Why 204 Ruger??

notsorichguy

notsorichguy

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 99.1%
212   2   0
Location
The city that rhymes with fun
My father-in-law asked me what I know about the 204 Ruger.... I said apparently they blow up prarie dogs, because that is all I knew about them.

I tried a search going back 2 years, I got about 10 hits all having to do with pet loads and what not, but nothing on comparing them up against a .17, .223, 220swift, 22-250 etc.

Ive looked in my manuals (for load data) spent alot of time at the 204 ruger site and on the hogdons reloading info site doing comparissons between max and min proposed velocitys form everything from 204 to 243.

Currently I have a pet load for 65gr bergers that croney at 3680fps avg. They do really well against yotes.

I guess my question is do I need another "smaller" calibre..... maybe 'need" isn't the right word.... I have a 243 I use on yotes, a 17HMR I use on gophers and several .22's. I just held a m700 VTR 204 on Saturday at the g-store, I almost bought it on the spot.

What do you guys use, anybody use a 204, and is it any good?

What kind of lods and bullets are you guys using ia any of the varmit calibres, and what kind of performance are you getting?

Cheers!
 
The draw for 204 is it shoots as flat as a 220 swift, with less powder, no recoil, and slightly improved barrel life. I have some 204's and am currently barrelling a savage with a 204 pipe. Components are readily avail. Not really a wind bucker, but gophers and 'yotes aren't usually out on windy days. I live about 1/2 hr. from you, and you could shoot mine if you wish. Mark
 
Mount Sweetness said:
I'd go .22-250, no reason not to buy .22-250 over .204
Click to expand...


Plenty of reasons, like recoil for one. Seeing your kills in the scope, use a lot less powder for similar speeds. I'll never shoot 50 or more rounds of 22-250 ever again in the same day. Now that I have 2 204's I'll likely never shoot my Sako 22-250 again at gophers, or yotes. FS
 
i have had 2 204 rugers now. I just bought a new Rem 700 VLS in 204 ruger. Great gun. Its a tack driver with factory loads. I just dont have much time to see what i can really do with handloads so i just keep making the same as what my old 204 liked. I like the 204 cause it is alot quieter than a 22-250 and has better balistics than the 22-250. I mainly use mine for varmints(gophers,beavers,coyotes,Raven/crows,Etc.) I had a savage model 25(pined barrel) and i had 750-800 rounds through it and no problems.That thing would still shoot under 3/4" at 100 yrds anytime. My new one is about the same,not better yet. Until i have time to develop some loads for it i dont really notice any difference. I will say one thing though, my 204 has no recoil or muzzle jump and it sure does a mean job on anything.
 
What do you think of those Varmint grenade bullets, I hear they're good for exactly what you stated, launching gophers.
 
chise said:
What do you think of those Varmint grenade bullets, I hear they're good for exactly what you stated, launching gophers.
Click to expand...

I think they are to light for the 204. 26grn is way to light for either of my guns(sorry i forgot to mention that i hadnt tried them in my new 204 but i did try them in my savage). Cant get them to group at all. Others have had some luck with them but i can not get them to group tighter than 2" at all. I use the 32,35,36,39,40,45grn bullets. I think the best ones for my old rifle were 40grn berger BTHP match ammo. Those things were awsome. They can open a yote at 100yrds into a sardein can. They destroy stuff and they are not a pelt friendly bullet.
 
Last edited:
Fassteel said:
Plenty of reasons, like recoil for one. Seeing your kills in the scope, use a lot less powder for similar speeds. I'll never shoot 50 or more rounds of 22-250 ever again in the same day. Now that I have 2 204's I'll likely never shoot my Sako 22-250 again at gophers, or yotes. FS
Click to expand...

X2 on seeing kills through the scope. I love my .204 for that reason, and the less powder is a bonus too. I can shoot it lots for less.

However, my 22-250's and 220 Swift have a place in the safe. Punch wind, heavier bullets, ability to anchor coyotes at extended ranges, etc.
 
Thanks for the info guys.

So little/no recoil huh...

I checked out Todd Kindler, wound up here: http://www.6mmbr.com/20Caliber.html lots of good info.

I guess I now have more questions than answers......

I was kind of wondering.... do I really need another rifle calibre to start building/tweeking loads with.... I am still tweeking with my 30-06, 270 & my .243 (I would like to figgure out about 6 to 10 loads for each.... for versatility:D)

I will probably wind up buying the darn thing, then over the winter I will start shooting and building loads..... Only problem I see coming up, is getting it past the wife (who thinks I already spend too much time at the range and the re-loading bench) and finding primers, I assume they take small rifle primers.... I have had no need for them up till now (everything I reload is Large rifle, Small pistol or Large pistol). But I just don`t see me getting away from the 204.... I can hear it calling me right now........

Cheers!
 
Cummins4x4 said:
I can get the BVG's to shoot at 4150fps .41" but this is a max load in my rifle. They do awesome things to gophers but all the bullets I have tried blow them up real good, like pieces in a 10 foot radius with a good hit
Click to expand...

Interesting, I found the same in my 22-250 with the 36g VG. I had to push them as hard as possible to get them to group. I have not chrony'd them yet, but from the data they are well over 4000, likely 4150. I did not want to push them that hard, but it was the only way to get them to group with the powder I was using.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom