wont be dissipointed
 
VPELT said:
Hey all. So after a lot of reading I hear people having a lot of success with the lighter end of he bullet spectrum in their Tikka T3 Lites in 204 Ruger. So I have it narrowed down to the following:
Hornady 32gr v-max ...
Nosler's 32gr Varmageddon Polymer Tip ...
Nosler's 32gr Ballistic Tip Varmint Spitzer ...
Sierra 32gr BlitzKing ...

The Sierra BlitzKing claim the highest Ballistic Coefficient. So thats what I am leaning torwards. What are your success stories? Pros-Cons, lets hear them! Will be using it mainly for :sniper: coyotes, maybe a wolf in the future.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't recommend any of the 32 gr bullets for coyotes, and certainly not for a wolf. These are varmint bullets, not intended for predator hunting. That's not to say that they cannot kill a coyote, of course, but just that there are better choices. Especially if you have any intention of preserving fur. They are likely to splash on the surface with shoulder shots or at bad angles.

Your Tikka is likely to be able to shoot heavier 20 cal bullets adequately and I would recommend those for coyotes. The Bergers are especially good, and the Nosler BT (with the solid base) isn't bad either. Even the 39 gr Sierra Blitz King would likely shoot well, and is better than the 32 gr flavour.
 
Id stay away from any 32 gr tipped bullet especially if you are gonna shoot a wolf. They are well known to splash and leave an animal wounded. I have personally found the 35 gr berger , very accurate, and fur friendly. The 39 gr. Blitzking is a great long range round but again being a tipped bullet it can splash , I shot a red fox this fall at 505 yards DRT my farthest kill with a .204
Bergers are easy to find and order online if you wanna buy em. The .204 is such a great varmint/predator round...have fun !!!!!
 
scott_r said:
Id stay away from any 32 gr tipped bullet especially if you are gonna shoot a wolf. They are well known to splash and leave an animal wounded. I have personally found the 35 gr berger , very accurate, and fur friendly. The 39 gr. Blitzking is a great long range round but again being a tipped bullet it can splash , I shot a red fox this fall at 505 yards DRT my farthest kill with a .204
Bergers are easy to find and order online if you wanna buy em. The .204 is such a great varmint/predator round...have fun !!!!!
Click to expand...
I agree totally with this. Had to many spinners and runners with the 32gr Vmax's or Ballastics tips. Switched to the 35's and haven't had that problem anymore. Bergers are in stock at Prohet River http://store.prophetriver.com/berger-20-cal-35-gr-match-varmint-fb-100ct/. I'm going to Lloydminister this weekend so I will be picking up another few hundred.
Cheers
Muckwa
 
Interesting replies. So BT are a no go is what I am seeing is the general feedback.Will have to track down some 35gr bergers. Might even go with the 39gr blitzking though. will have to do some load development for sure.
 
My T3 lite shoots the 32gr. Sierra's best. It is a good coyote bullet, in and no out. Great for the guy skinning the beastie. All my coyotes were 1 shot kills dropped in their tracks, poor bullet placement counts in varmint shooting as well as big game.
 
Berger also makes a 40 gr HP. Another option to try is the 39 gr. Speer bullets, I haven't tried them but they are an option. If you do choose a ballistic tip you may find success if you slow the bullet down but that negates the attractive feature of the round. Let us know how things work out, curious to see how the .204 does on a wolf.

Cheers!!
 
Hornady offers a 45gr SP.. i hear they are designed for a slow twist barrel.. i never tried them but know ppl who have... Excellent on coyotes and even get exit's on some occasions.. that being said would be a nice hunk of lead for a wolf.. Pushing them to the velocity desiered to bring down a wolf but be a question to ask yourself..... one bad bullet you might soon become the hunted lol.
 
ackertjosh said:
Hornady offers a 45gr SP.. i hear they are designed for a slow twist barrel.. i never tried them but know ppl who have... Excellent on coyotes and even get exit's on some occasions.. that being said would be a nice hunk of lead for a wolf.. Pushing them to the velocity desiered to bring down a wolf but be a question to ask yourself..... one bad bullet you might soon become the hunted lol.
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While I've only shot 1 coyote with the 45's I'm giving up on them. One shot to down him and another to finish. Splash on head shot. Multiple exits (not sure which shot they came from). Much prefer the 32gr vmax.
 
I have shot with the 40 grain berger hollow point and would definitely recommend it. I can get amazing accuracy with it and has a great ballistic coefficient on top of minimal splash. I found mine at Wholesale Sports in Calgary
 
Based on 1 season of hunting groundhogs with a .204R, I'd recommend the 39gr. SBKs for coyote. Probably the best choice if you want to use a .204 for wolf~though I have ZERO experience with .204R and an animal that large. My Cooper was a 1:12", but it shot that best. I tried 35gr. Berger, 32gr. V-Max, and the 39gr. SBKs...multiple powders on each. Wasn't a challenge finding the best shooter, but it was those SBKs and 25.1gr. RL10x that trumped the rest.

Effect? 32gr. V-Max was the most fun....but we're talking groundhogs, not coyotes...and DEFINITELY not wolves. 39gr. SBKs tended to really over-penetrate groundhogs. Blew right through them sideways, 1/2" exit wound. Blew through another almost end-to-end (more quartered) and it was at that point I realized that it might be time to revisit the 32gr. V-Max testing.
 
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