Home Forum Rifles .204 Load Data .204 Ammo

Loaded Ammunition

  1. Hornady

  2. Federal with 39 gr. Sierra BlitzKing and Nosler 32 gr. Ballistic Tip

  3. Winchester - Available at Cabelas.

  4. HSM - Available at Cabelas.

Bullets

  1. Hornady - of course!  They come in two flavors: 32 and 40 grain V-Max.

  2. Berger - Berger currently has the largest offering in bullets for the .204.

  3. Sierra - A 32 grain and 39 grain boat-tail make up Sierra's offerings.

  4. Nosler - Nosler offers a 32 grain and a 40 grain Ballistic Tip.

  5. MidwayUSA - Midway offers a 34 grain Dogtown bullet.

  6. Barnes - Barnes offers a 26 grain Varmint Grenade.

Note: 40 grain bullets are right on the edge of being stabilized with a 1:12 twist. Many .204 Ruger users are finding that some rifles with a 1:12 twist will shoot 40 grain bullets accurately while other rifles will not.


Here is a photo that Glen Asher shared with us that shows the 39 grain Sierra Blitzking on the left, Hornady's 40 grain V-Max in the center and Noslers 40 grain Ballistic tip on the right.

Manufacture Grains Ballistic Coef. Sectional Density Recommended Twist
Hornady 32 .210 .110 na
Hornady 40 .275 .137 na
Sierra 32 .221 na na
Sierra 39 .287 na 1/12
Berger 30* .163 na 1/16
Berger 35* .191 na 1/14
Berger 40* .239 na 1/12
Berger 50* .296 na 1/9
Nosler 32 .206 na na
Nosler 40 .239 na na
MidwayUSA 34 na na na
Barnes 26 na na na
*Also available in moly coated.

Note: Although Hornady's website shows the 40 grain .204 bullet as a flatbase design, they actually have a boattail.  At least the box I purchased had boattails.