Loading for the 204 Ruger

Bill Gabbard

I got off to a slow start with the 204 Ruger. A couple of my shooting friends owned them and loved them, often telling me that I should buy one. I owned a great shooting 223 as well as 22-250 that was incredibly accurate and just couldn’t see the need for one. My friend Danny Barrett asked me to help him zero in a new scope on a 204 and 3 shots later watching the bullet holes appear in the target without losing sight of the target I was impressed. The fact that all three were nearly touching sealed the deal. I had to have one of these. Half inch groups with factory ammo were common with the new Remington 700 VSSF II, but my OCD had me wanting to get quarter inch groups. Paul Johnson, my reloading mentor, had told me that the 204 had a couple of issues that would challenge me until I got used to loading for the round and he was right. The first issue was the powder funnel. I was using the old standard funnel that came with every reloading setup. They worked great with 22 caliber and up. I had a set of funnels with interchangeable tips that worked with 17 caliber, but nothing for 20. I used the 17 which was not very handy until I found a dedicated 20 caliber funnel. The next problem was holding the tiny bullets trying to get them started straight in the seater die. Practice and working with 17 Caliber rounds made this a non-issue.

Fast forward to today and a quick trip through the old Reloading Logbook reveals that over the years thirteen rifles, by six different manufacturers, have passed through the reloading room. One of these, the old Remington 700 VSSF II that will show up on every chart has seen it all. It served for years a primary truck gun. It has been a test mule for loading articles on the Mossy Oak page. It has won numerous shooting matches used by different competitors.

The first bullet I worked with, the Hornady 32 gr V-Max, is an extremely accurate as well as explosive bullet. I have watched crows explode with this bullet. My longest coyote harvest at 348 yards came with the 32 V-Max, and a buck that had been hit on the road was dispatched at the request of Fish and Wildlife. These are staples on the shelf of 20 caliber bullets.

Hornady 32 gr V-Max

CAUTION: All hand loads should start at least 10% below published maximums and increase while watching for signs of excessive pressure.

Jamie Thomas walked into the reloading room a few years ago with a box of Nosler’s 32 gr Varmageddon Varmint Bullets that has just been introduced. Jamie brought a Thompson Center Venture chambered in 204 and wanted to try the combination out. We weren’t disappointed. Every rifle we tried with these bullets had at least one load that would consistently stay under one half inch with groups under a quarter inch not unusual. Yep, I keep these on the shelf as well.

Nosler 32 gr Varmageddon

CAUTION: All hand loads should start at least 10% below published maximums and increase while watching for signs of excessive pressure.

Geoff Esterline from Capstone Precision managed to snag me a piece of a box of Berger’s 35 gr Flat Base Varmint bullets, to try for this article. I had never tried these bullets, nor even seen them on the shelf. I only had a few bullets to work with so my experience with them was limited but phenomenally successful. Based on the results below, there will be more of these on my shelf soon!

Berger 35 gr Flat Base Varmint

CAUTION: All hand loads should start at least 10% below published maximums and increase while watching for signs of excessive pressure.

My friend Rick Roberts likes to make me try new things to keep me on my toes. He decided that he wanted to see if we could build a load with 40 gr bullets that would group under a quarter of an inch, thinking he wanted more knockdown than the 32 gr pills provided. First up in the 40-gr test was Hornady’s 40 gr V-Max. The results were like the 32 gr loads. A little load development brought groups under one half inch. The light barrel Tikka pulled the best group with this bullet.

Hornady 40 gr V-Max

CAUTION: All hand loads should start at least 10% below published maximums and increase while watching for signs of excessive pressure.

The next 40 gr bullet I tried was Nosler’s time tested Ballistic-Tip Varmint which are well known for their deadly performance on varmints. These bullets shot well with every rifle tried.

Nosler 40 gr Ballistic Tip Varmint

 CAUTION: All hand loads should start at least 10% below published maximums and increase while watching for signs of excessive pressure.

The third 40 grain bullet I worked with was Berger’s 40 gr Boat Tail Varmint. I only tried this bullet in the same three rifles that I used Bergers 35 gr bullet in. All three did well with the CZ being at a distinct disadvantage due to its shorter, lightweight barrel. It still managed to join the heavyweights in the half-inch club.

Berger 40gr Boat Tail Varmint

CAUTION: All hand loads should start at least 10% below published maximums and increase while watching for signs of excessive pressure.

If you like accuracy, the 204 Ruger is a caliber that will make you smile. Every single 204 that I have worked with has managed to produce groups of less than one half inch, with most rifles shooting one quarter inch groups. While most rifles that I have worked with over the years prefer 32 and 35 grain bullets, a little experimenting proves that the 40 rain bullets can really shine. The 204 has proven itself to be a worthy addition to the collection, taking crows, coyotes, and deer as well as trophies!