Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles 204 Ruger experience

Seafire, this means you. ha ha.. Anyone else use one? One of my buddies loves his. He has a couple. I recently bought a Tikka T3x that is kind of souped up. What's your take on the cartridge? What powders do you guys use? I have CFE223, AR Comp, IMR4198, TAC and a few other choices. Ended up buying some 40gr Vmax's today, but die set won't be here for a few days. I'll shoot some factory crap for a baseline.. I need to look in my Hornady load manual. Local guys here say it works pretty good for yotes, but they may be blowing smoke.. What's your take? Thanks

Got one on a Ruger 77 Mk 2 action... and then also a 20 Practical...

they are pretty interchangeable as far as I am concerned....

I lean toward the 20 Practical, just necking down the neck on a 223 case and you're good to go...

yeah, I have done the 204 with Blue Dot, Unique and Alliant Steel...I do the 32 grain VMaxes instead of the 40s... why duplicate the 223 with 40s?

I have also a love using the 24 gr NTX Hornadys also...

regular powders I have used with excellent results for both accuracy and velocity...

H 322, Benchmark, AR Comp, IMR 4198, 3031....W 748 and BLC 2....plus a host of others...

just like the 223, its harder to find a powder that doesn't work well, than to find one powder that does better than all the rest...

There you are J. I knew you would respond. Its late though, you better get some sleep!!! ha. Yeah, the shop had some
32gr Vmax and 40gr Vmax bullets. The 40's were 25/box, so I opted for those, since they were cheaper than the 32's. The shop where I bought the rifle has 4 boxes of the Fiocchi 32gr Vmax ammo (50 rounds/box). The guy that sold me the rifle said he would make me a good deal on the ammo @$40/box. I haven't checked to see if that is a good deal or not, but my buddy that shoots the 204 says ammo is hard to find in Oregon. I've never looked for it down here, so I do not know?? As for bullets, I just checked Scheels online and they have some 32gr Vmax for $22.99/box. I'll check midsouth as well..

I was slow to get a 204 as I didn’t see any distinct advantage over a 222 magnum. When I started buying Cooper rifles, I was looking for different calibers and ended up with 2 in 204. Mule Deer will try to take credit for that and I would have to admit, he did steer me in that direction.

They both shoot well and I am pleased with their performance. I probably shoot more varmints than most do and the 204 has become a favorite. That doesn’t mean THE favorite, that changes from day to day.

I prefer the 32 VMax and want the advantage of velocity. You will find that most of your shooting will fall into the 300 yard distances and velocity is better than the heavier bullet.

IMR 8208 seems to be the best propellant, but in these times, it is hard to find. H322 will work real well, as I am sure CFE223 should. I used H335 and had acceptable accuracy, but the H322 and 8208 out performed it.

Very good. Thanks Shrap. Its a good thing I bought some 8208 the other day. Saw they had some more on the shelves too , if I decide I need some more. I appreciate your opinion.

I bought a 204 Model 7 Remington to coyote hunt with. I had some very bad experiences with it. Using a 32 grain VMax, I had several hits on coyotes where the bullet did not penetrate, resulting in either a wounded coyote that got away, or one that required several shots to bring down. I switched to a 35 grain Berger, and though it was a better bullet, my confidence in the 204 was shot, so I sold it. Later on I got another 204 in a Howa, because I wanted to give the cartridge another try, I killed some stuff with it, all with the 35 Berger bullet. However, I just could not warm up the 204 as a coyote killer, preferring to use a 223 and 22-250 instead.

I know my experiences do not mirror those of most of the people that use the 204. My late brother killed a bunch of coyotes with it, and liked it. But, it is what it is, and I have found that other cartridges work better for me.

nosler 40 gr BT's for coyotes......


and everything else......

Same here but with the 40 grain VMAX.

the nosler is tougher.....

I had a Contender barrel in 204, it shot very well with bullets lighter than 40 grains. I used it on Raccoons and at close range what a hole maker! It was pretty loud though.

Thanks for that James. I got into a good discussion with the shop owner yesterday about using it on yotes. It seems him and a bunch of guys around here use it. In my mind it seems like it's too light, I guess they kill the schidt out of them with this little cartridge though. What I think it all boils down to is bullet choice. One reason I bought the 40's instead, but huntsman says the Nosler ballistic tips work better even yet I will definitely get some of those and try out too. I also talked to a guy at another shop yesterday and he said the 32 Vmax does not work well on yotes. He said they tend to blow up on contact, but work great on varmints.

We haven't had any issues with 39 grain Sierra Blitzkings.

Kill like lightning.

Never really had any issues with the 32 grain V-Max when the 204 first came out. Put em in the lungs and coyotes died fast.

I thought I would never own a 204 Ruger but got tricked into buying one, I spent days and weeks on the internet finding components. I had all the powders and primers that I needed but needed brass and bullets............finally got a stockpile of everything I needed and started load development...........39gr Blitzkings and 40gr V-Max shot well but even my 222's shooting 40grainers out do the 204 with less powder.
32grainers are the only way to go with a 204 Ruger, I have several bullets to try but in my rifle the 32gr Ballistic tip is the clear winner over the V-Max, Varmageddon and others
For powder I have tried 8 different choices, 8208XBR gave the highest velocities but the best accuracy with my rifle was surprisingly with Varget

Prairie dogs aren't armor plated.

I was slow to like the 204. But reading articles by JB caused me to look into it a bit more.
The 204 is better for prairie dogs than the 223 in a couple of ways (windage and elevation) and I shoot a lot of 223 ammo at PD's. Some years we get a lot of shooting. Last year it was a very dry year and numbers were rather poor. The range for the dogs were 400+ yards, it was breezy and my 22-250 AI got most of the shooting.

Here's some loads my 204 Ruger liked.

204 Remington 700, 40 grain Hornady V-max, 27.2 grains IMR 4895, 0.44 MOA
The 204 liked all the loads from 27.2 to 28.6 grains, but 27.2 grains was the most accurate the 28.6 group size was .52 MOA
I don't know why but 27.8 shot the biggest groups .66 MOA.

204 Remington 700, 32 grain Hornady V-max, 21 grains IMR 4198, 0.44MOA (only one 5 shot group) I could not get next groups to shoot as well.

204 Remington 700, 40 grain Ballistic tip, 27 grain TAC, 0.52 MOA (multiple groups)

I'd go with either TAC or IMR 4895 for accuracy. But IMR4895 is my favorite.

I re-barreled the 204 and the new SS barrel is only as accurate as the old barrel. I had the old barrel for sale - it is no longer for sale. I'll keep it until the SS barrel burns out.

I started with 32 grain bullets because that was what was available. I'll be sticking with the 40 grain bullets and I have a good supply.

Good info here. Thanks.

I shoot thousands of rds. at p-dogs every year. Did it with a 223 until I got my first 204.
I have 2 at the present time, a Cooper varminter and a XR100 Rem. that is on it's second barrel. I shoot a lot of 17 HH and 20 VarTargs 2 of each but if I could have only 1 it would be the 204.
I like and use CFE223 and 32 vMaxs and sierra Blitzkings, both work great but the Sierras are more explosive.
I got 3500 rds out of the XR barrel but I don't baby them.

It took me until 2019 to jump into the 204 game. I was a die hard 222 fan. Picked up an A-Bolt stalker, it shoots the 39 gr Sierra bk's over 28gr of H4895 with authority. If I do my part it'll group 3 shots at .235. it does just as good with 32 gr bk's and v-max's,but I prefer the 39gr blk's. Love it for varmints. Now the 222 rarely sees any use. I have been eyeing a Rugerk11 stainless in 204 at a LGS. But I'm notuch of a stainless fan.

It sounds like we were all in the same boat in regards to the 204 Ruger. I have a buddy that has been using it since it came out. He loves the damn cartridge. Says it is his favorite "rat gun", along with his 17HMR that he's shot so much that its damn near worn out. I had never even considered the 204, as I have plenty of 223's. Thought the bullets were too light for shooting in any kind of wind etc etc. I only bought this rifle because it was a great deal. The extras on the rifle add up to what I pad for it. It also only has 200 confirmed rounds down the tube. Story is the guy bought it, fixed it up to his liking, used for yote hunting for a couple years and then moved on to an AR 204 ruger for quicker follow up shots. I asked the store manager, when I bought it, if it had an accuracy issue or something. I've seen that with some Tikka's I've bought used in the past. This is one where I'll shoot a little factory ammo through it, see how the accuracy is and if it is not up to snuff I'll give it the treatment and get it to shooting properly. I'll probably do that anyway, but at least I'll have a baseline. Which I much prefer when working with a used rifle.. We will definitely see next week though.

I really enjoy the 204. Wish I had opportunity to shoot it more. I'm sure my 204 round count is far below some of the other contributors to the thread. I've played with 32 gr Blitzkings, 32 gr VMax, 35 gr Bergers, and 40 gr VMax. They all shot very well. The Bergers might have a slight advantage in the accuracy department but they were also the most expensive. I've settled on H4895. They're alotta fun. I tell people that a 204 is like having a 4000 fps BB gun. BSA, I'm confident you'll enjoy yours.

Barnes, and CFE..Got there, then backed off to normal. Will tell you with each 1/2 grain there is 100fps

Right after this I shot a 1/4 plate with the 32@ 50yrds, and had no trouble penciling through

I'm on my 4th. The first 2 were failures, a 14" Contender barrel and a blued 700 SPS. I set aside the .204 after that for about 3, maybe 4 years, then had one built with a PacNor 3 L&G super match with a 1-12" twist. It was a very good shooter .. redeemed the cartridge in my eyes. Half inch was possible with every bullet I tried using Varget for the 39s and 40s and H335 for the 32s. Eventually the throat got so rough that it was ripping bullet jackets. At first it'd go 150 rounds or more without issues, without change in accuracy. After a few years I started noticing unexpected misses at 75-100 rounds into a day and sure enough, on paper I'd have tumbling bullets. Clean it good and it'd go almost as many rounds as it did the previous time but it was definitely going downhill. I shot it 'til I could only get about 15 rounds through it after cleaning before the bullets started failing in flight, then had it rebarreled. Again, PacNor 3 L&G with a 1-12" twist. I worked up loads from scratch. It surprised me, the top accuracy with the new barrel for each bullet was with exactly the same powder and charge weight as with the previous barrel despite switching from a varmint to standard sporter contour. The only difference is that first barrel would not stabilize the 40 grain VMAX but the current one will .. just that tiny difference between nominal twist and actual twist I guess.

I'm a huge .204 fan. For me it hits a sweet spot with .22-250 / .220 Swift trajectory over the distances I shoot but only .223 recoil and powder consumption. For the small rodents I mostly shoot, there's no visible difference in impact.

So far as coyotes ... I haven't stuck a coyote with it, but I have 4-5 boxes of the discontinued 45 grain Hornady soft points which the gun likes. It also likes the 40 grain Nosler BT. No wrong answer here other than not enough trigger time.

Built a 204R Pac Nor barrel in 2007-Savage action

Kilt a few p/dogs with it

Sent it back & re chambered it to 20 Practical

Ballistic twin & cheaper brass

In the wind with 39/40's, the 204 is pretty awesome in a dog town; they don't seem to unglue them as well as .224's and definitely not as well as the .224's and .243's that are in the same speed zone.

Still a very good choice and easier to hit with, drop and windage wise, over std. twisted 222's and .223 class cartridges and better than 17's in my book.

The little 204 Ruger is just so doggone much fun to shoot & hunt with! Recently wrote a little article and did a video to go along with it:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...the-204-ruger-video-article#Post17253783

https://ultimatereloader.com/2022/05/15/have-a-need-for-speed-try-the-204-ruger/

Regards, Guy

For being the ultimate reloader, that guy fumbles around a lot.. A lot of that equipment is unnecessary too and gives new reloaders a false impression of what it actually takes to make good handloads. He's not about keeping it simple and nothing I've seen has shown me his handloads are any better than most guys using simple basic equipment.. I'm expecting my RCBS die set today. After I get the rifle in hand, I'll prove my point..

Everyone does stuff differently. If we all did it the same way we’d never learn from one another. I like simple myself but I’d bet a dollar we all get to the same spot mostly.

I see posts on uniforming primer pockets and neck turning. If I HAD to do those to shoot, I’d shoot factory ammo but some guys love that stuff

Hi BSA, that guy is me. We've had some pleasant exchanges before.

"Ultimate Reloader" is the name of the website & youtube channel, it belongs to a friend of mine. He asked me to do something on the 204 Ruger, which he hadn't covered before, and he knew I'd shot it quite a bit.

I also took the opportunity to demonstrate the arbor press & Wilson dies, simply because they're different from what most of us use.

Usually on "Ultimate Reloader" I present some real basic stuff. Loading on normal Lyman, Hornady and RCBS gear. This time I used the cool little arbor press, just because it's different and I enjoy using it.

BSA, I'm not in competition with you or anyone else here. I just figured perhaps my years of using the 204 Ruger might be of some interest to you. It's such a cool little cartridge. Enjoy!

Regards, Guy

Had several friends take 204 barreled AR's to a prairie dog shoot in SD years ago. They ALL cooked the throats out of their barrels in no time. The round never caught my attention.

Even a 223 will do that if you aren't disciplined.

I met a guy who shoots an AR 15 in .223 on the prairie dog towns each year. He burns out the throat every time he goes and simply replaces the barrel before the next year. Replacing an AR 15 barrel is simple and usually pretty inexpensive. Personally I would rather take two or three rifles, but to each his own.

2 or 3 rifles wouldn't qualify for a real Prairie Dog shoot, you need at least 12...

Quit being such a twit!

The guy is bringing good content into an otherwise dead forum and you're trying to what? Flex your reloading might?

Seems to me, it sure would be great to be talking about rifles and load data again without all the drama and chest thumping associated with the fugging internet and all it's drama. Wouldn't you agree?

I usually take about 6 or 7. My rifles include 17 Hornet, 204, 222, 223, 22-250, 22-250AI, & 6mm

Some years the dogs are thick and closer. Some years it's lucky to get any much under 300 yards. Some years it's cool, some years it's hot. I used to take three 223's. I'm down to taking only one. The best dog shoot I was on was in Wyoming in 1985, near where the North Platte comes out of the mountains. I took thousands of rounds and 6 rifles. We shot early morning until dusk. We shot PD's and other rodents for 6 days. We were often changing rifles just to keep the barrels from over-heating too much. The wife's were along. They shot 22LR's and shot an awful lot of rodents, not just PD's.

We will often clean rifles at the end of the day depending on how many shots we had with that rifle that day.

another benefit of using Blue Dot or Alliant Steel and a host of other powders in that burn rate range...

12 to 13 grains of powder in each case... 2 to 3 shots every two minutes average...

I've shot 500 plus rounds in an afternoon, in a Sporter barrel with the 223, and never had it heat up enough to have to let it cool off...

and the rifle never lost accuracy all afternoon...

another reason I use bolt actions and no ARs to shoot sage rats...

used Blue Dot in my 22 Practical also.. 32 grain bullets... good velocity and accurate as always...

Unique, is also a good powder to use in 223 or 204... I use 10 grains in my 223s, with 40 or 50 grain bullets...

I have TC Venture 204 ruger predator model 110 twist. Tac 322 works good but my main 2 powders are RL10 and H4895. With a berger 35gr or 40gr hp.

Shrap, who's driving your ammo wagon?

Believe it or not, I do have a driver’s license…

Yeah but you can't drive the gun wagon AND the ammo wagon at the same time. With all those rifle cases, there has to be an ammo wagon to keep you in the fight...