204 Ruger. Thinking about buying one

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combatjack

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Hi Everyone

Just wondering if anyone has comments on this caliber for coyote hunting or any pros or cons about it.

Thanks :)
 
Its a nice fast caliber to 250 yards in no wind.....Iv seen plenty get away at 300 plus yards!! Iv you shoot dogs in open prairie its a bad choice,for wooded tight area's calling its a superb caliber....Myself i shoot my 220 swift to 500 yards!! I shoot/power ram/call 90 a season.....
 
Hornady factory ammunition is actually faster than any of my current reloads and is pretty accurate. So far the powder they use is proprietary. Super fur friendly and also great for gophers. Doesn't kick at all, I use 40gr noslers for coyotes and 26 gr varmint grenades for gophers.
 
I use seirra blitzking 32 & 39 grain, you will giggle when you hit a gopher or a pigeon, also fur friendly as I have yet to have one exit a coyote
 
I've got an H&R handi rifle in .204 with the bull barrel, it's a fairly heavy rifle, but it'll knock flies off a gopher's head at 150 yards or so. I always keep an eye out for the Hornady 40 grain goodies, it seems to like them best. The whole rifle/scope package cost me all of $450 too, hard too go wrong
 
As a pure coyote rifle, I think it is too light.

As a fun gopher, small pest round that can handle coyotes if you keep the distances "reasonable", it is very flat shooting and, according to the things I see and read, certainly accurate enough for such work. But I think coyotes are very tough, and they often require the ability to reach way out there. The .204 uses very light bullets that drift in wind and are unsuitable for reliable clean kills at long range on coyotes. If you are really looking for a "coyote rifle", I think a .22-250 or even a .243 will be much more appropriate. If you will actually use it much more for smaller varmints and just occasional coyotes, the .204 is not a bad choice.

Lots of people claim they have used it and it works. The fact someone did something does not make it a good idea. If you have one, use it. If you are buying something, get a more suitable chambering.
 
rral22 said:
As a pure coyote rifle, I think it is too light.

As a fun gopher, small pest round that can handle coyotes if you keep the distances "reasonable", it is very flat shooting and, according to the things I see and read, certainly accurate enough for such work. But I think coyotes are very tough, and they often require the ability to reach way out there. The .204 uses very light bullets that drift in wind and are unsuitable for reliable clean kills at long range on coyotes. If you are really looking for a "coyote rifle", I think a .22-250 or even a .243 will be much more appropriate. If you will actually use it much more for smaller varmints and just occasional coyotes, the .204 is not a bad choice.

Lots of people claim they have used it and it works. The fact someone did something does not make it a good idea. If you have one, use it. If you are buying something, get a more suitable chambering.
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If you're out in the open then that makes sense. But anything around 200 yards is going to get hit with a small very fast pill. 4000 fps can do some interesting stuff. But of course the light rounds bleed off that velocity and lose energy fast the further out you go. 223 heavier rounds, 22-250, 243 etc would be a better round for further out there. I actually like the 22-250 except it seems to be a barrel burner. Otherwise very accurate and fairly versatile.
 
Thanks so much everyone for the advice and opinions :) I've known the 243 is a proven coyote caliber but I was interested in the 204 after watching some videos on youtube. Going Moose hunting in October and hope to start yote hunting after that. Hopefully i'll have my mind made up after that!!!!
 
40gr Vmax's and Bergers kill the hell out of coyotes for me. Longest kill this past winter was 340yards and it was a bang flop. Closest was about 40yards and it was devastating, the Vmax is not fur friendly at that range. Cheap round to reload for, and fun to shoot. No recoil, very accurate.
 
I have shot my 204 at coyotes since they came out. They kill them good, even using the factory 32grn vmax's. I did have one that did get tore up good though. He was facing me and shot him just under the neck and it put about a golf ball sized hole in it. My 204 has seen less use now that I have a 17 Remington (centre fire!!), which some people will say is too light, thats because those people don't own one or haven't shot a coyote with one! lol.

On a side note, I shot a wild boar with my 17 Remington. She was 250-300 yards away. Hit her right in the heart and she went maybe 25 yards before she flopped over dead. Mind you I don't recommend shooting boar with a 17, but its what I had at the time!
 
Love the 204, mine didn't do well with Hornady or Win factory ammo though. The SPS varmint i had would shoot a nice 3" pattern with factory Hornady ammo and the Tikka a bit better, they both shoot into 3/4" or less with Sierra bullets. I don't usually use factory ammo but no brass was available at the time, finding a good load isn't hard with this cartridge.
 
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