Looking for information that anyone has using a savage heavy 26" barrell .204 with a 1 in 10 twist. I am trying to shoot this gun at 400+ yds. I have been unable to to find a load that is truly accurate. I have tried a few 32, 40 and also 45 grain loads. The gun seems to like the lighter bullet weights better, i would like to find a load for a 40 grain bullet that shoots decent out farther.

My 204 Ruger is a Contender with a 24 inch barrel. If I remember correctly, the twist is 1:10 so, if less than 1 MOA with Hornady 45 gr. Spire Points is good enough for you, you might try this load.

Considering a .204 myself this summer, I found and talked to about a dozen guys that shoot and re-load for it.
Two of them only shot factory ammo with both guns preferring the lighter bullet. Only one guy that re-loaded reported having the best luck with 40gr bullets. (B-Tips and V-maxes)
Four of them realized that their guns shot way better 1-1 ½ grains below the max load. Nosler’s #6 re-loading manual concurs with this showing the majority of their best loads between 1-2 grains below max.

Run the ballistics on the really light bullets out to 400+ - Wind effect starts a lot sooner with the lighter bullets with a lower BC. Even with the TOF advantage from running up near 4000fps these can get blown around pretty good in a crosswind.

I have found that the .204 ruger will shoot almost any bullet very well out to 200 yards, i have yet to find one that it will shoot decently out past that though.

I shoot a T/C Encore Pro. .204 with a 6 by 24 by 50 mm Burris- Black Diamond scope. You may want to try Sierra 40 grain Blitz kings with 25 grains of Benchmark powder. and I always use Fed. 205M primers. My gun will shoot a .234" group off a bench and with bags at 100 yards on a fairly nice calm day. That is one awesome shooting gun. It has been modified some : trigger job with new springs/ lock up springs. And over size pivot pin. 2X . Its a Single shot killer to say the least. Try that load , ya never know till ya try . Your best bet its to take your first pick on the bullet you would like to shoot. Then start in the middle of the load specks and increase 1/2 grain for each set of 5 bullets ,. Make notes on what your shooting of coarse. I color the primers with markers to match my notes on paper. Once you find a load that looks pretty good on paper { tightest group} then go up and down each way by .2 of a grain of powder till ya find the sweet spot. I only re size my necks and check my bullet run out with a case-master By RCBS .002 run out is my max ! Very important with this little bullet. A good seating die is a Must. I prefer Redding competition seating dies. Also check your primer pockets and clean well and ream and uniform. These small little bullets are touchy and picky. If you don't like what you are getting go to a different weight bullet. I found after trying all the 32 grain ers that my gun loves 40 grain only. Go figure, Its not that I cant shoot 32 gainers its just that they sure don't shoot like the 40s. Good luck hope this note helps .

I have 3 .204 Rugers on TC Contender frames. Standard twist from the factory is 1-12 twist. Mine will all shoot very accurate well past 300 yds. We shoot pds with ours all the time with 32 gr. Sierra and Hornady bullets...no problem.

What is pds ? I never heard of this term before. I'm sure once you tell me It will come to me. LOL Kinda Like all the other lango there is to learn when your a Ol' timer.

Prairie Dogs!!! (aka ground squirrels)

I call this a ground squirrel.




This is a Prairie poodle




Just a skosh bigger

Ground Squirrels, Prairie Dogs and Rock Chucks all come from the Sciuridae family and those that are not familiar often confuse them with one another.
Chipmunks and groundhogs are also a part of that family!!!

Cool : Thanks We only have Tree Rats here . Real Name Ground Squirrels . With my .204 T/C Encore loaded with a 40 grain Sierra Blitz Kings it blows them into pieces. LOL Not real good eatin anyway. Taste like wood. Yuk. But they sure are fun to hunt. those 32 grainers really zip along but they just aren't quit as accurate in my gun. But they will definitely shoot a nickle size group at 100 yards easy. 40 grainers in a 1/4 " or Better at 100 yards. Sure wish we had pds here. Only Coyotes and tree rats . And no where to shoot over 200 yards anyway ..........

T/C Hunter wrote:

What is pds ? I never heard of this term before. I'm sure once you tell me It will come to me. LOL Kinda Like all the other lango there is to learn when your a Ol' timer.

In the varmint world a 'pd' is a prairie dog. Spend one afternoon out on the pasture with me and you will never forget. I would figure on 300-400 shots per day ranging from 50 yd. the well beyond 350 yds. All private land and as long as the sun is shinin you have targets. Excellent way to see what a rifle can really do. Of all the possible rifle combinations I have a .204 Ruger with a good 12x to 16x scope shooting 32 gr. Vmaxs pretty much rules the roost.
I have lango issues too......I'm almost an Ol' timer.

Hey skb2706 That's sounds like a blast. There kinda like a wood chuck but smaller , woodys now stay close to the road for some reason, they no longer live out in the middle of fields. Someone must have tip them off in New York state or at least in my neck of the woods. LOL They sit on the side of the road and laugh at ya. The only way to get them is with your front tire your truck. What kind of load are you using behind those 32 grain V max bullets? I never did do a fine tune on them after 1/2 groups at 100. Seemed like they didn't want to shoot any better than that. Maybe someday I'll just change powder and try again. My Encore Pro .204 has a 28" barrel with a 1 in 12 " twist. Just cant seem to dial those light little suckers in as well as those 40 grainers. Its all in the formula and time on the bench.

T/C Hunter wrote:

Hey skb2706 That's sounds like a blast. There kinda like a wood chuck but smaller , woodys now stay close to the road for some reason, they no longer live out in the middle of fields. Someone must have tip them off in New York state or at least in my neck of the woods. LOL They sit on the side of the road and laugh at ya. The only way to get them is with your front tire your truck. What kind of load are you using behind those 32 grain V max bullets? I never did do a fine tune on them after 1/2 groups at 100. Seemed like they didn't want to shoot any better than that. Maybe someday I'll just change powder and try again. My Encore Pro .204 has a 28" barrel with a 1 in 12 " twist. Just cant seem to dial those light little suckers in as well as those 40 grainers. Its all in the formula and time on the bench.

Pds represent the best biodegradable, self erecting, multi-distant, long range target you could ask for.
My TC get a 32 gr. Vmax over a max dose of RL-10x lit with a CCI BR-4 and with that I get about 4050-4100 fps. Out to 350 yd. it is dealy on pds but much beyond that you either hold over or make scope adjustments.
If you ever want to see it in action make a trip to the prairie.