UPDATE!!! I’ll be retesting this. Just found out that this gun seems to like to be cleaned after ever 20 shots. Gonna try it again as soon as I get a chance. My guess is i’ll get a 3/4 moa at 600 yards with a clean barrel. Stay Tuned!!!
Save those 32Vmax for gophers. Bump up to the 40gr. The BC is still garbage but will help when you stretch the distance out. I’m shooting a ruger Mark II target with 26” pipe. I’ve experienced the same thing with 32gr bullets. They wander past 400. I do reload 32’s to 4150fps. 40’s to 3875fps. With W748. The magic of the hand load may be what you need there too. At 500 yards with 40Vmax I can hold 1-1/2” groups. Best of luck out there !
Love the feed back. I’m not a reloader yet but may have to look at it. maybe i’ll try 40 gr just for kicks at 500 to see how the factory stuff does. Anything other than 32’s is hard to find here. plus i’m in a small town but even the city is limited for .204 ammo
It’s the wind that is messing you up. A left to right wind will push shots down and right to left will make shot rise on a right hand twist rifling. And if you look at the back of the cartridge you’ll know which manufacturer it is. And if you weigh one from a factory box you can tell what grain your loose ones are.
@@stevenkuder614 I recently found that my Tikka seems to like frequent cleaning. I lost my rangefinder so as soon as I get a new one I’m going to try it again at 600 and see if a cleaning makes the difference. I also have the tactacam now so you will be able to see my breathing and how I hold on targets.🤟 Thanks for watching
Once again thanks fir getting out there and doing this video. have 3 204s. One AR and 2 bolt Savage 12 FVs. I only shot a 100 of the 32 gainers to break in my barrels and gather some data. That was a few years ago. I chronographed them alot. Not bad consistency and fairly accurate. One thing I noticed was temperature sensitivity. I never achieved the advertised velocity in my bolts until I reached 90 degrees. 70 degrees was alot slower. One thing in the environment you were shooting was doing pretty good with that bullet at 600 yards. That verticle dispersement was caused by two things. The temperature variation on the barrel and the extreme spread of velocity. Change the velocity plus and minus 20 fps, 40 total which is not bad at the muzzle with that bullet and is going to get amplified at 600 yards. I would be real curious to see what the velocities were at the muzzle. Too bad you don't reload. The 39gr Sierra Blitzkings are awesomely accurate out of my bolts and AR. The 12 inch twist I would say is a little iffy with 40 gainers if you don't put the velocity up there so you have enough rpm to keep stabil. Just my thoughts and from what others experienced. In my AR I have 24 inch barrel with 9 inch twist I only shoot 40gr vmaxs and 40gr Nosler btips. These are going to get a workout this year with coyotes this spring and some groundhogs. Hope to make out west to blast some pasture poodles too.
Seems you found a good load for your gun. If you hand load, 39 gr sierra blitzkings are great and have a higher bc. Super fun to hand load and cheap in comparison to other calibers. BL2c powder fyi
Great video!!! I used to shoot a 17 Rem with 30gr Bergers. You really learn windage with them too. Not too shaby for the 32 gr vmax. My favorite bullet for long distances is the 39gr Sierra Blitzking in my bolts and the 40 gr vmax or Noslers ballistic tip in my ARs. Start reloading and you can get a 1/2 group at 200 yards and shrink those groups 600 yards in half. Your groups opening up as you shot more might be fouling related. The 204 is becoming my favorite critter gitter.
Ya my neighbor keeps telling me to reload. He shoots competatively and just showed me a 3.7 inch group he shot at 900 meters. I love the 40 Nosler bt but doesn’t group well in this gun. They were good in my old t3 heavy barrel.
7 inches vertical at 600 yrds with factory ammo is awesome! im thinkin all you need is to start reloading. that imho is some pretty fine shooting on your part.
main issue i see is you are thinking clicks and inches when shooting mils. think in mils 31 clicks is 3.1 mils it will make you faster at dialing and it will make more sense
good to know. it’s a bit of a down hill slope so not as exaggerated as it looks. Thanks for the tip. i’ll try to keep it more vertical with the angle of the hill in the next video.
@@billsteeves6523 Good to know. I plan to revisit this because a boresnake every 20 shots or so seems to make a difference. Going to see if that tightens up my 600 yard groups too.
Vertical this version comes from shitty ammo Standard deviation is high. Some bullets are going much faster than others. Therefore, the fast bullets will impact high. The slow bullets will drop more.
Normally I would agree with you. I hope to make another video shortly at 500 yrds and I think you will see decent groups with the same ammo. That will tell the story. 600 might just be a little much. bullet slowing down past where it flies good is my guess. You might still be right though. We will see.🤘. Thanks for the veiw and comment @HuntingSouthernCalifornia
Nice video.....Not familiar with your scope,but it looks like the parallax is set at 200 yards did you do the wiggle head test and find that the best setting for 600 or forget to adjust after shooting 200 yards. Reloading will shrink them groups too...Been rolling my own ammo sense 1980.
@FORDEVR adjust your parallax abs move your eye around in the eye box. The goal the the crosshairs do not shift in relation to the target as your eye around in the eye box. This way if your eye is slightly different from shot to shot that will not show up at the target.
Put those bullets over a chronograph and you’ll likely see quite a difference in speed which equates to the difference you’re seeing at 600 yds. Reloading is the answer to that problem. And then you’ll get your group down to .25 to .5 moa. That’s what my 204 does with 32 vmax
yes @ 600 it gets tricky. Brandon and stacy hunt have some great videos with the .204 very accurate at 400 or 500 he is shooting with factory ammo. Check him out. i’ll try to find the link. ruclips.net/video/wgc-Rn2mMoU/видео.htmlsi=p8hTqosl_B-FvMm9
@@FORDEVR The CDS turret works wonderfully. I was a skeptic at first. If you go through the process of chronographing your round and sending the info to Leupold the turret comes back to you marked in yards. Then you range find the distance and turn the turret to the range. No more mental math and chance of miscalculation. The only downside is that the turret is only calibrated for one specific round. You can order (and pay for) more than one turret. The first turret is free with scope purchase. Over time I've converted all of my scopes to Leupolds with CDS turret. I splurged and purchased a VX-6 with the Windplex reticle. With the CDS turret verticle hash marks are no longer need in the reticle. It makes the view through the scope very uncluttered. The CDS dial is calibrated to the 40 grain bullet on my .204 Ruger and is capable of compensating up to 1100 yards. Not that I would rely on the .204 for that distance. Big fan.
Ironically I've just tried some Hornady super performance in my .204 in 40 gr and I could tell from how the bolt closed how much discrepancy there was between rounds. One round wouldn't even chamber. Appalling quality control imo.
UPDATE!!! I’ll be retesting this. Just found out that this gun seems to like to be cleaned after ever 20 shots. Gonna try it again as soon as I get a chance. My guess is i’ll get a 3/4 moa at 600 yards with a clean barrel. Stay Tuned!!!
Save those 32Vmax for gophers. Bump up to the 40gr. The BC is still garbage but will help when you stretch the distance out. I’m shooting a ruger Mark II target with 26” pipe. I’ve experienced the same thing with 32gr bullets. They wander past 400. I do reload 32’s to 4150fps. 40’s to 3875fps. With W748. The magic of the hand load may be what you need there too. At 500 yards with 40Vmax I can hold 1-1/2” groups. Best of luck out there !
Love the feed back. I’m not a reloader yet but may have to look at it. maybe i’ll try 40 gr just for kicks at 500 to see how the factory stuff does. Anything other than 32’s is hard to find here. plus i’m in a small town but even the city is limited for .204 ammo
It’s the wind that is messing you up. A left to right wind will push shots down and right to left will make shot rise on a right hand twist rifling. And if you look at the back of the cartridge you’ll know which manufacturer it is. And if you weigh one from a factory box you can tell what grain your loose ones are.
Up and down stringing is usually breathing. Even a slight breath at that range cN make a huge difference.
@@stevenkuder614 I recently found that my Tikka seems to like frequent cleaning. I lost my rangefinder so as soon as I get a new one I’m going to try it again at 600 and see if a cleaning makes the difference. I also have the tactacam now so you will be able to see my breathing and how I hold on targets.🤟 Thanks for watching
3:40 you should mark your previous bullet holes with tape or a marker on the target so you can’t confuse them.
Powder temp can make a big difference on elevation of shots on target. 👍 A cold bullet will drop much faster than a warm one.
Are you in Alberta? You mentioned Brandon and stacy were friends
yes I am
Once again thanks fir getting out there and doing this video. have 3 204s. One AR and 2 bolt Savage 12 FVs. I only shot a 100 of the 32 gainers to break in my barrels and gather some data. That was a few years ago. I chronographed them alot. Not bad consistency and fairly accurate. One thing I noticed was temperature sensitivity. I never achieved the advertised velocity in my bolts until I reached 90 degrees. 70 degrees was alot slower. One thing in the environment you were shooting was doing pretty good with that bullet at 600 yards. That verticle dispersement was caused by two things. The temperature variation on the barrel and the extreme spread of velocity. Change the velocity plus and minus 20 fps, 40 total which is not bad at the muzzle with that bullet and is going to get amplified at 600 yards. I would be real curious to see what the velocities were at the muzzle. Too bad you don't reload. The 39gr Sierra Blitzkings are awesomely accurate out of my bolts and AR. The 12 inch twist I would say is a little iffy with 40 gainers if you don't put the velocity up there so you have enough rpm to keep stabil. Just my thoughts and from what others experienced.
In my AR I have 24 inch barrel with 9 inch twist I only shoot 40gr vmaxs and 40gr Nosler btips. These are going to get a workout this year with coyotes this spring and some groundhogs. Hope to make out west to blast some pasture poodles too.
just posted a 290 coyote shot video. i was impressed with that little bullet
i’ll try to get over to a buddies and get the velocities.
Seems you found a good load for your gun. If you hand load, 39 gr sierra blitzkings are great and have a higher bc. Super fun to hand load and cheap in comparison to other calibers. BL2c powder fyi
@@635suz7 Thx good to know. if I do ever reload that’s a great place to start.
Great video!!! I used to shoot a 17 Rem with 30gr Bergers. You really learn windage with them too. Not too shaby for the 32 gr vmax. My favorite bullet for long distances is the 39gr Sierra Blitzking in my bolts and the 40 gr vmax or Noslers ballistic tip in my ARs. Start reloading and you can get a 1/2 group at 200 yards and shrink those groups 600 yards in half. Your groups opening up as you shot more might be fouling related. The 204 is becoming my favorite critter gitter.
Ya my neighbor keeps telling me to reload. He shoots competatively and just showed me a 3.7 inch group he shot at 900 meters. I love the 40 Nosler bt but doesn’t group well in this gun. They were good in my old t3 heavy barrel.
@FORDEVR my barrel for 40 btips has a 1 in 9 inch twist. I have an AR I put together, very heavy, watch the bullet hit! Phenomenal sight to see.
7 inches vertical at 600 yrds with factory ammo is awesome! im thinkin all you need is to start reloading. that imho is some pretty fine shooting on your part.
main issue i see is you are thinking clicks and inches when shooting mils. think in mils 31 clicks is 3.1 mils it will make you faster at dialing and it will make more sense
The variability in velocity and the low bc of the bullets will make a huge difference in drop especially at 600 yards
@@forrestsmith1044 Ya I get way better accuracy at 400-500 especially 400
With your cardboard angled back at 45* your spread is more exaggerated than what it actually would have been if more vertical
good to know. it’s a bit of a down hill slope so not as exaggerated as it looks. Thanks for the tip. i’ll try to keep it more vertical with the angle of the hill in the next video.
Your parallax on the scope was set at 200 yards. This will make very small movements with your head and eye placement overly exaggerated at 600 yards.
@@billsteeves6523 Good to know. I plan to revisit this because a boresnake every 20 shots or so seems to make a difference. Going to see if that tightens up my 600 yard groups too.
I wish tikka still offered the .204
Vertical this version comes from shitty ammo Standard deviation is high. Some bullets are going much faster than others. Therefore, the fast bullets will impact high. The slow bullets will drop more.
Normally I would agree with you. I hope to make another video shortly at 500 yrds and I think you will see decent groups with the same ammo.
That will tell the story. 600 might just be a little much. bullet slowing down past where it flies good is my guess. You might still be right though. We will see.🤘. Thanks for the veiw and comment @HuntingSouthernCalifornia
Nice video.....Not familiar with your scope,but it looks like the parallax is set at 200 yards did you do the wiggle head test and find that the best setting for 600 or forget to adjust after shooting 200 yards. Reloading will shrink them groups too...Been rolling my own ammo sense 1980.
Forgot to readjust.🤦♂️
What’s the wiggle head test?
@FORDEVR adjust your parallax abs move your eye around in the eye box. The goal the the crosshairs do not shift in relation to the target as your eye around in the eye box. This way if your eye is slightly different from shot to shot that will not show up at the target.
@jtn-minn8105 one of the worst videos I've witnessed,just another would be video creator,trying to push a gun beyond its limitations
Put those bullets over a chronograph and you’ll likely see quite a difference in speed which equates to the difference you’re seeing at 600 yds. Reloading is the answer to that problem. And then you’ll get your group down to .25 to .5 moa. That’s what my 204 does with 32 vmax
I think you need to reload to be consistent
yes @ 600 it gets tricky. Brandon and stacy hunt have some great videos with the .204 very accurate at 400 or 500 he is shooting with factory ammo. Check him out. i’ll try to find the link.
ruclips.net/video/wgc-Rn2mMoU/видео.htmlsi=p8hTqosl_B-FvMm9
Your target isn't straight up and down which explains the big number .
😊
Three words...Leupold CDS turret.
I have considered them. Maybe if I was a reloader. How do you like them. Any neg or all positive.
@@FORDEVR The CDS turret works wonderfully. I was a skeptic at first. If you go through the process of chronographing your round and sending the info to Leupold the turret comes back to you marked in yards. Then you range find the distance and turn the turret to the range. No more mental math and chance of miscalculation. The only downside is that the turret is only calibrated for one specific round. You can order (and pay for) more than one turret. The first turret is free with scope purchase. Over time I've converted all of my scopes to Leupolds with CDS turret. I splurged and purchased a VX-6 with the Windplex reticle. With the CDS turret verticle hash marks are no longer need in the reticle. It makes the view through the scope very uncluttered. The CDS dial is calibrated to the 40 grain bullet on my .204 Ruger and is capable of compensating up to 1100 yards. Not that I would rely on the .204 for that distance. Big fan.
@@Skyhawks1979 Wow that’s
amazing!
Really happy with my strike eagle but if that ever changes I would definitely try a Leupold cds next.
Love to see a video. You should make a video and post it showing you turret and the .204
Hornady ammo is rubbish,S&B far superior,as for the benefits of home loading the 204,check out 204 ruger surgical accuracy😊
Ironically I've just tried some Hornady super performance in my .204 in 40 gr and I could tell from how the bolt closed how much discrepancy there was between rounds. One round wouldn't even chamber. Appalling quality control imo.
HAVE YOU EVER SHOT A 25 WSSM. I SHOOT MINE AT 5 - 600 YRDS and it's deadly at those ranges I use a 6×24 Burris and I fricking love it.
I havnt. will have to check it out.
My 2506. In ruger number 1 is deadly out to 1/2 mile
IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THAT GUN IS ALL OVER THE PLACE. SOMETHING ISNT TIGHT OR SOMETHING
Think it could be a fussy Tikka. Gonna try this again with a clean barrel first chance I get.