Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints 204 Ruger

For rockchucks to coyotes what do you guys think of the 204?

I have a chance to pick up a Rem 700 ADL for a great price.
This will be solely for varmints and plinking.

Sorry if this has been asked a thousand times.

love mine.......

It is among the best. Mine likes the 40 grain NBT. It does a great job on coyotes and bobcats, but have not shot a rockchuck with it, though I couldn't imagine it would disappoint me.

I carry mine every day. Everything else stays in the safe until I run out of 204 ammunition.

The 204 Ruger is the best thing to come along for varminting since the 22-250. Buy it if the price is right and don't look back. I sure enjoy using mine!

Great little cartridge! No recoil, excellent accuracy potential and laser-flat trajectory! Blasts rock-chucks to oblivion too. I use a CZ varminter with a 12x Leupold and shoot 40 gr V-Max bullets handloaded to 3800 fps.

Here's my son, messing around with my .204 on a varmint shoot last summer.


At the range:


How can you not like those little plastic tipped speed demons?

I owned a 700 ADL in .204. It was awful. Never would stay consistently under about 2.5 MOA. It was impressive when I hit something with it because with that kind of accuracy, hits only came real close while the bullet was still hauling a$$.

I am a .204 fan, though. A couple years after the ADL debacle I decided to give it another try and put together a pacnor barreled 700 I really enjoy. It puts a hurt on little fuzzy things.

Plus: .223 level recoil, .22-250 level trajectory.
Minus: Achieved with light, high BC bullets, so in situations where bullet weight matters, it has less "snot" than either.

Plus: for it's trajectory, it burns less powder so in that sense it runs cheap.
Minus: there are no good, inexpensive .204 bullets like you can find in .22 caliber.

I like mine a lot for small rodents .. ground squirrels and the like. I believe it could be an ideal hide hunting cartridge. However, for a rifle for the sole purpose of turning live coyotes into dead coyotes, I like 6mms and .25s.

I'm of the opinion that 7mms and .30s are not out of line if the country you're calling coyotes in has big cats or bears, too. When you make cheeseburger noises, consider what might come to lunch.

The first time I ever called, something answered .. no idea what it was. I was in a buckthorn patch on the riverward side of a road cut by a little highway, 4:00 am, moon out. All I had was a little squeaker. After a couple squeaks, something cut loose with a gawd-awful low gravelly roar from the other side of the highway where the buckthorn patch continued on up the hill. I don't know what it was, but it sounded like it was 750 pounds with an attitude problem. It was probably some itty bitty thing that was all speaker but it sounded like it was going to ass-[bleep] me first, then gnaw my corpes later: I wasn't taking chances, I got back in my truck and I LEFT. Y' might say it made an impression on me.

Tom

That CZ 204 looks really farmiliar...

YESSSS!!!


Ingwe

KCBighorn: I am dealing on my sixth Varmint Rifle in caliber 204 Ruger right now.
"IF", I were to start out today - instead of 50+ years ago - to become the most successful and most intense all around Varmint Hunter I could be, I would NOT buy a Varmint Rifle in ANY caliber BUT the 204 Ruger!
And thats coming from a Varminter that has Hunted all over the west for dozens of species of Varmints with dozens of different calibered Rifles!
The 204 Ruger is simply the BEST all-around Varmint caliber that exists today!
Remember, you naysayers, I said "all-around Varmint caliber"!
The 204 Ruger cartridge is extremely accurate!
The 204 Ruger is extremely easy to handload for!
Its also extremely light of recoil so you will very often be able to spot your bullets impact point!
The 204 shoots AMAZINGLY flat over the distances that 99% of all Varmints are shot at!
The 204 shoots AMAZINGLY straight, EVEN in the wind, over distances that 99% of all Varmints are shot at!
The 204 is extremely lethal on all manner of Varmints - I have personally used it successfully on Coyote, Fox, Badger, Fox, Rock Chucks, Porcupines, Skunk, Prairie Dogs, Jack Rabbits, Weasels, Ground Squirrels, Snowshoe Hares, feral cats and a host of other Varmints including those that on occassion fly!
I have as yet, been unable to find anything that the 204 Ruger can not do - that I need done, Varminting wise anyway!
KCBighorn, I am currently Hunting with and shooting over 60 different Varmint Rifles in 23 different calibers and the 204 Ruger in my extensive experience is now THE go to caliber - especially for the Rock Chuck to Coyote category you are interested in!
Try one - I am sure you will be happy with it!
I had one of my 204's along on a Big Game Hunt last week and I used it to successfully take 3 different types of Varmints - out in flat and open country - the extreme accuracy and extremely flat trajectory of the 204 allowed me to shoot quickly and confidentally! No need to dig out my rangefinder - I just held on hair and bagged my game with that 204!
Having that 204 along really enhanced and added to the enjoyment of my Big Game Hunt!
Long live the 204 Ruger!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

This past Saturday, I saw a new Remington 700 LVSF in 204Rug for $579 if anyone is interested send me a PM. I know the store will ship...

RH

I pretty much agree with VarmintGuy. I have five .204's currently. Two bolt guns and three AR's. My only caution is to be careful with your bullet selection for coyotes. I shoot 20+ coyotes a year with my .204's. Any of the bullets available can kill a coyote like a bolt of lightning but the 32 grainers and the 39 grain BlitzKings may splash on quartering-on shoulder shots which are fairly common in predator calling situations. Stick with the 40 grain bullets or, better yet, use the 35 grain Bergers. For longer range rockchucks the 39 grain BK's are the ticket, though--good b.c. Can't go wrong with a .204.

hey varmintguy

are any of your 204s A Rs?

i've got a 243 25-06 and a 270 bolts i've shot varmints and big game with but the recoil is too much to suit me for the varmints

i'm looking to get a 204 next year and i might start off cheap with a nef single shot or might try and get rid of the 270 to begin building an A R with

what do you think?

I now have three 204's and it is my favorite varminter. I still bring out the 243 for those really windy days but overall preference is the 204.

Johnnyappleseed: Negative on the AR's in 204 Ruger!
One of my friends who comes to Montana from the east coast to Varmint Hunt with me has one though and I have shot it.
My good friend Ed Lovell here in SW Montana has an NEF in 204 Ruger and he just loves it!
I have never been much of an AR-15 type Rifle fan - I have owned a couple of them but never fired either of them myself - I just bought and sold them for fun and profit!
I have shot countless AR's though, that belong to my friends and to the PD I worked at for 29 years.
I even got to fire a double ATF taxed AR last year - it was not only full auto it was supressed!!!
My friend had a quite a time getting that one on the plane to get it to Montana!
He made the mistake of complying and showing the tax documents to the airport folks - it took a while but he finally got it into the baggage compartment of the plane.
This quiet Rifle was just a blast to shoot!
It would be an impressive Coyote getter I am sure of that!
My biggest gripes about AR's are they sling the brass (valued nearly like gold and as hard to find these days!) far from me and they tend to make me forget simple principles of marksmanship and get me (and their owners!!!) into rat-a-tat-tat mode to easily and frequently!
My good friend Irv Benzion of the Pacific Northwest had an AR-15 in 223 with a heavy barrel (Olympic Arms if IIRC) - he had a Leupold 6.5x20 variable scope on it. I saw him one calm morning at the SPAA Range on the Duwamish River fire a group of 5 shots at 200 (two hundred!) yards that measured just under .500"!!!
I have seen MANY Ar's that shot extremely well over the last 3 decades.
You WILL be thrilled with the 204 when you get one though, of that I am sure.
As of today I am not skookum (PNW Indian word for smart!) enough to advise you on the in's and out's of reloading for an AR type Rifle in caliber 204 Ruger.
My 204 Rugers are in Models:

Ruger 77 V/T (two of these)
Ruger #1-V SS
Remington 700 VLS
Remington XR-100

Long live the 204 Ruger cartridge!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
VarmintGuy

[/quote]


The first time I ever called, something answered .. no idea what it was. I was in a buckthorn patch on the riverward side of a road cut by a little highway, 4:00 am, moon out. All I had was a little squeaker. After a couple squeaks, something cut loose with a gawd-awful low gravelly roar from the other side of the highway where the buckthorn patch continued on up the hill. I don't know what it was, but it sounded like it was 750 pounds with an attitude problem. It was probably some itty bitty thing that was all speaker but it sounded like it was going to ass-[bleep] me first, then gnaw my corpes later: I wasn't taking chances, I got back in my truck and I LEFT. Y' might say it made an impression on me.

Tom [/quote]

Had to be none other than BIGFOOT!!

VarmintGuy, how do you like that 700 VLS? I have one in .204 also. I like mine real well. Just wondering what you thought of yours.

BRoper: The first 204 Ruger I bought was back in early 2,004 - it was a Ruger M-77 V/T. It shot so well and I loved what the cartridge did so much that a couple of months later i bought the Remington 700 VLS in 204!
To tell the truth I like the Remington just a tad better - and I can not put my finger on why!
A couple of years later I got a sweetheart deal on ANOTHER Ruger M-77 V/T in 204 and I bought that one as well.
The FIRST loading I tried in my Remington 700 VLS in 204 Ruger after barrel break-in produced two groups (5 shots at 100 yards) measuring .398" and .480" on a day that I listed the conditions as "only fair".
This VLS shoots really well and the trigger is excellent.
Its an all factory stock Rifle and I have a Nikon Monarch 6.5x20 variable scope on it.
The stock fits me rather well and the forearm allows for very solid sighting out in field conditions over sandbags and/or "X" type bags.
I have killed Coyotes, Badger, Fox, Rock Chucks, Prairie Dogs, Jack Rabbits, flying Varmints, feral cats, Skunks, Raccoons and Ground Squirrels with this Rifle.
This Rifle shot factory ammo EXTREMELY well as that was all that was available back then for shooting.
I now shoot handloaded 32 grain Sierra's BlitzKing's in it.
Yep I love mine as well.
Wouldn't even consider trading this one off.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy