Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles 204 Ruger

That's all very interesting!

Bought my first .204 in 2005, after waiting a year after the cartridge's introduction to see if it would stick around. Purchased the cheapest Savage sporter in a local store along with some 32- and 40-grain Hornady factory ammo. It shot very well, and the fired cases shot very well when handloaded. Apparently by that time they'd started using good brass.

Acquired a bunch more brass--Hornady, Remington and Winchester--over the next four years, through going on several "industry" prairie dog shoots where various companies provided ammo. I kept my fired brass (the companies have no use for it), plus some from other shooters who didn't own .204's themselves, and in 2008 I won a Remington 700 .204 in a drawing, along with several cases of ammo. I still have a little over a case left, and it's shot well in my last two .204 barrels, both Remington factories. Must have been lucky as all the brass I've acquired has been good, whether Hornady, Remington or Winchester.

Hornady cases
Fed 205
32 gr Vmax
29gr IMR 8208 XBR
Kissing the lands
4155 fps
This is my favorite load but I don't think the dogs like it very much.

Think it was just the luck of the "draw." The barrel WANTS to shoot, I got a couple of screamer groups after bedding it, slicking the trigger really nice, it rode so well I could watch the shock wave. Just amazing.

But there were "screamers in the making" with wild flyers.
When I sorted the brass for concentric fireforming, the best cases shot well enough. But the banana cases didn't. Didn't help to FL size and start over, they'd just toss another crazy flyer.
The flyers improved a bit after I had the neck and throat redone, at a good price, in a good turnaround, nice work, I have the smith's name in my records and could dig it up if anyone's interested.
I guess I didn't want to shoot virgin brass and have to pull all the flyer cases, the attrition was pretty bad, waste of a bullet to find out.
So, I want to get the back half of the chamber downsized so a virgin case doesn't have to do the juju.
Probably the most frustrating (AND EXPENSIVE) experience I've ever had with a rifle that kept telling me it wanted to shoot. Someday, it WILL shoot. Either this one, with the chamber properly cut, or a shiny new aftermarket barrel cut the same.

Dave, it looks like it might indeed be the luck of the draw. My experience mirrors Mule Deers ( he talked me into the .204) I "built" a Remington...with a Remington new take off barrel, sporter contour, and it has literally shot everything I crammed into it well. And most to identical point of impact. Easiest rifle I think I ever had for load development.

Put components together, put in gun, go bang...and.....we're done!

Have a sporter barrel take off from a Ruger Action, I put on another Ruger. It shot very well, but the brass attrition of the Hornady brass I had ( lots of range pick up stuff), was ridiculous.

I pulled the 204 barrel off finally, and replaced it with a 20 Practical barrel, that was done by the gunsmith in Colorado that did a couple of our veterans campfire projects.

it shoots very well, and I don't have any brass issues just necking down 223 brass.

I haven't been real impressed with Hornady Brass, experiencing a short life, regardless of what the caliber has been.

I know others who have 204s that just rant and rave about their awesomeness. And I was getting "potential" signals all through my extended nightmare.
And yep, Seafire, I was scrounging for brass in those early days, did the whole case-prep on a couple handfuls of scrounged range brass -- about half of those (HDY) ended up as keepers in the "round" stash.
Don't know what I'll do when the rifle is recut and back together, maybe I should just can all the existing early brass and start with new cases.
Overall...it WAS edumakayshunal. I learned all about things that can jump up and bite if you pretend they won't.
As for my own 20 -- it's gonna be a Tactical. Just love the way those 20s fly, when they fly straight.

If I was starting all over again would probably build a .20 Tactical or Practical instead of a .204, but with close to 2500 .204 cases on hand am gonna stick to to the commercial version. Plus, my last replacement barrel was a brand-new Remington stainless take-off that as I recall cost $80, and shoots very well....

There ya go J.B.!!

That there is my definition and shining example of a rifle looney.

Mule Deer: Here is a tip I learned 50 years ago this summer and have been adhering to it stringently!
DO NOT set-up in a Colony Varmint Hunting situation with the wind "90 degrees to the shooter" like you illustrate!
It is simply standard procedure for those in the know to set up with the wind either in your face or at your back - this negates much windage induced troubles.
I guess one could set-up in a Colony Varmint situation with the wind "exactly 90 degrees to the shooter" but long ago I learned the successful hit ratio (fun factor!) is greatly enhanced with positioning oneself so the the wind is as close to directly in your face or at your back as possible!
Try it - you'll like it!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

We don't have prairie dogs but we do have a slightly (?) smaller ground squirrel that will do in their place. I reworked my loads after rebarreling ... wore out the first one ... and they came up exactly the same despite changing stocks and barrel contours. Never had that happen before. Anyway, in my gun:

WW brass + Rem 7-1/2 primers for all

28 grains of H335, Nosler 32 grain ballistic tip or Hornady 32 grain VMAX

27.5 grains of Varget, Nosler 40, Hornady 40, or Sierra 39 grain.

I have a couple boxes of Speer TNTs which I have not tested. I suspect I'll try Varget.

Tom

Until I got the RAR-Predator, I was lukewarm toward the 204. My rifles were Remington 700s and Savage 10s on which I swapped barrels from 204 to 223 and back again at least a couple of times. The RAR-Predator is very easy to shoot well, even better when bedded in Boyds laminated Heritage style stock. When I got it in 02/15, I had a variety of Hornady and Winchester/Olin factory ammo on the shelf and found that it shoot pretty well with both 32 and 40 grain ammo. I subsequently got a good deal on mixed lot of 1,000 rounds of Fiocchi 32 and 40 grain ammo, loaded with VMax bullets. The 32 grain ammo has been slightly more accurate than the 40 grain ammo, but both have been MOA or better if I do my job.

Another thing that has puzzled me about the RAR-Predator is the reluctance of some people to believe that a rifle that regularly sells for under $400 can be so accurate. On multiple occasions I have had people at the range ask to shoot my rifle and then express surprise that my RAR-Predator with a Boyds stock and Weaver V16 scope is more accurate than their Remington 700 based outfits costing twice as much or more.

VarmintGuy,

Apparently you think I was SUGGESTING shooting across the wind. Well, gee, no, that's not my point, and yes, I did figure out that shooting with the wind is easier many years ago. But I've also noticed that often the wind changes, especially in the West.

Have also found that in more than a few of the places I shoot it's not always possible to set up with the wind, due to the terrain, a public road, houses, or whatever. As one example, a local gopher field can only be shot in ONE direction, with a public road behind the shooter, shooting across a field between two other properties with buildings. Luckily, the prevailing wind usually is in the shooter's face, but not always.

Another example is a smallish prairie dog town I shoot on a ranch about 100 miles from here. It covers a cattle pasture about 600 yards across (or at least that's what it covered this year) but the only way to shoot most of it is from a slightly higher ridge running from one corner to the other. Otherwise you can't SEE most of the dogs, much less shoot at 'em. And the wind does not always cooperate with possible shooting directions.

Here's a hint for you: Less wind-drift is often very helpful when shooting in open Western country.

Hold into the wind John!

LMAO

Seemed tounge in cheek to me.....

That cheek is stretched pretty tight.

I would say that I have had the best fun dogging when I was able to shoot upwind, with the center of a 90 degree arc being straight upwind. It is absolutely amazing how much quieter shooting seems to be with a little breezy help.

Wouldn't the poodles wind you if you had your back to the wind?? Seems kinda fugged up to me!!

Every varmint shooter need a suppressor as a means by which to reduce noise pollution and not disturb the remaining live targets.

Jim,

I don't think VarmintGuy is capable of being tongue in cheek. Or at least I can't recall much evidence of it in all the years he's been posting on the Campfire....

Haha! Fair enough.

Being the FNG has its disadvantages....