Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Short barreled, suppressed 204 or 223?

My suppressor has been in jail now for about 9 months. One of its intended purposes is a short barreled coyote rifle. I’m thinking 16” barreled bolt action. I currently have a RAR in 204. Before I cut the barrel down, would I be better off using a 223 instead? This suppressed rifle will also be used as a truck gun, so shots on coyotes are likely to be 200-400 yards.

I have one on a 223, don’t see why a 204 wouldn’t be good too



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I’ve been pondering exactly the same question!

I shoot a 20 practical quite a bit the last 4-5 years but have been shooting 223’s for decades. I like the 20 cal 39sierra BK a lot. Great bc and very accurate. But I think the 223 with a fast twist would make it more versatile. But if I’m shooting a 223 at yoties I’m probably going to be shooting 50BT’s anyway….

IDK… sounds like we are looking down the same rabbit hole. Either one will work and no yotie will ever know what he was shot with anyway.

Best of luck, Ben.

The biggest difference I found when using the 204 for coyotes was that the 204 bullets are designed for lighter skinned varmints and often give surface blowup or "splash" on coyotes. It is possible to get around this issue by using bullets with a tougher jacket such as the Berger 35 gr.

I eventually went back to the 223 for coyotes because of the better selection of bullets for it. In 223 I really like the Nosler BT 40 and 50 gr for coyotes, they are generally DRT and with minimal pelt damage if that is a concern.

drover

I’m intrigued by the the thought of shortening a 204. I have a RAR Predator 204 with AI magazine and a YHM Turbo.

I like what O’Neil Ops do with their silenced short-barreled 22-250’s and wonder what shortening the barrel to 16 or 18 inches would do.

I finally got around to having my 204 chopped to 16.5 and threaded for my suppressor. My original load with a 40gr V-max in the 22" barrel chrono'ed @ 3400. Now it shoots at 3150, about 45fps per inch.