Skeptical of .204 ruger

thatmikeguy

thatmikeguy

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has anyone acually chronographed any factory loads??
has anyone actually chronographed reloads??
what are your results??
the .204 seems like a flash in the pan to me and i highly doubt it can be compared to the 22-250 though i do believe it is a good cartridge just not as good as the hype.
 
thatmikeguy said:
has anyone acually chronographed any factory loads??
has anyone actually chronographed reloads??
what are your results??
the .204 seems like a flash in the pan to me and i highly doubt it can be compared to the 22-250 though i do believe it is a good cartridge just not as good as the hype.
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Would you believe my results or consider them to be hype as well?

I have a 700 SPS in 204 Ruger and love it. Would I prefer a 22-250 over it? Nope. Would I like a 22-250 in addition to it? Sure. Does fps mean anything to me? Not much!

204ruger.com has many of the numbers you are questioning. But you may end up considering them to just be hype as well.

Flash in the pan? I don't think so. With the exception of Browning/Winchester virtually every major rifle maker currently offers 204 Ruger chamberings. Even Browning offered the A Bolt II in 204 Ruger for a year or 2. All the major ammunition companies offer at least a couple of loads. Lots of handloading components are available.
Flash in the pan, no, it has already been around for about 6 years and still seems to be gaining ground.

My advise is to buy a rifle chambered in 204 Ruger, shoot and it and see what YOU think.
 
I really think it doesn't get much better than .204 caliber,, and the 204 Ruger is simply awesome.. no its not going anywhere try and find ammo??
 
I'm not that big of a fan of the .204. Mine shoots about as well as a rifle can be expected to, but that's got more to do with Gaillard than Ruger. It drops about an inch less at 300 than my .223s with 40s and doesn't smack coyotes as hard as a 22/250. Big deal.
None of this makes it bad, but there's nothing magic about it either.
 
I'm not that big of a fan of the .204. Mine shoots about as well as a rifle can be expected to, but that's got more to do with Gaillard than Ruger. It drops about an inch less at 300 than my .223s with 40s and doesn't smack coyotes as hard as a 22/250. Big deal.
None of this makes it bad, but there's nothing magic about it either.
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So let's get this straight you're comparing one of the heavier bullets for the .204 and shooting one of the bigger critters it arguably wasn't really designed for and also against the 22/250. You're not really giving it a fair shake are you?

For small varmints, shooting lighter bullets with less powder there's really nothing like it. It's not going anywhere anytime soon.
 
woolly said:
Would you believe my results or consider them to be hype as well?

I have a 700 SPS in 204 Ruger and love it. Would I prefer a 22-250 over it? Nope. Would I like a 22-250 in addition to it? Sure. Does fps mean anything to me? Not much!

204ruger.com has many of the numbers you are questioning. But you may end up considering them to just be hype as well.

Flash in the pan? I don't think so. With the exception of Browning/Winchester virtually every major rifle maker currently offers 204 Ruger chamberings. Even Browning offered the A Bolt II in 204 Ruger for a year or 2. All the major ammunition companies offer at least a couple of loads. Lots of handloading components are available.
Flash in the pan, no, it has already been around for about 6 years and still seems to be gaining ground.

My advise is to buy a rifle chambered in 204 Ruger, shoot and it and see what YOU think.
Click to expand...

Well said!:agree:
 
Gunslinger said:
So let's get this straight you're comparing one of the heavier bullets for the .204 and shooting one of the bigger critters it arguably wasn't really designed for and also against the 22/250. You're not really giving it a fair shake are you?

For small varmints, shooting lighter bullets with less powder there's really nothing like it. It's not going anywhere anytime soon.
Click to expand...

I'm using 35s in the .204, 40s in the .223 and 52s in the 22/250. Something wrong with those choices?
 
Its my main centerfire varmint gun but would say its not worlds above the 223or 22-250. Only thing I really like about the .204 is that Im able to see a hit through my scope.
The .204's claim to fame seems to be its 4350 fps velocity in factory loads which is cool to use on gophers but sucks on coyotes. 39 gr. bullets work well on coyotes but then I might as well be shooting something better like a 220 swift.
The 220 Swift is still the king . I wish I never sold my Swift for the .204...stupid mistake.

Cheers!!
 
I like my 204. I've only shot two yotes with it so far, but neither of them like it much.

They act more like a cynide pill than a bullit. hits so fast and so hard for such a tiny bullit, I don't think they feel it, until they fall over dead. Soup guts.
 
Speed kills. I can cover 5 shot groups with a dime @100yrds with about the cheapest rifle your going to find. An inch high at 100 and about 1 1/2 low at 300yrds. 32gr Sierras for gophers and 32gr Vmax for coyotes. Whats not to like.

Cliff
 
woolly said:
Would you believe my results or consider them to be hype as well?

I have a 700 SPS in 204 Ruger and love it. Would I prefer a 22-250 over it? Nope. Would I like a 22-250 in addition to it? Sure. Does fps mean anything to me? Not much!

204ruger.com has many of the numbers you are questioning. But you may end up considering them to just be hype as well.

Flash in the pan? I don't think so. With the exception of Browning/Winchester virtually every major rifle maker currently offers 204 Ruger chamberings. Even Browning offered the A Bolt II in 204 Ruger for a year or 2. All the major ammunition companies offer at least a couple of loads. Lots of handloading components are available.
Flash in the pan, no, it has already been around for about 6 years and still seems to be gaining ground.

My advise is to buy a rifle chambered in 204 Ruger, shoot and it and see what YOU think.
Click to expand...
i don't want rugers numbers. i want shooters numbers.
 
thatmikeguy said:
has anyone acually chronographed any factory loads??
has anyone actually chronographed reloads??
what are your results??
the .204 seems like a flash in the pan to me and i highly doubt it can be compared to the 22-250 though i do believe it is a good cartridge just not as good as the hype.
Click to expand...


I bought a 17HMR and put over 1k rounds through it before I was convinced that it wasn't what I wanted in a varmint rifle. Bought a high end 204, never fired a factory round but have had lots of fun reloading and trying different bullets, absolutly devestating on gophers. One of my favorite loads is a 26gr BVG @ 4150fps, shoots under .5", yes I could drive it faster but it works so well why mess with it. So buy one and make your own decision, great round IMHO:p
 
I chronied factory Winchester 32gr lubalox coated cartridges next to my handloads using Hornady 32gr Vmaxes using H4895. Same day, one after the other. It was autumn, maybe 10-15 degrees C. Rifle is an H&R Ultra Varmint Fluted.

Factory loads chronied around 4100fps (not 4225 as published).
My starting handloads were around 3700fps and my max was just under 4200fps.

My most accurate loads were consistently around 3900fps. Later, I started loading 26gr Barnes Varmint Grenades and got similar velocities but a bit better accuracy.

EDIT: Not sure it's really fair to compare the 204 to the 22-250. The largest bullet you'd use in the 204 is about the smallest you'd use in the 22-250 (40gr-ish). Case cap. of the 22-250 is substantially higher.
 
I use a .204 exclusively for hunting varmints as well as for work (predators). I am nobody to be tossing out numbers for comparisons but there are other things to consider.
0 recoil, there is a lot to be said about watching a bullet impact through the scope.
Uses about 1/3rd of the powder than other rifles that reach similar speeds.
Most important to me is that the bullets do not ricochet, I do a lot of shooting in close quarters, and have learned to count on the devastating impacts with limited pass throughs, the little pill dumps all of it's energy in to it's target. It allows me to take shots that I would have to pass up on with other rounds.
Inherent accuracy, factory loads are more prone to be accurate than other varmint rounds.
 
Much of this sounds like the accolades given to the .17 Remington when it first appeared, although no one has claimed .204 as a moose gun yet, but just wait. If you want to snipe crows and/or ground squirrels, the .204 sounds like a good choice. For larger varmints or extended ranges in places where the wind blows, a fast .22, a .243, or a .25/06 is the better more versatile solution.

A professional hunter who is tasked with cropping or predator control will often opt for a cartridge that is accurate, with minimal recoil, has a low noise signature, and a bullet that is not inclined to ricochet. High velocity combined with a light, thin skinned bullet answers the ricochet question, and a small powder charge answers the noise question. The barrel quality and handloading techniques should look after the accuracy question. In this respect the .204 might be a solution for the pro, once he's proven his loads in the field.
 
scott_r said:
Its my main centerfire varmint gun but would say its not worlds above the 223or 22-250. Only thing I really like about the .204 is that Im able to see a hit through my scope.
The .204's claim to fame seems to be its 4350 fps velocity in factory loads which is cool to use on gophers but sucks on coyotes. 39 gr. bullets work well on coyotes but then I might as well be shooting something better like a 220 swift.
The 220 Swift is still the king . I wish I never sold my Swift for the .204...stupid mistake.

Cheers!!
Click to expand...

thanks for your honesty!
 
gps said:
I chronied factory Winchester 32gr lubalox coated cartridges next to my handloads using Hornady 32gr Vmaxes using H4895. Same day, one after the other. It was autumn, maybe 10-15 degrees C. Rifle is an H&R Ultra Varmint Fluted.

Factory loads chronied around 4100fps (not 4225 as published).
My starting handloads were around 3700fps and my max was just under 4200fps.

My most accurate loads were consistently around 3900fps. Later, I started loading 26gr Barnes Varmint Grenades and got similar velocities but a bit better accuracy.

EDIT: Not sure it's really fair to compare the 204 to the 22-250. The largest bullet you'd use in the 204 is about the smallest you'd use in the 22-250 (40gr-ish). Case cap. of the 22-250 is substantially higher.
Click to expand...

thank you for your facts. i agree. i don't think the two are comparable. those are pretty good speeds you are getting. seems like a good gopher round.
 
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