Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Thinking of 204 Ruger Plunge

I am thinking about getting a 204 Ruger barrel for my Remington 700 SA Varminter which is currently a 223 Rem.
What powders, and brass have you guys found to work the best?
Wanting it to be my future PD rifle.

I have a couple of 204 Rugers, if you are re-barreling go at least a 24" barrel. this is one round that really loses a lot with a shorter barrel.
as for powder I like CFE223, VVN140. others that work well are IMR8208 and even Varget
for brass it can be hard to find, when I got my first 204 Ruger the only brass I could find was Winchester so I bought a bunch of it.
Winchester has a bad reputation for it's brass but so far has been very good.
As for bullets I am a believer in the 32grainers and use 32gr VMax and 32gr BT's, would love to use 32gr Blitzkings but Sierra has not made any in years. with the 40grainers you lose so much velocity and would be better off staying with a 223 IMO

Thanks boatanchor!

I experimented with a couple of different 204's. I had problems killing coyotes reliably with the 32 grain VMax bullets. Too many bullet splashs and too little penetration. By the time I found a bullet that worked better, the 35 grain Berger HP, I'd soured so much on the 204 that I got rid of them. Mine liked H322 and Benchmark powders.

The .204 IMHO is THE rifle for PDs. The 39 and 40 grain bullets are your huckleberries in the wind, and also they have that extra oomph for coyotes.

Thanks for the info guys!
One more question, how hard is the 204 on barrels?
Common sense tells me that a barrel would be short lived but I’ve heard mixed reviews.

I agree the 39-40gr bullets are better in the wind than the 32's but really give you nothing more than what a 223 will do with 40's

The only reason the 204 Ruger exists is for speed and the 32gr bullets give you that.
As a side note I think that Browning pulled a big blunder this year, The only rifle they chamber in 204 Ruger is called the X-Bolt Speed

They put an 18" barrel on it........that is like taking a Bull snipping it's nuts and now it is a Steer
A 204 with an 18"barrel is no longer a Ruger it is a 204 Browning Blunder

I shoot lots of PDs with lots of different cartridges. The 204 Ruger is an excellent cartridge for that purpose, maybe the best. I like 32 V max bullets and Benchmark powder.
I shoot some coyotes with it also and use the same powder and Berger 35 HP.

This is also my basic experience.

One thing that both Ingwe and I have found is that .204s usually shoot both bullets in the 32-grain weight-class and 40s to the same POI at 100 yards. Thus you can switch back and forth, depending on wind conditions and ranges.

These days I usually use a .17 Hornady Hornet for PDs out to around 300 yards, and switch to the .204 with 40s from 300+ to 500. Have found the 40-grain V-Max does result in less-wind-drift than any 40-grain I've tried in the .223--and Brian Litz's BC info confirms that bullet has a higher BC than other 40s. But the 40-grain Ballistic Tip penetrates better on larger varmints. (Beyond 500 I use a variety of other rifles.)

Bought my first .204 a year after the cartridge was introduced in 2004, and tried a bunch of different powders before settling on TAC. Haven't seen any reason to change, partly because it burns so cleanly that there's also usually very little copper-fouling--but some newer powders work very well. In general prefer spherical powders in the .204 (and .17s) because they flow through the small necks easily and accurately when using a mechanical powder measure.

Suppressed, they become amazing. The suppressor helps with recoil reduction as well. I’m afraid I may be using the 204 too much and need to get a few more barrels threaded so I can put less wear on the 204…

Only shot hornady brass in mine with 32gr bullets, mostly vmax’s. Running either xbr8208 or tac at top of book loads. Still sub-moa ran that hot at 4050-4100fps. I’ve not shot any coyotes with it but it’s poison on big groundhogs, and I’ve shot them at 400yds and it anchored them.

Think about a 20 Practical instead. It gives up NO velocity loss in my experience having one of each.

All I bought for a die, was a Hornady 20 caliber neck sizing die. The die, sizes the neck down to 20 caliber. The Hornady die cost me $20, and that was the only investment I needed to make. A 223 die, is like a body die, just remove the spindle.. All the brass was just 223 range pick up brass, which I can pick up 1000 plus pieces every month to 6 weeks, which was No expense.

IIRC I ordered the barrel with a 1 in 9 twist.

As Seafire stated......consider the 20 Practical

I'm not stranger to p/dog 20 cal set ups

Although mine are on Savage target actions

Over the last 15 yrs been running

20 Vartarg....20-222.....20 Practical....204R.......even a 20 BR for a while

My fav is probably still the 20-222

https://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/20caliber/

SoTexCurDog: I jumped on the 204 Ruger "bandwagon" early on - next year will be my 20th year with this amazing cartridge!
I consider the 204 Ruger to be THE best "all around" Varmint/predator cartridge of all time!
I killed my first Rock Chuck 66 year ago and have been Hunting Varmints/predators ever since.
I currently own and shoot 11 (eleven) heavy barrel Varmint Rifles in 204 Ruger built by four different manufacturers and in 7 different models.
All shoot VERY well, at least, accuracy wise. After trying several bullet weights including 32 grains, 35 grains, 39 grains and 40 grainers I settled on the 32 grain bullets in all my Rifles.
If you can "afford it" and your 223's barrel still has life in it I say keep it and find a factory fresh heavy barrel Rifle offering in 204 Ruger - to go along with the 223. Remember "new" custom barrels and Riflesmiths are VERY expensive these days thus my current preference for factory guns!
Had one of my Remington XR-100's in 204 Ruger out last week shooting the amazingly accurate Federal 32 grain "bulk pack" factory ammo. I was using this bulk pack ammo to get some fireformed brass. As some on here have alluded to 204 brass was hard to come by for a while. These Federal bulk pack cartridges were not only accurate they "vaporized" Ground Squirrels and some winged Varmints that mistakenly lit on the ground within 400 yards of my shooting stand!
I have and use brass by Winchester, Hornady, Remington and now of late Federal - I doubt if the Varmints will know any difference in which brass I am using!
I enthusiastically recommend that you DO get a 204 Ruger in your arsenal and begin enjoying all the amazing attributes (flat trajectory, low recoil, speed, lethality, slow to heat a barrel etc etc etc!) of the 204!
And this - if you really want to see how well your "new" 204 Ruger shoots be sure to find and try some Berger 35 grain bullets - these are hard to find and that is the main reason I settled on the 32 grain projectiles in all my 204's over the 35 grain Bergers.
In all my Rifles, that I tried the 35 grain Bergers in, they shot the best of all bullets tried.
Long live the 204 Ruger!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I got on the .204 bandwagon early and got right back off. My first couple were disasters. I stayed away about 3 years, then tried again with semi-custom instead of factory. The first two were a 14" contender barrel and a 700 ADL / blued SPS .. I forget which. Both were minute of 5 gallon bucket, horrible accuracy. After the delay I had a PacNor 24" 700 varmint contour barrel stuck on a 700 action and put about 3500 abusive rounds through it 'til it'd only go about 15 shots starting clean before the jackets ripped and the bullets keyholed or disintegrated. The replacement was another PacNor, still 24", still 1-12" twist, still 3 L&G, but this time a factory sporter weight lightly fluted. Hell if it doesn't like exactly the same recipes for every bullet .. minus one. The first rifle would not shoot the 40 grain VMAX well, the current does very well with it.

Anyway, for me, WW brass and Remington 7-1/2 primers. For 32 grain bullets, either Nosler or Hornady, 28 grains of H335, and for 39/40 grain bullets, 27.5 grains of Varget. I haven't gotten around to trying 32 grain Sierras or the 39 grain Speer TNT. Best accuracy of all is with the 39 grain Sierra but the others are right on its tail.

Tom

Again, THANK YOU ALL for this info!!!!

My factory 700 in 204 will not stabilize a 40gr v-max. Loves the 32’s.

What would be the recommended twist rate for either the Ruger or the Practical?
I would be more attracted to 39-40 grain bullets but would still like the option of lighter 32 grainers for the just in case syndrome…..
Also, does the Practical have any Cons with it other than it’s not a factory offered rifle like a RAR would be for the Ruger.

I've not had any issues stabilizing a 40 grain VMAX in mine. Bought a Proof carbon wrapped blank and will make a new PD gun.

10-11 twist will be fine

My Pac Nor 12 twist/3 groove 20's run 40 V max with no issues

But then

My 20-222 'was' a 20 BR in earlier life...it's a 9 twist