Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 204 Ruger From Heck, What Now

A friend of mine won an M77Mk2TGT in 204 two springs ago. At the time, I thought it would be fun to work up a few loads and write about it.
Well, here we are, on the second factory barrel and the #*^@ still won't act like a varmint gun.
This last session tonight was just the end. Cases were coming out just bananaed like crazy, in short a huge chamber just like the first barrel.
Now, this thing is bedded, lugs are fine, rings lapped, I even got the trigger stoned and slicked up nice. But I've had it with the long throat and the giant chamber. This thing needs a set-back (at least 15 hundredths) and a recut.
Is it, Oh Writer Swamis, possible to rent a 204 minimum-body-only piloted reamer someplace, and a piloted throater? I really don't want to buy a custom, short-throated reamer for one barrel, and I'll be DANGED if I'm going to use a standard reamer just to cut out another King Kong chamber.
Recommendations, please, and thanks.

I would return it to Ruger. Why dink around with something that should be OK from the factory?

I have a 77 Mark II .204 sporter-weight, purchased at a local store two years ago, that started making 1/2" 5-shot groups at 100 yards as soon as I free-floated the barrel. That is what I chave some to expect from Ruger rifles, so I'd go to them before trying to "fix" it.

MD

MD, I already sent it back to them once. Cost me a kajillion in shipping (58 bucks round trip or so) and it took forever, mostly because the barrels were on backorder for two months running. If they just stab ANOTHER pipe on with that same long-throated, fat-boy chamber, well, I dunno.
Just out of curiosity, what's your OAL on your handloads and what bullet? And, where's your OAL in relation to the throat?

Sorry I missed the part about the second factory barrel in the first post!

I'm seating my bullets to about the SAAMI OAL, because the throat is indeed too long to seat them near it. I gather this the the SAAMI standard as well. I shoot about every available plastic-tipped bullet in this rifle from Sierra, Hornady and Nosler, both the 32/33's and the 39/40's. Some shoot better than others, but all shoot well under an inch for 5 shots at 100 yards. The Sierra 32's and Nosler 40's shoot 1/2 inch or under.

We have two .204's in the house, the other a Savage sporter-weight, and there isn't much difference in size between the chambers. Cases come out perfectly round, and I normally neck-size and get easy chambering.

I would contact a good general-repair gunsmith as they normally can rent reamers, or borrow them from other gunsmiths. I take such problems to the gun repair department at Capital Sports & Western in Helena, Montana (406-443-2978). Arnold and Al are both very experienced smiths.

MD

Okay, MD, thanks.
I asked SAAMI for the spec sheet and they sent me one that shows a big long throat. So that, for reasons I cannot comprehend given this was a "scratch" design from a blank sheet, is apparently a given. Makes little sense given the mission, use profile and intensity of the cartridge.
FYI, I have access to a nice big lathe and have a couple fussy gunsmith friends that appreciate me because I only bring them work after hunting season and Christmas....but before people starting thinking about gophers.

I also load my 204 to roughly SAAMI specs because the throat is too long to get it close to the lands anyway. It is a M700 though.

I have heard mixed results with people shooting 39's, I have only tried 32's. Mine was shooting about 1.5-2" at 100, then I put it in a new stock with a freefloated barrel channel and the groups shrunk to .5" at 100.

Sounds like yours is a chamber issue though, I would either work out a deal with Ruger for return shipping, or I would send it down the road.

I am not an expert (gunwriter etc) I just have had experience playing with the 204 since mine did not shoot well from the factory.

I'm not a gun writer, but have a Ruger 204. in the ultra light configuration. Mine shot 5 shots under 1" with Hornady factory ammo. Also with 32. gr. re-loads. I changed the stock from the plastic "tupperware" to a lam. stock from a Ruger Compact. With factory bedding it still shoots under 1" for 5 shots. I'm impressed with this factory 20" "whippy" barrel.
Virgil B.

Catcher, thanks for the M700 information. Long throat there, too. Hmmm. Any Savages out there with the throat in Weatherby County?
VB, glad yours shoots to satisfaction. Wish this one would.

Hi Dave. The one downfall of the 204 Ruger is the gawd-awful SAMMI freebore length and diameter. Even when a 'minimum SAMMI' reamer is spec'd...that's what you're going to get. While the occasional .5" gun is seen, most 204R's struggle to get under 1" regardless of ammo.

One of my BR pals just put together a short 700 in 204R with a PacNor #3 that I did the stocking and pillar bedding on. With a special short throated reamer from Dave Kiff that positioned the base of most bullets about midway down the neck when contacting the lands, it will hammer 5 of 'em into the high .3's using AA2700 and any available poly tipped bullet.

Another pal, faced with a similar throat situation in his ADL 700 in 204R, used a similar reamer and just set back the original ADL barrel and rechambered with the short throated reamer. The gun went from a 'barely one incher' to a solid .6 (for five shots) gun after just the setback and rechamber.

Some barrels don't seem to mind if the bullets jump..and some do. When rechambering a factoy tube, it's always a crap shoot....

From my experience with guys shooting the 204R's at our local range, it's the rare factory 204R that will shoot in the .5" range at 100 for 5 shots...regardless of brand. Most are 1" guns with a few that will go around .75" for 5 shots.

It's too bad about the throat length deal...Ruger almost got everything right on the cartridge. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> Not that a 1" gun is a bad gun but most factory guns with any sort of decent barrel chambered in a varmint round can usually be coaxed into the .5" range for 5 shots with a bit of effort.

Good shootin'. -Al

One thing I also found, when working up loads for it the gun hated lower velocities. When i was shooting around 3700 it was shooting around 1.5". As the charge increased the groups just kept shrinking. I stopped at book max, and it was the tightest groups I got. I have never seen such a text-book example of groups affected by different powder charges as I did with this gun. Both Sierras and Nornady bullets exhibited this trait.

Thanks, Al. I have a Kiff reamer for 22 BR with the easy neck (no case turning) and Dave did a nice job on it. It's throated for 55s or so, a bit long for 40s. If I had to do over, a shorter throat is all I would have changed.
And I agree completely on the Weatherby throating. Given the purpose of the cartridge and a blank blueprint, the final result just stuns me.
What the heck, I need to be in Dredford to watch 'em log what's left of the Biscuit salvage next week. Maybe I'll have a chance to stop in White City quickly and throw MORE money away. And it's NOT EVEN MY RIFLE!
Do you know anyone who rents Kiff piloted reamers?

Reading this and I'm starting to think we were lucky. My wife has a Rem LVSF in 204. It shoots factory Hornady ammo to 1 moa, but reliably sits below .4 moa using handloads with the 39 gr Sierra BK. Our OAL is as long as the magazine will allow (though I'm planning on testing a bit shorter soon). The rifle has performed so well that she sold her previous varmint rifle (6/250) as it was just gathering dust, and we're collecting the bits to put a new custom 204 together.

Quote
"From my experience with guys shooting the 204R's at our local range, it's the rare factory 204R that will shoot in the .5" range at 100 for 5 shots...regardless of brand. Most are 1" guns with a few that will go around .75" for 5 shots. "unquote



Well , I gotta say I believe that assessment is quite a bit more dismal than neccesary.........I'm just breaking in a 2nd 204 and it looks like it will also be around a 1/2 MOA shooter , just like my first a Ruger V/T , jugged throat and all .

If run of the mill 204 s shoot so poorly , there's several of us just on this thread alone that have been pretty lucky . Even Dogcatcher , who is not too hot on the cartridge , has said his shoots pretty nice once he got a load dialed in .

On the other hand , if you think about it , 1 inch groups out average untuned factory guns shot by run of the mill shooters at a public range , probably with alot of factory loads and maybe in many instances , questionable optics............1 MOA ain't that bad under those curcumstances........

I cut .250 off the chamberand and run a .233 chucking reamer in the throat to shorten the freebore .100. Use 223 brass @ 1.760 with a long neck like a 222. I don't think I lost a thing on performance and everything will fit in the magazine and plenty of bullet in the case and can reach the rifleing with all bullets. Kenny

Sic, that sounds a little bit too wildcat for me, even if it WERE my rifle.
I guess I will write Todd Kindler and ask what he thinks. Right now, this is not a rifle that one could sell for any kind of decent price and expect to keep one's local reputation intact.
Thanks to everyone for their comments.

Dave, sell it and get a 223. Then punch it out to a 223AI. If I didn't own one before I bought my 204, I would probably be more impressed with the 204.

Is your 204 bedded?

The freebore and a heavy crimp is how the factory gets all that velocity. If you pull a bullet from a factory load you can see a ring around the bullet from the crimp. The few boxes i've bought are seated pretty crooked. All that and I still get around one inch groups from my contender carbine. The sierra 39 GR gets .5 inch groups with handloads at around 3800fps .