New 204R ordered / dies question

[n4ue]

Hi. This week I ordered a Model 25 in 204R from the local gun store. While I was there, I picked up a new set of Hornady dies. The price was right. When I got home, I checked them out, cleaned them, etc.
I gotta say, I am very impressed with the quality. I especially like the 'drop' feature of the seating die. Since this is now caliber # 30 that I reload, I have a bunch of dies.
BTW, the LGS had W748 powder for $24 and Hornady 40 gr VMax bullets for $14. Nice guy and refuses to gouge his customers. That's one reason, I've been buying a rifle a month from him.... ha ha

be safe!

ron

[bythebook]

n4ue I use 32 gr. Vmax and BLc-2 in my 204 and I have never been able to improve on it with several other powders and bullets. My dies are RCBS and Lee collet dies.

[n4ue]

BTB, thanks for the info. I'll get some 32 gr Vmaxs soon. Seems to be a great weight. I recently picked up some 40 gr .224 bullets to try in several of my .22 centerfires. I don;t have any BLC-2, but have several powders around that burn rate. Now is not the time to try to find new powders, but the LGS seems to be making progress..... What is strange, is that he has LOTS of handgun and rifle ammo (including .223), but just cannot seem to get any numbers of .22 LR......
Oh, I forgot to mention, the ONLY thing I didn't 'like' about the Hornady dies, is the size of the box. This is a real "NIT", but the die box is 2X the size of the RCBS dies. Easily fixed, of course......ha ha

ron

[bythebook]

n4ue I have several sets of Hornady dies and I like them. I have tried several powders but my gun likes BLC-2 best, through my Chrono with my load is getting 4200 fps. I have 2 204's a TC encore and a Ruger 77VT. I have used the Ruger in several egg shoots and did pretty good as long as I did my part.

[308law]

I also use BL-C2 in the 204 with the 32 grn V-Max. I have not had any luck with the 40 grn V-Max in a 1 in 12" twist 204R. If you can find them the Sierra 39 grn Blitz King is a great choice for long ranges, and they usually shoot through the 1 in 12" twist.

[maxl]

I use reloader 10x and 39g blitzkings in my lrpv,that combo will shoot bug holes at 100yd, the 35g bergers also shoot well I could never get the v-max's 32g or 40's to shoot well. Never tried the hornady dies I use redding body die and lee collet for very little run out. I love the 204R it's a fast and fun caliber but can be challenging to find the proper seating depth(short bullets long throat) good luck and happy shooting.