how far with a 204 ruger on coyotes?

Eagleye said:
The 204 is a great little varmint cartridge, but has absolutely no advantage over the Swift at 350+ yards.
At 500, the Swift delivers almost 50% more energy on target, and the drift with the 55 grain bullet is slightly
less than the 204 with a 40 grain.
Don't misinterpret my comments, I love the 204...low recoil, less noise and does not burn a bucketload of powder
when you squeeze one off.
I limit my shots on Coyotes to <400 when packing the 204. Outside of that, the Swift gets the nod....or quite possibly
the 6mm Remington with a 70/75 grain bullet.
Dave.
Click to expand...
Depends on which bullet you push for each. The 204 firing a 39 bk at 3750-3850 holds its own. Excellent bc is what does it. As long as the bullet opens when it hits it's intended target at long range the coyote is dead fast. Forget foot pounds. Terminal ballistics is more important.
My 204 has 320 foot pounds at 500 yards, that is using sierras stepped bc. It's higher if we just go with the .287 bc. All those foot pounds are meaning less if the bullet zips through the coyote without opening like my experience with the berger. Thankfully the Sierra has shown good expansion for me to 600+ yards. It puts coyotes down hard to past 400 yards.
 
Running the numbers on a 40 gr v-max at 3800 fps I get 390 foot pounds at 500 yards. I highly doubt the 22250 or 220 swift pushing a 55 gr at sensible speeds can have twice the energy.
 
Eagleye said:
The 204 is a great little varmint cartridge, but has absolutely no advantage over the Swift at 350+ yards.
At 500, the Swift delivers almost 50% more energy on target, and the drift with the 55 grain bullet is slightly
less than the 204 with a 40 grain.
Don't misinterpret my comments, I love the 204...low recoil, less noise and does not burn a bucketload of powder
when you squeeze one off.
I limit my shots on Coyotes to <400 when packing the 204. Outside of that, the Swift gets the nod....or quite possibly
the 6mm Remington with a 70/75 grain bullet.
Dave.
Click to expand...

I agree and Im a huge .204 Ruger fan, in fact its all I shoot for coyotes here all season. Im all about minimal fur damage as I put up all my fur. I have found the 35 berger the go to fur bullet in the .204 and its a great 300 yard bullet but much past that it lacks in punch. Ive shot the 39 Gr BK and will never shoot a polymer tipped bullet for coyotes again. Too many splashed and too many runners. The 220 Swift is a great 500 yard gun. I regret selling mine.
 
prairie lover said:
Running the numbers on a 40 gr v-max at 3800 fps I get 390 foot pounds at 500 yards. I highly doubt the 22250 or 220 swift pushing a 55 gr at sensible speeds can have twice the energy.
Click to expand...

You are correct. From Hornady, Varmint Express loads:
204 40gr vmax - 3900 MV = 404 ft/lbs at 500 yards and 29" drop
22-250 50gr vmax - 3800 MV = 392 ft/lbs at 500 yards and 34" drop
220 swift 55gr vmax -3680 MV = 432 ft/lbs at 500 yards with 35" drop

Apples to apples comparison for 22-250 vs the swift, 220 swift 50gr vmax:
220 swift 50gr vmax -3850 MV = 405 ft/lbs at 500 yards with 33" drop

As you can see, none of these guns are laser beams. The 204 shoots flatter with 32gr, but doesn't handle the wind well over 250 yards. I shot the 32gr and and found they splash more. My tikka 22-250 LOVES 40gr vmax, but I got splashes with that too. The 50gr vmax is not as accurate but kills more. With superformance loads, I have about 6" drop at 300. My farthest kills are around 400. At that distance I could hold on the top of the back and make hits. At 500 yards, unless you dial or use a hold over reticle, 35" of drop is about 3 coyote body heights. I can't consistently hold for that. The differences are minimal between all 3. By the time I got my 204 humming with 39bk at max velocity, it was as loud and jumped as much as my 22-250.

Just to note, the swift should easily shine a bit, but not with factory loads.
 
Factory loads for the Swift are anemic. The original Winchester loading as a 48 grain PSP @ 4140 fps
If you have a 26" barrelled Swift, you can drive the 55 grain bullet to 3900 or possibly even a bit more.[well over 500 ft-lbs at 500, 25" of drop if sighted at 250]
50 grain pills will top 4000 nicely in any Swift I've ever owned. [7 of them] [This gives a bit less energy, but similar drop]
Run those figures, and there is a more realistic comparison.
I did not say twice the energy, I stated about 50% higher, which is still a bit optimistic on my part. More like 25%
Only if you have used the two [the 204 & the 220] can you truly appreciate the Swift. The 204 is a fine chambering in
it's own right, but is not a Swift, nor can it pretend to be.
 
Yeah, the swift is capable of some impressive numbers, too bad they don't publish anything these days that's much more aggressive than a 22-250. According to the books, that extra case capacity is just for extra noise.
 
I owned one swift and finally finding a fast and accurate 52 gr load got me to the point of owning a rifle I didn't enjoy to shoot. Teeth gritting blast and sharp recoil. Never pointed it at a coyote anyhow.
Everybody wants a soft kicking lazer beam that's easy on fur... out to 300 the .204 might be perfect. But so is a reasonably loaded .22-250 or swift. Passing the 300 yard line on actual hunting shots in typicsl voyote weather puts alot of demands on the shooter. .204/250/swift.
 
Eagleye said:
Factory loads for the Swift are anemic. The original Winchester loading as a 48 grain PSP @ 4140 fps
If you have a 26" barrelled Swift, you can drive the 55 grain bullet to 3900 or possibly even a bit more.[well over 500 ft-lbs at 500, 25" of drop if sighted at 250]
50 grain pills will top 4000 nicely in any Swift I've ever owned. [7 of them] [This gives a bit less energy, but similar drop]
Run those figures, and there is a more realistic comparison.
I did not say twice the energy, I stated about 50% higher, which is still a bit optimistic on my part. More like 25%
Only if you have used the two [the 204 & the 220] can you truly appreciate the Swift. The 204 is a fine chambering in
it's own right, but is not a Swift, nor can it pretend to be.
Click to expand...

The 55 grain Berger pushed to 3100-3260 fps give up 5 or 6" @ 500 yards but as far as energy and windage the 220 swift will not outdo them by much, if any, at the parameters you have set which are likely over max. As well the job gets done with a lot less powder and the 55 Berger is much more fur friendly, especially up close, as it has about the same energy at the muzzle as the 22 calibers have at 100+ yards. Further the 55 Berger has been reported to open up nicely and not penetrate a coyote at over 300 yards from a rifle that shoots BR accuracy at 3060 fps from a 9" twist barrel.
lclund1946 said:
The 55 Berger in at 3060 is has more energy and drifts less in the wind than a factory Hornady 55 V-Max in a 22-250. However it has similar energy at the muzzle as the 22-250 at 150 yards which makes it much more fur friendly. As well much less powder is required to do the job.

22-250%2055%20V-Max_zpsz5zgescf.jpg
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20 Extreme fits in a standard 2.26" magazine and will run 3060 to 3200+ fps, in a 24" barrel, with 22.0 grains of powder and stabilizes with an 11" Twist.
20%20EXT%2055%20Berg%203060_zpstmotvzxg.jpg
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20 Practical with 24" barrel and 23.5 grains of powder will stabilize with a 10" twist.
20%20EXT%2055%20Berg%203260_zpsotemixdc.jpg
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Click to expand...
 
First of all, we are not comparing to the 20 Extreme, nor the 20 Practical here, but the 204 Ruger.
Next, we are not over max with the Swift velocities I mantioned.
In my 700 VSSF 22 Swift, I saw minor pressure signs at just over 4000 with the 55, and 4150 with the 50.
Brass life has been excellent, but one must choose powders carefully.
Dave.
 
Where the 204 shines is when Mr coyote steps out at 50 or 450 yards. With the right bullet it's fur friendly at both ends of the spectrum. The bigger 22 cals run hot too many times I've seen that puff of hair float away in the wind on closer shots. These days I use mostly my 223. I don't feel like I'm giving up much with a 50 gr nosler bt at 3400 or a 1365 sierra at 3290. It has not cost me a coyote yet and very easy on fur including fox. Something the 204 struggled with. Great on coyotes real rough on Fox.
 
Eagleye said:
First of all, we are not comparing to the 20 Extreme, nor the 20 Practical here, but the 204 Ruger.
Next, we are not over max with the Swift velocities I mantioned.
In my 700 VSSF 22 Swift, I saw minor pressure signs at just over 4000 with the 55, and 4150 with the 50.
Brass life has been excellent, but one must choose powders carefully.
Dave.
Click to expand...

We were not actually comparing the 22 Swift either as the OP was just wanting to know how a 204R will perform on coyotes, likely compared to his 22-250. You chose to point out how you think the 22Swift is vastly superior and then get your feathers ruffled when I point out a couple of superior options that I have discovered. I had not found a published load that showed the 220 Swift pushing a 55 grain bullet much more than 3860 in a 26" barrel. To be fair I have found a load in the Nosler#3 Manual that shows 39 grains of RL 15 pushing the 55 SSB to 4050 at 84% load. That gets about 45 ft. lbs. more than the 55 Berger, at 500 yards, using the same powder @ 24.5 grains in my 20 Practical getting 3279 fps. The point I was trying to get across is that the 20 caliber is much more fur friendly, especially at closer ranges, and with the 55 Berger they are right in there with the 55 grain 22 Swift. All that in a small package running 1/2 the powder or less and the same powders that work best in the 22Swift do this in my 20 Practical. Chronograph results: RL 15 @ 24.5 = 3279 fps; Varget @ 23.5 = 3266fps; H4895 @ 22.5 grains = 3240fps.
lclund1946 said:
I have a 24"Shillen Select Match barrel, in 10" twist, on my 20 Practical. As it is on a single shot Savage SA I decided to seat the 55 Berger BT LR Varmint bullet to the lands and see if it would get enough velocity to stabilize. I was delighted to find that it was a perfect fit in the case at 2.401" OAL to the Lands. Too long to fit in a standard 2.26" magazine but perfect for the single shot. I found that it held 26.3 grains of the Varget, RL 15 and H 4895 under the bullet. The neck on the 20 Practical is about 1.73" and the bullet seated with 1.51" of the bearing surface in the neck which meant that I could run 0.022" off the lands and still seat perfectly in the neck. This is not possible in my 204R as the bullet barley seats in the neck. Pushing the bullet to 2.26" OAL as Berger did in their 204 data leavess the 20 Practical with about 2.4 grains more powder capacity so I was able to use their load data and work up slightly.Velocities should be much the same at about 3200 fps.
20%20Practical%2055%20Berger%20to%20Landsx_zps5gzyxak4.jpg
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One trip to the range and I got these amazing results with Varget at 23.5 grains and RL 15 at 24.5 grains in Lake city brass with CCI 450 primers. Pressures are in a very safe rang as the brass does not fireform at the 0.200" base datum. In fact it expands only 0.0005" which leaves about 0.0013" clearance to the chamber at that point. This is very similar to my 20 EXTREME running the 40 V-Max to 3700+ fps in this brass. Primer flow is a bit more but acceptable at about 0.005" so this load would likely be safe in the gopher patch on a hot day under sustained fire. I think we can safely say that this 10" twist barrel stabilizes the 55 Berger BT LR Varmint rifle and that this would be an awesome coyote gun to 500 yards.
20%20Practical%2055%20Berger%20Varget%20RL%2015%20H%204895x_zpsndsxdfyc.jpg
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I have not had a chance to chronograph these loads but the weather held and managed to confirm that the flier on the target above with the 22.5 grain Varget load was not a cold bore shot. Also found the sweet spot with H 4895 at 22.8 grains and 6 shots made it into 0.38" on the exact Point of Impact as the Varget and RL 15 loads. It would appear that the 10" twist barrel does a good job of stabilizing the Berger 55 BT LR Varmint bullet at cooler temperatures and 3000 feet elevation.

20%20Prqctical%2055%20Bergerx2_zpsvxrqyu84.jpg
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Click to expand...
 
No ruffled feathers here, lol. I just happen to have enough years shooting to see the potential. As I said previously, the 204
is a very fine varmint chambering. Just that some tend to "stretch" it's capabilities a bit.
Your 20 Practical appears to be shooting well. Have you shot a coyote at 500 with it to actually see what that Berger will do?
As for "fur friendly" I have found that choosing a bullet carefully, even with the Swift, vastly reduces the exits, thus making
for less damage. Careful bullet placement also can reduce exits.
You mention the Berger....I'm sure it is fine for your uses. I have noted Bergers to be wonderfully accurate in many rifles.
I have not tried them in my Swift, since availability is not great here. I shoot them in 1000 yard competition in a 6mm. [105's]
Regards, Dave.
 
Eagleye said:
No ruffled feathers here, lol. I just happen to have enough years shooting to see the potential. As I said previously, the 204
is a very fine varmint chambering. Just that some tend to "stretch" it's capabilities a bit.
Your 20 Practical appears to be shooting well. Have you shot a coyote at 500 with it to actually see what that Berger will do?
As for "fur friendly" I have found that choosing a bullet carefully, even with the Swift, vastly reduces the exits, thus making
for less damage. Careful bullet placement also can reduce exits.
You mention the Berger....I'm sure it is fine for your uses. I have noted Bergers to be wonderfully accurate in many rifles.
I have not tried them in my Swift, since availability is not great here. I shoot them in 1000 yard competition in a 6mm. [105's]
Regards, Dave.
Click to expand...

Hi Dave,

Great to see that you can see the potential. Berger have loads for the 55 Varmint bullet in the 204 but the cartridge design does not lend itself to taking full advantage of this bullet. The loads are seated to 2.26" OAL to fit a Saami magazine and even seated way out they have trouble reaching the lands as the 204 has 0.100" more FB than the Practical. As a result the velocities with the 55 Berger, in the 204R, are about the same as in the smaller cases and there is likely no advantage to more case capacity unless one goes to a much slower powder and longer barrel.

My health does not allow me to get out shooting coyotes and the furthest reported coyote kill, with a 55 Berger, is about 300 meters with a 3060 MV. Bang flop with no exit so expect the same at 500 especially with the extra velocity.

I designed a 22EXTREME on the 6.5X47 Lapua case throated to run the 90 VLD in an 8" twist. Hope to get 3150- 3250 fps with a near full load of H 1000 in a 26" barrel. A friend is having one built that is almost done. Don't expect it to be fur friendly up close but from 500 to 1000 yards it should perform much like the 55 Berger and may even come close to the 6mm. Will have to run the numbers. It fits nicely in a SA Remington rifle even with the long bullet.

Laverne
 
300 yards is easy work for the 204.
Proper bullet placement can add 200 to that.
It will be rare that you'll have to go beyond 300 yards though.
 
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A couple of regulars on the Pred Hunt Can forum when it was up & running were routinely in the 5-600yrd range with their 204Rs. Sadly that forum and the members that provided a ton of info are gone.
 
My experience with the 204 is that its a little small for coyotes. Yeah you can recover them after a bit of a hike, but ive had more than a few that i havent. At 50yards i had a splash on a small coyote that ran 100more yards and i had to finish it with another round behind the ear. Needless to say it was beyond repair. That wss with 35grn bergers. But ive had the bergers perform better further out. If i still had my 204 id be reloading the 45grn sp hornady
 
I harvest between 30 - 40 coyotes a year with my 204. Longest ranged shot was 365 yards. I tried different bullets and now only load 40 gr. Vmax. Clean kills with very little damage to the fur although I have ruined a couple of hides when the bullet exploded impacting the spine and creating a fist sized hole in the middle of the hide. A well placed shot is the key to all hunting but I'm sure we have all had an OH S#*T experience. Most of my shots are less than 200 yards
 
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