RELOADING
The .204 Ruger
A burgeoning bullet selection helps this 5mm fireball smoke the subcaliber competition.
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| Accurate: | 1680, 2115BR, 2230, 2460, 2495BR, 2520 |
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| Alliant: | Reloder-7, Reloder-11 |
| Hodgdon: | H4198, H322, Benchmark, BL-C(2), H335, H4895 |
| IMR (now Hodgdon): | IMR 4198, IMR 3031, IMR 4895, IMR 4064 |
| Norma: | N-201, N-202 |
| RamShot: | X-Terminator, TAC |
| Vihtavuori: | N130, N133, N135 |
| Winchester: | 680, 748 |
.204 Ruger (Suitable Powders)
When the .204 Ruger came out in 2004 the question was, "Will enough shooters decide that they can't get along without one to justify the factory's expense?" That question's been answered. My industry sources tell me that the .204 is selling very well, so it's going to be around for a while.
Obviously, a .20-caliber (5mm) cartridge falls between the .17s and the centerfire .22s. The use of these small calibers is limited to varmint shooting--realistically, only lightweight varmints--but that single application alone makes for a large market.
Hornady (the ammo developer) seems to have based the cartridge design on the .222 Remington Magnum. Although some of the dimensions are not exactly the same as those of the .222 Magnum, you can form .204 cases from .222 Magnum cases with a single pass through the standard resizing die and a fire-forming shot. I don't know why anyone would want to do that, though, since it's easier today for most people to get .204 cases than .222 Magnum brass.
When Guns & Ammo first published loads for the .204 Ruger in November 2004, there was only one bullet available: the 32-grain Hornady V-Max. We were told a 40-grain Hornady was on the way, but we didn't have any yet.
That's the big problem whenever a new caliber (bore diameter) is introduced. There aren't many bullets available, and the lack of projectiles can kill an otherwise interesting caliber. If bulletmakers decide that the new caliber has a future, they'll jump on the bandwagon and start making bullets, too. And that's what has happened with the .204. Besides Hornady, Berger and Sierra are now making .204 bullets in a variety of weights. Remington and Winchester are offering loaded ammo but as of this writing are not selling bulk bullets. It appears, then, that the .204 caliber is up and running.
Since I already had dies from Hornady, that's what I used here (there may be other offerings by now). Ditto for cases. I went with what I had on hand, and perhaps this is a good time to emphasize that whenever you change anything (cases, primers, bullets) in your loads, always go back to the starting load level until you see how things are behaving.
If you have a chronograph (and the cost of one is low enough that any serious reloader should have one), you have a very good clue as to how hot your loads are. The ballistics folks at the ammo companies are not dummies; they don't get paid to develop wimpy loads. They have access to powders that aren't available on the retail market. As a result, if you are getting more velocity from your handloads than factory ammo with the same bullet weight in your gun, watch out. Your loads are at least at the pressure limit, no matter how nice you think the primers look. The factories load right up to the SAAMI maximum-average-pressure standards, so they are very hard to beat in terms of velocity. Don't think you can get an extra 100 or 200 fps above the factory without making ultra-hot loads. You can't, I can't, and nobody else can either.
I included loads for the Berger 50-grain bullet in the accompanying table. The 50-grainers present a real problem. It's not that there's anything wrong with the bullet itself. In any caliber--not just the .204--bullets get heavier as they get longer. Longer bullets need more spin to keep them stable. The barrel twist found in most factory guns is a compromise to stabilize the broadest range of bullet weights expected to be used. If you want to use heavy bullets such as the 50-grain .204, you need a fast-twist--and probably custom--barrel. The factory twist for .204 Ruger barrels is 1:12. Stabilizing a 50-grain .204 bullet requires 1:8 or 1:9.
So what happens if you shoot the 50-grain bullets in a 1:12? Well, the bullet may yaw just a little too much as it starts downrange; it may actually tip 90 degrees and go downrange turning like a propeller rather than spinning on its long axis like it should. That doesn't do a bit of good for either accuracy or downrange ballistics.
The accuracy potential of the .204 is a bit surprising. As I developed the loads I found that sub-one-inch 100-yard groups were not the least bit unusual. That's a good thing because a varmint rifle is employed on very small targets. If you want to shoot ground squirrels at 200 yards, you need a rifle/load combo that can consistently group tighter than one inch at 100 yards. The .204 Ruger can do that easily.
WARNING: The loads shown here are safe only in the guns for which they were developed. Neither the author nor InterMedia Outdoors assumes any liability for accidents or injury resulting from the use or misuse of this data.
