VarmintGuy� I have a Kimber Varmint in .204 Ruger that shoots little tiny holes besides looking great in walnut. Since most of what I shoot is gophers, a 204 is just not necessary. It heats up too quickly and requires a muzzle brake to see the hits. I have a .221 Fireball and thought that it would be better in 20 caliber. The VarTarg is a great caliber for gophers, and as I discovered this summer, a great caliber for prairie dogs, too. It takes longer to heat up and hits much harder than my Hornets. The distances I shoot both these animals are usually less than 300 yards so a long tube is just not necessary. I get over 3800 fps with my VarTarg shooting a 32-grain V-Max. I got the idea of a short but heavy barrel from Kimber�s SVT (223 Rem). It has a straight non-tapered barrel of 18�. It shoots tiny bug holes all day. It is a heavy rifle, but is not nose heavy, thus easier to use from a quad or sticks. I did not want a barrel that measures 1.125� at the muzzle like the SVT, so I asked for a straight taper down to .75� on a 22� barrel. My shooting buddy put a 24� tube on his VarTarg and his averages about 25 fps slower than mine with the same load. I don�t feel I give up much, if anything.
I suggest that you take one of those 204s you have (I bet you have more than one) and rechamber it to the VarTarg. You will not regret it.
Happy shooting!
