204 Rugers

[jb747]

Who has one(Brand)? & what are your thoughts in general?

Are they all they are talked up to be?
By all the talk on the forums(US),they reckon it MAY topple the great 22-250 as king of the Varminters(Standard cal's) mmmmmmmm.

And back onto your original thread....

The 204 probably isn't everything to everybody, but it is an incredibly capable little round. Certainly more so than you might expect. Mandy has now shot close to 900 rounds through hers, and it really doesn't give anything away when shooting alongside the 22/250. It is more pleasant to shoot, as it has way less recoil, and self spotting is the rule rather than the exception.

Right now we're awaiting delivery of a PacNor 204 barrel, so that she can have another 20 cal made up. This will have slightly faster twist than her current LVSF, and will be optimised for use with the 40 gr Vmax.

My LVSF is currently off being converted to a 222 Rem Mag as it sucked as a Fireball (the combination of the rifle and round didn't work...I still like the Fireball). There is every likelyhood that the rifle will end up as a 20 in a year or two.

[Tez]

Who has one(Brand)? & what are your thoughts in general?

Are they all they are talked up to be?
By all the talk on the forums(US),they reckon it MAY topple the great 22-250 as king of the Varminters(Standard cal's) mmmmmmmm.

And back onto your original thread....

The 204 probably isn't everything to everybody, but it is an incredibly capable little round. Certainly more so than you might expect. Mandy has now shot close to 900 rounds through hers, and it really doesn't give anything away when shooting alongside the 22/250. It is more pleasant to shoot, as it has way less recoil, and self spotting is the rule rather than the exception.

Right now we're awaiting delivery of a PacNor 204 barrel, so that she can have another 20 cal made up. This will have slightly faster twist than her current LVSF, and will be optimised for use with the 40 gr Vmax.

My LVSF is currently off being converted to a 222 Rem Mag as it sucked as a Fireball (the combination of the rifle and round didn't work...I still like the Fireball). There is every likelyhood that the rifle will end up as a 20 in a year or two.

Mate it sounds like your SOLD on this cal?1,2 then maybe 3 .
Does it really out-shine the 22-250Rem?

[bushchook]

Tez ,
When was the .22/250 ever king of the standard varmint calibres ?That title went to the .220 Swift long before the .22/250 became a factory loaded round .
Historically the Swift was known as the "Varmint King" and the .22/250 as the "Varminter" according to Nick Harvey (and he's old enough to remember ).
The Swift is simply a bigger and stronger case and when loaded to equivalent pressures will always outdo the .22/250 . Interesting that some U.S. manufacturers load it to lower pressure than the .22/250 these days which makes the gap appear much narrower than it is .

[glenn asher]

I don't think the .204 will ever dethrone the .22/250, but it is an excellent companion to the bigger rifle, and shoots flatter. It simply can't hit as hard, due to bullet mass being less. I have two .204s, and like them a lot, but I haven't sold my .223s, either. I DID sell the .22/250s, since they are hard to "self-spot" as noted, and they will eat barrels quicker than the .204s.
I shoot prairie dogs here in the US, and that is tough on barrels. You can shoot from 300-500 rounds in one day, and that's tougher on a .22/250 than a .204 (less powder being burned thru the barrel), so I sold the bigger rifles (also, when shooting upwards of 500 rounds in one day, recoil tends to add up). The .204 is a good little round for that kind of shooting.

Disclaimer : I moderate over on http://www.204ruger.com, but I'm trying to be objective about it. I'm not radically a .204 guy, but I DO appreciate it's virtues, just as I dislike the tendency of some bullets to "splash" on bigger game, which is about the only thing I can complain about. It's fine on hares, and stuff of that size (cats?) but it's not so hot on bigger stuff.

[jb747]

Mate it sounds like your SOLD on this cal?1,2 then maybe 3 .
Does it really out-shine the 22-250Rem?

As always we have to qualify things, but for me, and the shooting I do, I'd have to say yes. In fact, I've just sold my 22/250. Basically, once the 204 can't do the job, then I jump up to 6mms....in my case the 6*47 (i.e. 6/222 RM) and the 243.

I still have two 223s and soon a 222 RM, and they aren't going anywhere. But, one is now mostly used by my son, the other is a 'classic' and is only shot at the range, and the RM is my spotlighting rifle.

[Easy Rollins]

Only Chuck with an axe to grind...

http://www.chuckhawks.com/column18_deat ... agnums.htm

[trevort]

Why didnt someone tell Sako WSMs were obsolete, would have saved them the trouble of chambering 300 and 270 wsm in the new model 85

[sakoboy]

.. and my vote goes to the 204 Ruger in a Kimber. Incredible accuracy ... 'flat as' ... and with 40 grain B Tip bullets I am totally stoked. a great combo.

[trevort]

Yes Sakoboy, the 204 ruger got me hooked on the accuracy bug. I then went reading the small call and accuracy forums and have almost convinced myself that I need a 20 br instead. Why dont I just take a chill pill and keep shooting this VT until it wears out and then get what I originally planned, a custom 204!

That means there is little point in making the 223 in a 20 practical but a sufficient differnce exists to give me an excuse for a Vartarg or 17 fireball

[woob614271]

WSM discontinued? Huh? The patent MIGHT be under the Winchester name, but who owns (owned) Winchester? Browning, that's who.
I'm biased, have a semi-custom Ruger #1 (who, him again?) that Peter van Meurs pf Pro-Cal built, and just for a bit of fun tried it on the fly, you know 500 meters? On runnung in loads I have two targets that run sub 5", both with flyers that I know I pulled; without the flyers, 4 in sub2"; sorry no photos but I'll try to get 'em up. ony 300wM I owned was one of the old Browning BBRs which wouldn't break 1" for three shots, sold it.
Went for the WSM to give me 1/2" extra barrel length (wears a 26" match Douglas), and I had Peter long throat it so that 175-180 grainers wouldn't intrude so far into the body of the case. only reason the wSM was invented, I suspect, was to sell it to umbos like me, and to sell it in short (read lighter) actions.
Incidentally Peter made one interesting comment," ther aren't anty RELY new ideas in cartridge design' Just think about it...
Good luck whichever way you go
Geoff Rath