204 bullet for coyotes

[Schism]

I used the 39 sbk's for one season and decided they weren't the best bullet for saving fur. On close shots they had a tendency to splash on impact. I switched to the 40 grain Berger's and have had great success with them the last three seasons. I use the Berger's in both my 204 and 20 practical.

 

[sneaky]

I'll be the odd one, but I had to many splash hits on bone with the V max bullets. My 204 has a 1 in 10 twist and prefers the heavier bullets. I have shot dozens with the 45gr Hornady SP bullet in the factory ammo. I get 3429fps in my 22" barrel with these and between the lower velocity and tougher construction they have worked well. I get an exit but it's tiny. These bullets let me take shots at second coyotes as they run away I wouldn't trust a V max to get deep enough on. I know I can break bone and get deep with these.

I also had good luck with the 40gr Ballistic tip, but I had so many boxes of the 45gr load I never used them to much. They seemed a bit tougher than the V max but the sample size of coyotes taken with them was small.

I've had several splash hits with the VMaxs as well.

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[Beendare]

I'm shooting .223 and love those Vmax.........I've never had an exit, and never not seen one drop right there.

 

[sneaky]

I'm going to try some of those James Calhoon bullets. He makes a 33gr and a 39gr in 20cal. Good price on them too

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[bcrow3]

I really like the 35 gr. Bergers and push them with either xbr 8208 or H322

 

[B23]

I was contemplating getting one of the 20 practicals, does anyone still make brass for it or is it all forming? If forming what is the easiest way to do that? Thanks

The 20 Practical is a straight 223 neck down to .204 If you have a 223 bushing die, that and the correct size bushing is all you'll need for a 20 Practical. If you were thinking 20 Tactical then that's a slightly different configuration of the same 223 parent case and you'll need specific dies for a 20 Tac.

Maybe not the highest BC 20 cal bullets on the market but the 35 and 40 gr Bergers are two of the better 20 cal yote bullets. If you want high BC in a 20 you have to build something with a 8 or 9 twist and shoot the 55gr Berger's and that's if you can find some but dam are the long and sleek. Those 55's look fast just sitting in the box.

 

[Hill Difficulty]

39 BKs go off and out like a bomb. A clean double-lunger under 200 yards will leave a grapefruit exit hole or worse.

FWIW, easier to like Berger 35 and BT 40. BT 40s just have more steam at longer distances + they don't detonate like most.

On the 204 subject, got a CZ varmint kevlar with a toasted throat. Can anyone comment on a PacNor 1/11" barrel or offer a 527 varmint barreled action that shoots?

 

[RMajors]

I've always shot 32 grainers out of my 204, and it doesn't care which brand (nosler, hornady, sierra). I load them over benchmark and they absolutely bughole. I've only ever shot 1 coyote with it but he dropped in his tracks and the bullet didn't exit. My rifle didn't like the 39 or 40 grains, never tried the 35 because it shoots too good with the 32's.

 

[B23]

On the 204 subject, got a CZ varmint kevlar with a toasted throat. Can anyone comment on a PacNor 1/11" barrel or offer a 527 varmint barreled action that shoots?

A lot of personal preference in barrels but PacNor makes a very good barrel and an 11 twist will satisfy all the 40 grainers. Their 17 and 20 cal barrels seem to be particularly popular. PacNor and 11tw, good choice X2.

 

[sneaky]

I've always shot 32 grainers out of my 204, and it doesn't care which brand (nosler, hornady, sierra). I load them over benchmark and they absolutely bughole. I've only ever shot 1 coyote with it but he dropped in his tracks and the bullet didn't exit. My rifle didn't like the 39 or 40 grains, never tried the 35 because it shoots too good with the 32's.

What's your recipe with Benchmark for your .204? Might try some with those Calhoon bullets to test.

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[RMajors]

What's your recipe with Benchmark for your .204? Might try some with those Calhoon bullets to test.

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I'll have to verify but I believe it's 27.7 grains. My rifle and ammo are at my dad's. I'll double check it tomorrow when I go over there. There's probably faster loads out there, but this was the best I found for accuracy. The cases are Remington with cci br4 primers.

 

[Blockcaver]

On the 204 subject, got a CZ varmint kevlar with a toasted throat. Can anyone comment on a PacNor 1/11" barrel or offer a 527 varmint barreled action that shoots?

I rebarrelled a M700 ADL .204 that shot very poorly with the factory barrel. Got a 1 in 11" PacNor. Shoots very well with 39 gr Sierra BK. They are the only bullet I tried in it. Max load of RL10X with CCI BR4 primers is typically under 3/8" for 3 shots. Now has an aftermarket stock on firing pin/cocking piece. Nice rifle, but nearly the cost of a Cooper to get to shoot...like my Cooper shoots.

 

[kodiak17]

Coopers are very nice rifles, was looking for one in the 204 or 22-250 but really wanted a repeater and most of them I came across were single shot. Contemplating a custom build to get what I want.

 

[Hill Difficulty]

Thank you, B23 and Blockaver.

 

[Hunter Hicks]

I have not had much luck with the 32 GR Vmax for yotes, Great for ground squirrels. looks like i should try bergers now.

 

[Sheepdog]

I’ve tried the 32 gr vamp and 40gr vmax in my 204 ruger. The 40s didn’t group all that great. The 32gr were bug holing lazers. I stopped using them for predator hunting though due to getting splashes. Anything under a 100 yards and would get a splash 1/4 -1/3 of the time.

Worst was on a coyote at 20 yards. He came up out of a frozen river bank and only gave me a head neck shot as he nervously looked at the caller. Grapefruit sized splash. I just saw him drop and knew the shot was good and was looking for his mate, only to see him flying back across the river. I ended up trailing him for over 1200 yards, straight line distance from poi to where he laid to rest, over the river and through willow islands. He was still breathing when I caught up to him hidden in the edge of an ice jam. The whole side of his neck looked like burger. Never touched an artery though, I still can’t believe that. Felt like crap and thought I was a fluke. They shot so good I kept talking myself out of switching though. Had a couple guys that I hunted with/knew in Alaska that used them. They shot for the back of the lungs/ diaphragm and close range and didn’t get splashes or exits. They loved them. Two guys even killed several wolves with the 204 and 32 gr vmax- from 250 out to just over 400 yards. Those bullets stayed together much better penetrating deep enough for clean kills. Seemed like the lower impact velocity played a big role in that.

Still I stopped trusting them and switched to 35 gr Berger’s. I couldn’t buy them off the shelf but found they shot just as good once I found a load. I stopped using the 204 in favor of a 20 practical AR suppressed. Moot point as they are pretty close in velocity just a different case to carry them in. Still use the Berger’s though and after 6 years have not had another splash.

Never trusted the 20 cals for wolves and brought a 243 shooting copper bullets when we thought we’d run into one or when targeting them. The copper bullets where pretty fur friendly on coyotes too.

Just my opinion from my experience with a couple of the bullets mentioned. V-Max at high velocity especially in 20 cal are really good for paper and varmints (amazing for prairie dogs and rock chucks!), not good enough for coyotes.

YMMV.

 

[mudinblood]

My gun shoots both the 32 gr Vmax and 40 gr Vmax very well. I mostly use the 40 gr for coyotes, and the 32 gr for other varmints.