SmallCaliberCentral

Thanks men. On my next trip I am going to use the top of that black tool box as a rifle rest with a bag on top. That way as I'm wheeling it along I can stop and pull the little Ruger #3 out and peen a few off without setting up. Laying prone here is a problem due to the scorpions, tarantulas, ticks ...

Very interesting bench you have there WJ. I too have had similar results with the varmint grenades but with the 26 gr 20 cal and the 62 gr for the 243. Excellent accuracy and carnage if if kept under 250 yds or so. Thanks for the comments Gube. My next little experiment is a lead free bullet romp w...

Yes gentlemen, I am indeed perverted, nuts and completely insane about squirrel homogenizing. It's the only hunting I do, being that I'm allergic to venison. The only "wild" stuff I savor is pig. The cart is a prototype so to speak. The legs are 1-1/4" IMC electrical conduit half way ...

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES AND INSENSITIVE POLITICALLY INCORRECT CONTENT! I became so enamored of the .204 Ruger that my .224 rifles sat languishing in the safe. I had worked up loads for the 36 grain Varmint Grenade in the .223 Remington, but still wanted to know how the 50 grain version would work in...

Scopes are scopes - they're all the same to me. Quality seems to rely on price point, but this can be skewed by the exchange rate between dollars and foreign currency. I did pick up a Leupold VXII 6-18X 40mm this month. It's substantially lighter and smaller than the usual stuff I buy, and works wel...

I was at Nosler last week with my friend from Bend, Oregon and they intimated such a product was in the works when I stated that I couldn't shoot anything but lead free varmint bullets at home. I'm glad word is finally out, it looks like a good product. I believe the the Barnes Varmint Grenade is a ...

Barnes does not recommend TAC with the 26 Grain Varmint Grenade in the .204 Ruger (probably because they can't try every combination). Ramshot recommends 26.0 grains with the 36 gn. Sierra BK as a starting load, and 28.5 grains as maximum. I would start with the 26.0 load and work up (I'm also going...

I used a new .223 Savage Precision Target Action. Ordered a .204 Ruger barrel, 1:12 twist, 24" length in the Savage Varmint Contour, Select Match grade from Shilen. The stock came from Sharp Shooter Supply, they have pillar bedded laminated stocks available in a couple of styles for about $300....

Baba Oriley: Duh! I misread your post - sorry. I ain't got any recommendations for the AR platform. My friend in Oregon picked up a Les Baer AR .204 Ruger Super Varmint and swears it shoots .5", so they must be capable of fine accuracy. The only AR I worked with was a Colt version back in 1965 ...

One load, the most accurate. I never got on to mil-dots, range finders or technological complications, just hold with a guess and a squeeze - watch the splat 90% of the time out to 250 yards or so. If the ranges are too long for the little .204 Ruger (not bloody likely where I splat the rats), I use...

Clean the barrel, use a carbon solvent like BoreTech's C4 after cleaning with copper solvent. Take the best load (RD3) and set the OAL to 2.260" or factory length. Load enough to give a few rounds of fouling shots. My .204 Ruger didn't shoot up to its potential until I seated the bullets well o...

Yes, but not for the .204 Ruger. I use the standard Redding full length set with a separate neck size die for this cartridge. I built my rifle up on a Savage Target action using a Shilen Select Match barrel, chambered with a standard SAAMI reamer. For a standard chamber the regular die sets work fin...

In the June 2009 issue of Handloader Charles E. Petty wrote in an article ".223 Wrap-Up" about his experience with a Cooper Phoenix rifle and going through all the folderol of weighing brass, checking neck thickness, primer pocket depth, then turning necks, doing the primer uniformer and d...

Wrangler John,you've deffinately made a very valid point there, BUT men being boys, are never going to go for the sensible and easy option.We must have too much time on our hands when we can't actually be out shooting. I know i have! Thanks KenB :lol: Yeah, I know - I have a safe full of things lik...

Depends. Why are you turning necks in the first place? I have to turn necks for custom precision chambered barrels with tight dimensioned necks designed to be turned, or for the 6mm PPC chambered for the .262" neck. Generally, neck turning is not necessary on today's brass - yes, heresy accordi...