.204 ,LRPV,dogtown bullets

[gdc]

Gotta problem chambering 35gr.dogtowns. We shoot alot of prairie dogs, and the 35 gr dogtowns would be just great, but they won't chamber worth a crap. I have tried lengthing out the col and shortning the same but to no avail.. What happens seems to be that the bullet (being a blunt end hp) it hangs up on the entrance to the barrel, and ya have to wiggle the shell with your finger to get it to center and enter the chamber. I've loaded other bullets wts. and hp and none do it but the midway dogtowns. I hate to give up on em but it sure makes ya talk funny when every one makes ya work to get it chambered. Haven't talked to any techs yet but it's on my mind. Any thoughts would be appreciated. jc

[82boy]

This is a common problem with any 204 Savage using a hollow point bullet. There is a way to fix it and what you do is have a ar15 style feed ramp cut into the back of the barrel. I don't know why Savage doesn't do this from the factory. SSS can do the work without removing the barrel.

[Silverfox]

This was an old problem from back in 2004 or 2005 that folks were having with the 35 gr. FBHP Berger bullets. I experienced it too. I carefully bent the right-hand side feed lip on the magazine up closest to the chamber so the rounds could rise up sooner in the front. If I remember right, I only had problems with the round on the left side of the staggered feed magazine.

There are specialized tools for bending the feed rail or lip, but I used a slip joint plier and the teeth made for some pretty rough surfaces on the feed rail or lip that had to be emery clothed off and polished. Works just fine now. Here's a couple photos of the tool some gunsmith made to work on the feed rails.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/Silverfox_ND/204%20Ruger%20Magazine/Mag_tool_top_view.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/Silverfox_ND/204%20Ruger%20Magazine/Mag_tool_side_view.jpg

Here's another method some shooters use to allow their rounds to center in the chamber by modifying the breech face:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/Silverfox_ND/204%20Ruger%20Magazine/BreechFaceFeedRamp.jpg