Experience with .204 Ruger/varmint hunting?

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ammo.crafter

New member
204

Grand little round.

You just got to love the velocity attained, especially with the 32gr bullets.

I use a Contender with a 21-inch barrel and a 4-18x Redfeild scope. Nothing survives within 200 yards and the hits are instant kills.

At 100 yds, a 5-shot group is covered by a dime all the time.

Enjoy.
 
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Sevens

New member
Just got back from my trip this year and in the five years I've done this, this trip was the best and most successful I have yet had. We were blessed with good weather, active dog towns and my rig performed so well that I'm moving on from thoughts of trying .204 Ruger.

I like the idea of perhaps adding a little weight to my stock to help dampen the jump a bit. I also found that when making 300+ yard kills, that extra fraction of a moment that it takes my bullet to get there helps buy me time to get back in to view. And a 400 yard hit is even easier to watch.

Also had a "first time" event, I was watching two dogs on a hill that was 375 out, both were sitting pretty. I chose the dog on the right side, his buddy was about one foot to the left. I squeezed off my shot and made a perfect hit, sent my target aloft. Not making this up -- he flew to the left on a short arc, his body landing directly on top of the other dog. Scared the wits out of the dog on the left, he bolted right at light speed and he may still be running right now.

I almost couldn't believe what I saw!
 
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Scoits

New member
Switched from 50gr Sierra lead tips [#1340] bullet to Hornady 40 gr V-mag years ago in my 22 cal PD rifles and never looked back.
 
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Don Fischer

New member
I've never shot a 204 but talked to a couple guy's that do. They love it but for one problem. Wind blows the bullet all over the place! I'm not so sure the right answer for you is on here or any forum. See if you can find someone that has a 204 and see if you can shoot it. If it will let you watch the bullet's hit, haven't a clue but, a 222 Rem will!
 
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Brian Pfleuger

Moderator Emeritus
Don Fischer said:
Wind blows the bullet all over the place!
Click to expand...

That might be the first time I've ever heard that. Compared to what?

A 40gr V-max at 3,900fps in a .204 has less wind drift than a 50gr V-Max @ 3675 from a .22-250.

The 32gr drifts less than 1" more (in 10mph wind) than the 50gr at 400 yards.

At 400 yards, the 40gr .204 has 2.5" less wind drift than a 55gr V-max in a 22-250

Even compared to a 95gr ballistic tip .243, the .204 has less than .75" more drift at 400 yards.

Sure, the .204 drifts more than a .308, but compared to other varmint cartridges it's virtually unbeatable.
 
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Sevens

New member
This was the first year (of five, mind you!) where I had success in doping the wind and holding off my target and still making hits. Why now? Well, our breeze was light, our towns were active and I had soaring confidence.

I also had a secret weapon for the first time. My buddy, almost a month back, took the plunge and ordered a better range finder. I had been using a Weaver model (I want to remember it was about $179 MSRP) and while you could successfully range large, flat-sided solid objects out to 600+ yards... on the lands where we hunt prairie dogs, there is literally nothing in the landscape that will range properly.

Well, my buddy was running a Sig Kilo 2200MR this year and many, MANY times he was ranging dogs and giving me specific distances and that was absolutely a game-changer.

I ordered mine a couple days ago. Yeah, it's going to arrive either two weeks late or perhaps 340 days before the next trip, but I am already liking my chances for next year! ;)

This range finder can actually return distances to the different dog hills that we see and it returns them lightning fast.
 
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Sevens

New member
Wow, owned and shot this rifle more than 5 years and today was the first time I ventured in to adjusting the trigger. Jeez, I should have done this years ago. There's a tiny bit of creep now (was a ton of creep before) but the pull is far lighter. My safety is fully functional and no hint of any inadvertent break.

I've gotten every single nickel out of this Howa 1500 and it's only getting better!
 
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Damon555

New member
Brian Pfleuger said:
Super light triggers on varmint guns are awesome. My M77 sports a Jard trigger that breaks at 10oz. :cool::D
Click to expand...

Yes sir Brian......My Savage 6XC with a 26" bull barrel (Criterion) wears a Rifle Basix trigger set at around 6 ounces.....it is a long range prairie dog killing machine.

My son shoots a Remington 700 SPS in 204 Ruger. It is probably the most accurate factory rifle that I have ever shot with nothing more done to it than a trigger job and and aftermarket stock. The only problem is that his rifle doesn't like the 40 grain class bullets. They tumble. The 32 grainers however shoot like a laser but the wind really wreaks havoc past 300 yards or so.

We just returned from shooting prairie dogs in the upper-midwest. Shooting side by side my 223 AI with 40 grain bullets hung right in there with the 204....almost identical trajectories as far as I could tell. The straight 223 Remington (and AI version) can be quite effective when loaded to its full potential with the lighter bullets.....but when the wind picks up the 6XC is far more predictable at longer ranges.
 
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Picher

New member
I used a .22-250 for varmint hunting in Maine for many years, but noticed there was a lot of wind deflection, especially during the spring hunts...late March to June. I bought a 6mm, Remington 700 Varmint and really liked the wind situation, but it was too heavy for walking a couple of miles in the up and down terrain of Central Maine, so I got rid of it and went back to a .22-250, Rem 700 ADL, which was very accurate and won me many turkeys at shoots in Central Maine.
 
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MarkCO

New member
I tried a .204 Ruger and .22-250s, and overall, I was happier with the .223s. Wind, fouling were a bit of a pain. When the accuracy went away in my .223 bolt gun, I had it cut and set back, chamber reamed for .223 Wylde and I load to 5.56 pressures instead of .223 pressures. Barrel life is a little shorter, but the extra velocity is worth it. Paying 0.08 to 0.11 a bullet for 40-50 grains vs. paying 0.15 to 0.18 a bullet for .20 caliber bullets was another factor, as was brass availability and cost. I ended up having similar, if not better performance, for less money.

When I get on a town, I typically shoot 20 to 30 rounds of .22Mag out to about 150 yards max, then switch to .223 for about 100 to 200 or so rounds out to about 400 yards. Then the .243s come out for 400 to about 900 yards and the shooting pace slows way down. I have been on one town for the whole day many times, shooting 400 to 600 rounds.

I almost always have a comp or a suppressor on the rifles I shoot except hunting Deer and Elk. I see a lot of bullet impacts, and with good glass and low recoil, you can see bullet trace in the scope which is also awesome.

SIG Kilos are the bomb. :) Glad you had a great trip. Sounds like you are learning good things which is always fun too.
 
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