Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints "Best Prairie Dog Cartridge" - Article & Opinion

I had a CATBIRD 6mm-270Winchester built for deer,hogs and varmints last year.Somewhat faster than a 240 Weatherby,shoots 105gr Hornady AMAX bullets EXTREMELY WELL.My gunsmith here in Dallas has built several for Prarie dog shooters,confirmed kills at 1256yds. and hits at 1509yds.

Varmit Guy thanks for the warm rececption and ill enjoy it here im sure !

yep..i went and picked up my ar-15 204 this morning and its pretty slick. The scrawny 18" barrel has gotta go, called remington and complained the barrel was too short..they said
send it in with a check for the difference and they will send me
a 26" custom stainless... check is on the way! woo hoo!

ill post pics here when its on.

ive decided i didnt like the reticle in the elite 4200 scope and returned it.. it was just too thick for a hi power scope like that.. 8x32x40 .. looking at burris with fine plex...

thats it for this months expenditures.. next month its reloading
stuff... by May, i should be prairie dog capable.

I dont think id try the 204 on our Western Muleys here, their as big as a horse... but for the average whitetail.. might be ok
with excellent shot placement under 250yards

now if i could just add on mutiple targeting radar...

BEST OR MOST FUN ?

MOST FUN IS 50 BMG !

Dogzilla; you haven't even, as you say, gotten "prarie dog ready" yet and you are showing signs of advanced sickness..... a 26" tube on an AR ? A 26" tube on a .204? 50 BMG for PDs? Reticles too thick?
Yep, you should fit in here just fine....
Ingwe

Crittergetter: I have a full out custom Varminter in caliber 240 Weatherby. It was built on a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 action and has a 27" heavy stainless Hart barrel on it.
This Rifle has accounted for some really spectacular kills on lava sitting Rock Chucks. I think I sent one of these said Varmints INTO orbit one morning!
I have heard of that CATBIRD cartridge before but never had anything to do with one.
I think my farthest kill with my 240 Weatherby is just under 600 yards - so I am a piker compared to your cartridges accomplishments.
I have also harvested many Antelope, Mule Deer and Whitetailed Deer along with several Coyotes with my 240 Weatherby!
Keep up the good work with the "Big 6"!
I once bought a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 that had been re-barrelled into the caliber 240 Marciante Blue Streak (IIRC?) and I tore the barrel off and made a custom of it. I never did find any info on that one - do you know anything about that cartridge - ever hear of it? Just curious what cartridge it was based on.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Dogzilla: Best of luck with the new "slam-bangin" 204!
I hope it shoots really well for you - I know the cartridge will perform well!
And I have to give a hearty endorsement of your switch to the 26" barrel - ooohwieee - that should be a fun gun!
I know folks that have harvested both Antelope and Whitetails with the 204 - not that I am a big advocate of that - I am hesitant in that regard but I know it can and has been done!
Looking forward to the pics!
Long live the 204 Ruger.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I know folks who have done that too, and I don't advocate it either... but I'm sitting on the .204 sidelines waiting for a premium ( non-varmint) boolit to come out... I love my deer hunting!
Ingwe

250 yards? Really? I have several towns that I know of that you can shoot all morning before having to stretch out over 150 yards. The .223 and .222 are the primary gun of choice but I have just recently acquired a 220 swift from my Grandfather. I am looking forward to getting it out in the field as soon as I can and extending my range. But right now I have a town on my other Grandfather's ranch that you can shoot with the .222 all morning and then move a mile and keep going all afternoon. They tend to stay stupid until my Uncle decides to go out and light 'em up with his 30'06. Freakin' idiot!

@ Shrapnel: Those are some damn fine looking guns you have there!

Here are some nice "frame by frame" 204 action shots. Nice thing about the 204 is that these acrobatic "visuals" can be seen through your scope in all of its "red misting" glory.

http://predatorhuntcanada.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=626

You boys need to see this for what it really is. It's a plot by them New World Order / Commie / Illumineti / Gun Grabbers. If there is a Best gun then that's the only one you need and you can turn in the rest of them.

I've been shooting prairie dogs, jack rabbits and ground squirrels for more than 50 years and I'm here to tell you that there ain't no best gun for anything. Elmer Kieth has often been quoted saying that the .264 Winchester Mag was a pretty good pest gun but not much good for anything else. Everyone has their favorite and me and my long time hunting partner have often argued which caliber was better. He shot a .220 swift and I had a 22-250. He had a 6MM Remington and I had a .243. We both agreed that the .223 had a place in the rack but when it came to long range guns he went for a 6.5/284 and I went for the 6mm BR. We've both made shots out to 1000 yards and neither of us has been outgunned by the other. My PD shooting trips now include a 17 HMR for walking around when the shooting dies down. A .223 HB Rem 700V for the 400 yard and under shots, a .22-250 Rem 700VLS for 300 + and a 6BR for the serious stuff. The 6BR is my current favorite and if I had to have just one gun for Varmints that would be it but I wouldn't be happy.

I could trade the 22-250 for a 22 BR and the .223 for a .222 but I don't want any of the .20 calibers. Stuffing those little bitty bullets into those little bitty cases is just too much work for these old eyes.

Now that's the first rational argument against the .204 I have read.

i have a remington 700 in 220 swift. I have shot lots of prarie dogs with a 223. i had a brief love affair with a swift when i was a kid, now i have my own and i am looking forward to using it to lower the PD population in my area.

Jerrschmitt: My eyes will soon be 62 years old and if I had to use a magnifying glass to handle the 204 Ruger's projectiles while I handloaded them I WOULD DO SO!
The all around outstanding performance of the 204 Ruger is simply something a Varminter has to experience first hand to appreciate!
There is simply NO rational argument to be made against the 204 Ruger!
For 99.99% of Varmint shooting the 204 Ruger is simply the best all around cartridge existing today!
The other 0.01% of Varmint shooting (that which is to be done at ranges in excess of 550 yards!) is better done with the "boomers" - BUT - those "boomers" are very well un-suited for the vast majority of Varmint Hunting.
YES - 99.99% of all shots on Varmints are taken at 550 yards or less!
And that is where the 204 Ruger excells!
Don't forget the other outstanding attributes of the splendid 204 Ruger cartridge - like outstandingly flat trajectory and straight shooting in the wind, and the amazing lack of recoil and the slowness to heat a barrel and the amazing accuracy of this cartridge and its economy to reload and on and on!
I strongly DISAGREE with your baseless contention that "there ain't no best gun for anything"!
I also have been shooting "Varmints" for 50+ years and for 99.99% of all Varmint shooting I can't think of a "better" cartridge to use than the 204 Ruger!
I have two heavy Varminters in caliber 22 Remington Bench rest, I have another in 6mm Remington Bench Rest, I also have Varminters in 22 PPC and 6mm PPC but in all around attributes, none of them holds a candle to the 204 Ruger when Hunting Prairie Dogs.
Dittoes for about 25 other calibers of Varminters I own!
Let alone the recoil heavy, barrel heating and barrel burning 6.5x284's!
Again - 99.99% of all Varmints (including Prairie Dogs!) are shot at 550 yards and under!
I would rather use the 204 Ruger for Praire Doggin than ANY 264 Winchester, 6.5x284, 22-250 Remington, 223 Remington, 22 Remington Bench Rest or 6mm Remington Bench Rest Rifle ever made!
Like I say the amazing performance and attributes of the 204 Ruger has to be experienced first hand to be fully understood and appreciated.
Long live the new King of The Varmint Hunting World - the 204 Ruger!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

(1) The all around outstanding performance of the 204 Ruger is simply something a Varminter has to experience first hand to appreciate!�

I tried a 204 for a year, and while it was a nice cartridge after using it I found myself gravitating back to my 223, the 204 in all actuality does not do anything that much better than the 223. The differences are at best miniscule, I have become more and more convinced it is just another chambering to sell more rifles. I have only known two other folks who have 204�s and they have both pretty much gone back to the 223 also, there reasoning is the same as mine - just a little more versatility. (my opinion of course - completely unsupported by "facts")


(2) � For 99.99% of Varmint shooting the 204 Ruger is simply the best all around cartridge existing today!�

This is an interesting figure; please explain how you arrived at the figure of 99.99%, this is truly an amazing figure, using this figure there is absolutely no point in there being any other �varmint� cartridge in the world. How did you manage to get the data to support this number??
I also would like to read your definition of �varmint�. The reason I am interested in the definition of varmint is that one of the reasons I gave up on the 204 was the less effective results using it on coyotes versus the very successful results I have had with the 223. I killed coyotes with the 204 but not as quickly, and with the amount of �bang-splat� that I have had with the 223.


(3) �YES - 99.99% of all shots on Varmints are taken at 550 yards or less!�

WOW! It must have taken a lot of time and research to come up with that figure - I would really be interested in seeing just how it was arrived at, would you please provide supporting documentation. It is hard to imagine that out of 10,000 shots at varmints only one varmint is taken at more than 550 yards. You must have spent years doing research to arrive at this one.

(4) �and the amazing lack of recoil and the slowness to heat a barrel and the amazing accuracy of this cartridge and its economy to reload and on and on!�

Let me see - if one burns 27 grains of powder and uses a 40 grain bullet in a 223 or 204 shouldn�t the recoil be the same for all practical purposes????
I believe that the barrels should heat at about the same rate given the same firing sequence, if anything the 204 should heat slightly more because of the amount of powder being burned through the smaller hole in the barrel, and more bearing surface of the bullet (given the same bullet weight, not enough to be concerned over but slightly more I would think.
Economy to reload - if there was any difference in component costs I failed to see them, if anything this would work in favor of a 223 because of the availability of surplus brass.

(5) I also have been shooting "Varmints" for 50+ years and for 99.99% of all Varmint shooting I can't think of a "better" cartridge to use than the 204 Ruger!

I hate to burst your bubble but I have 8 years of age on you and have closer to 60 years of shooting varmints. I grew up and lived in �varmint� country rather than only doing it occasionally during vacation or varmint hunting trips. What does this prove? Nothing in either of our cases, just that we have both been doing this for a long time.
But, we do agree on one thing - that is when you say �I can't think of a "better" cartridge to use than the 204 Ruger!�
You are totally closed minded on the subject of the 204. It is a good cartridge and I may own another one some day but I am not enamored with it. When you get on your platform about it you lose all sense of perspective regarding any other varmint cartridge. Your inane statements and total lack of looking at things from any viewpoint but your own are remind me of an ostrich who sticks his head in the sand so that anything he does not see does not exist.

(6) "I have two heavy Varminters in caliber 22 Remington Bench rest, I have another in 6mm Remington Bench Rest, I also have Varminters in 22 PPC and 6mm PPC but in all around attributes, none of them holds a candle to the 204 Ruger when Hunting Prairie Dogs.
Dittoes for about 25 other calibers of Varminters I own!"

question - That add up to about 30 other rifles in caliber other than the 204, so if the 204 is the best for 99.99% of varmint shooting why do you own all of the other calibers???


p.s. - please try to make your points without �yelling� - capital letters.

drover