Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles 204 Ruger experiences

Does any one have some hard data on 204 barrel life with moderate use. Thanks

Dave_Skinner: I have 5 Varmint weight Rifles in caliber 204 Ruger as of today.
Three of these Rifles are Rugers and two are Remingtons, each and every one of them are VERY accurate for factory arms!
I have two Ruger Model 77 Varmints in caliber 204 Ruger and the reason I bought the second one was because the first Rifle was so accurate!
By the way, there is NOTHING in the Varminting world that a 223 Remington can do that a 204 Ruger CAN'T DO BETTER!
I base this sweeping and startling observation on over 5 years of extensive range and field use with the 204 Ruger versus my personal very lengthy "career" with many and varied types of 223's!
The 204 Ruger cartridge is so far superior to the 223 Remington for all around Varminting that they are not even in the same ball-park!
Get that 204 Rifle perking here soon, or get rid of it.
The cartridge is just so fantastic that your invested time in THAT Rifle is now detracting from your "lifes experience" - I mean 4 years with that amount of investment is PLENTY!
My latest Ruger 77 V/T in caliber 204 Ruger last two groups (5 shots at 100 yards) measured .347" and .378"! This Rifle has a Leupold 8.5x25 variable scope on it and is all factory stock!
No issues with any of my 204's.
To tell the truth I had not been a big fan of Ruger Varmint Rifles for many years.
That is until I bought my 77 V/T in 204 Ruger back in early 2,004. I bought my latest 77 V/T 204 Ruger in January of this year.
My other Ruger Varminter in 204 Ruger is a #1-V-SS and as previously mentioned it shoots quite well also. It has shot groups (5 shots at 100 yards) that AVERAGED .569" since day one!
This average includes all load development groups as well as sight-ins and my final chosen load!
Now, one of your later posts I didn't fully follow - is it shooting better now-a-days?
I hope so.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

So that explains it. VG bought up all the good ones.
VarGuy,
You didn't tell me your loaded lengths and where throats are. And how is your brass fireforming?

Today I finally got the new Bushnell 5 x 15 mil-dot remounted on a new Savage model 12 in the 204 caliber. All my buddies have been raving about this tack driving caliber, so I thought I best check things out and I did do so.

Now down at the gunclub I watched a couple of young shooter print groups well under 1/2 an inch all morning. They let me shoot their rifles and I was very impressed. So I purchased me one and my rifle today was shooting .980 with factory 40 grn bullets. However, with my reloads it shot much better than 1/2 inch. My best group measured .265 and the worst was .490 with reloads using 32 grn bullets.

I have a Ruger#1v That will shoot 1/2 in. groups with everything I've put in it except 45gr. bullets they keyhole or worse at 100 yds. I haven't even tried 50's. But I can't see as though I have a need to try eitherof them.

Do not bother with the 50s, they are for custom-barrelled rifles with a faster twist(1-9 or faster) than the nominal 1-12" factory barrels. The 40 Hornady V-Max is problematic in a large percentage of factory barrels, it's a bit too long. The 45 grain bullet is a bit shorter, and SHOULD shoot a bit better, but that's the old "individual rifle" thing going on. My rifles seem to favor the 32 grain bullets, but I keep getting decent results with 4895 and Sierra 39s, too.
All in all, it's really hard to beat that 39 Sierra, fully half of the .204 shooters on the 204um favor that bullet.

Contact Silverfox on the .204ruger.com forum, he's kept excellent records on his Savage. He's got at least 2500 rounds thru his early rifle with no signs of letting up yet. It doesn't matter anyway, barrels are easily swapped out when they go south. That's why they're threaded into a reciever........

I hated my M700 204 until I tried one of Gmoney's loads. Bergers and Benchmark are a magical combo in my 204. I went from 1.5-2" patterns with Sierras and Hornadys, to .4" five shot groups with the 35gr Berger. I am learning that all my varmint guns prefer Bergers, so I am making the switch over.

Sweet...

I'm back in the .204 game recently after dumping all of them in favor of all my stuff on the .233 case...

I couldn't pass it up...grin...

The coyotes I have met, hate the 204.

Yup...

I'm gonna try the 40 Berger in this next one and see what happens...

I'm a constant fiddler...

I shoot 40's in my 223AI, so I cover all the bases, LOL. 35's in my 204, 40's in my 223AI, and 55's in my 22-250AI.

I've got 4 but my Cooper is the best of the bunch. It likes about anything I shoot thru it. I just loaded 50 39 bk's to see what they'll do. My pet load is H4895 and 35 bergers. locally Cooper's are outlawed from factory shoots.....should say something right there.

Dave, this I just don't understand: "Four years later we still haven't put it on meat, after two barrels and a custom chamber rework."

I think I had my .204 just long enough to sight it in, and then I started whacking rock chucks with it... Seriously, I think the barrel was broken in on varmints...

I'm using Wilson dies, the Hornady 40 gr V-Max and BLC(2) for 3800 fps from a factory built CZ varminter.

Regards, Guy

GuyM,
The rifle is not consistent. On approved loads, with sorted, centric fireformed brass, it will group pretty well, just over a half inch. But the groups are widely separated. And I don't have many cases, the cull rate was around 50 percent for HDY, RP and Win.
Fireform loads in virgin brass are another matter entirely. Stuff flies every which way. Since I use misses to figure out where to hold on second shots....that's an expensive idea these days.
This is one of those rifles that showed initial "potential" but has just not behaved. It loathes all except one factory fodder, which it didn't like much. The "good" loads shoot far from each other.

Dave_Skinner: Could you clarify this point for me?
Are you saying that the Rifle in question (with carefully selected brass) produces groups "just over half inch" - BUT those same recipe handloads will then group in ANOTHER PLACE on the target the next time you try for group?
Then - the last sentence of your last post states "the good loads shoot far from each other" You use the term "loads" as in plural.
If I understand this point, then, I don't see that as a problem at all - YOU, just have to decide on and shoot ONE LOAD!
I have a gun vault FULL of Rifles that shoot different loads to different places - thats so common it should be considered normal.
I think I will fall back on previous advice I gave to you - get rid of that Rifle and get another one in 204 Ruger caliber.
The 204 Ruger cartridge is such a splendid performer you deserve to have one that shoots accurately/consistently!
Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VG,
Thanks for the good words.
It will shoot 32 BKs and 39BKs in fireformed brass but with a major change in zero, like three and a half inches at 100. That tells you what a fussy devil it is to begin with.
As things are, we asked Ruger to sell us an unchambered 204 tube. Got the No letter yesterday. So, I'm gonna call my trusty local gunsmith and ask him if he can do me a set-back, smallbase chamber with a short throat and to ($%&)#*$& with the rollmarks, and what he wants to do so...

I did not read the entire thread....but can I recommend one item...

Seat the bullets 0.050" off the lands. The two factory 204 chambered rifles I own simply find this spot as the prime point of seating depth.

Using Benchmark or H4895 and 40 gr VMax's, these are 500 yard prairie doggin' machines.