thoughts on .204

jessedm

jessedm

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I bought a single shot, break action .204 New England with a 4x12 bushnell legend wide angle scope and I absolutely love it! I got it with the thought that there could be a yip yap at 400 yards and all u get is one shot ....aaah the sport of it all. The thing is unreal, my wife is whatever the class of shooter that is below novice (mabie 30 to 40 rounds with a .22 under her belt) and she can smack the 200 yard gong without a problem. and best of all she is not afraid of it. Anyways if anybody has any thoughts about this caliber weather it be good or bad please drop a comment and let me know what you think.
 
Well I have no personal experience with the cartridge at all, but it just looked like Ruger was bored and decided to invent yet another sub-25 caliber super-velocity varmint cartridge. But it sounds like you're having fun with it and it shoots accurately, and in the end that's all that matters. I just hear it's a bit hard to find brass for.

-Rohann
 
Love my 204, I took a dozen coyotes last winter with mine, with no problems. brass is pretty plentiful, as winchester, remington, and nosler make it.
 
I have a Remington 700 in 204 ruger and I use it for gophers and coyotes. I absolutely love the round. You can blast gophers all day long and watch them blow up in the scope.

That particular gun is also used for coyote control around my wife's chickens and turkeys. The practical point-blank range for coyotes is a looong way plus there is enough energy to drop a coyote dead before it hits the ground. My plan is to jape up that action and put a custom barrel on it. I plan to try it at an ISSF match.

I love 204 ruger!
 
I have a savage VLP in the 204 and this little gun is awesome. I enjoy it a lot more than the 22-250 and am now having some fun with re-loads. I have hit prairie poodles out to 450 yards with it and seeing the impact in the scope is just awsesome . Brass and bullets are now abundant for reloading and the accuracy with it is astounding.
 
For me it was a tough choice between the 204 and the 22-250. After a lot of reading, and asking around, I decided on the 204. I ended up ordering a Remington XR-100 Rangemaster in 204. It should be here in a month or less.
 
The 204 Ruger is a great caliber. I have one in a Remington 700 VLS and it shoots tiny groups, from 32 grain Hornady Vmax right up to the 45 grain Hornady SP. I will say that the true potential of the cartridge is only realized when reloading, but I suppose thats true for most, if not all, cartridges. Longshot, throat erosion has not been a problem at all with the .204; its worse in a .22-250, actually. Jessedm, my buddy has the same rifle as you. It loves 40 gr Berger HPBT.
 
Regarding throat erosion - I've not heard of abnormally short lifespans.

It's a low-pressure cartridge (by today's standards. It's only 57,500 psi vs 65,000 for the 22-250 and others), and you're only burning at most 30 grains of powder per shot - less erosive media & lower temperatures. According to Hornady, the 204 should be about the same as the 223 in terms of lifespan
 
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