Mauser, Winchester Model 70, or Sav- age Model 12 actions, Krieger or Hart barrels, McMillan or Bell and Carlson stocks, and Jewell or Shilen triggers for Remington actions and AccuTrigger or Sharpshooter triggers for Savage actions. All components used in the GT rifles have been selected for their quality, availability, and value for the money. If desired, Dale will install a Nightforce, Leupold, or Zeiss scope, in suitable mounts, zeroed to meet cus- tomer requirements. He will provide guidance to customers according to their needs and the intended use of the rifle. The standard GT rifle costs less than $1,600.00, with delivery within six months of placing the order. After discussions with Dale, I
placed an order for a GT varmint rifle chambered for the 204 Ruger cartridge — but with a stainless-steel Lothar Walther varmint contour barrel in 1:9" twist instead of the standard 1:12" twist used on 204s, and an H-S Precision var- mint stock with 14-inch length of pull. Although Berger recommends a barrel of 1:8" twist for use with their 55-grain bullet and 1:9" for the 50-grain bullet, the fastest twist available in a 20 caliber Walther barrel was 1:9". Despite some concern about throat length and seating of long-for-caliber bullets, I opted for a standard 204 chamber. The GT rifle arrived in time for a
scheduled two-week prairie dog hunt in South Dakota and North Dakota. After receiving the rifle, a Leupold VX-3 8.5-25x50mm scope with a Leupold Varmint Hunter’s reticle was mounted in Burris Signature Zee rings attached to a Brownell’s Picatinny rail. The rifle weighs 9 pounds, or 11 pounds with scope and sling. Load development focused on the
55- and 50-grain Berger Match Varmint BT bullets using Hodgdon Varget and H4895 powders, Remington-Peters brass, and Remington 7½ Benchrest primers. After range tests, the load selected for field use with the Berger 55-grain bullet was 25.0 grains of Varget powder, which produced a muzzle velocity of 3,200 feet per second. With the 0.915-inch long bullet seated 0.010 inch off the lands, the cartridge has an overall length (C.O.L.) of 2.550 inches and resembles a rocket ready to launch. It is too long to feed through the maga- zine and must be loaded one round at
a time. Zeroed for 275 yards, the bullet path is roughly comparable in trajec- tory to a 55-grain 22-250 factory round with a drop of 29.5 inches at 500 yards. Wind deflection at that distance in a 10-mph crosswind is about 22 inches, as compared to approximately 29 inches for the 22-250. The powder charge for the
50-grain Berger bullet was 25.5 grains of Varget, producing a muzzle velocity of 3,230 fps. These cartridges have an overall length of 2.4 inches and can be fed through the magazine. However, with a ballistic coefficient of 0.281 and a wind deflection approximately 40 percent greater than the 55-grain load, the 50-grain bullet is not as well suited for long-range shots. A word of caution! The above
loads and cartridge overall lengths proved suitable in the GT rifle, but may not be suitable in other rifles. Accuracy with both the 55- and
50-grain bullets proved exceptional. Three-shot groups at 100 yards aver- aged less than 0.5 inch. Furthermore, different bullet weights and load combi- nations impacted to within 0.5 inch the same point of aim, making the 204 with a 1:9" twist barrel extremely versatile from a varmint hunter’s point of view. In the field, the 55-grain bullets
proved effective out to 500 yards in winds of 10 to 25 mph. Given the abil- ity to measure distance with a laser rangefinder, a ballistic range card, and a scope with a ballistic reticle and/or target adjustment knobs, the 55-grain load is deadly accurate and well-suited for long-range shots at prairie dogs and larger varmints such as coyotes. However, if relying on “Kentucky” elevation to compensate for bullet tra- jectory, a 40-grain factory load such as
As seen at
Brownells.com BeyerBarrels.com
Ultra light weight rimfi re barrels for 1022, 7722 and AR15 dedicated uppers. Match chambers 7075 Aluminum
Bull barrels, mid weight barrels, factory taper barrels. Now with opti onal Fluti ng.
To buy direct: Clint Beyer 360-640-1497 189179 Hwy 101 Forks WA 98331
Available at Brownells or other various dealers.
the Remington Premier AccuTip-V Boat Tail with a ballistic coefficient of 0.275, a muzzle velocity of 3,900 fps, and very flat trajectory is a better choice for long- range shots. The 50-grain loads, while accurate, were best used for shots at less than 300 yards. Despite heavy use, the Walther barrel cleaned easily after a day of intense shooting. In addition to the GT rifle, Dale
developed and markets the “World’s Finest Trimmer” (W.F.T.). The W.F.T. is a small, rifle-die sized case trim- mer that is used in either a cordless or standard hand-held power drill. It is designed to simplify and speed-up the case trimming process. No at- tachments or special adjustments are required, although eye protection must be worn at all times. Simply remove the W.F.T. from its case and insert the butt-end into the chuck of a power drill with the W.F.T. angled slightly upward to ensure the trim chips fall into a clean-out area. Insert a case into the trim chamber and turn on the drill. Trimming takes 2-3 seconds per case and is extremely precise — advertised to be consistent to within ±0.001 inch. As a test, I trimmed 50 cases and then measured their length. The trimmed lengths were within 0.001 inch of the
Varmint Hunting Hunting Courses Outfi tting & Guide Service Licensed & Insured
Phone: 435-610-1559
www.CritterGitterOutfi
tters.com www.DogHouseHuntingClub.org
www.varminthunter.org
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