New to forum, and looking at a .204.

[ret]

What are the advantages of the 204 Ruger over a 20 tactical or practical, if any?
Except off the rack rifles, I am not sure there are any, but want your thoughts.
( I use a 700 5r Mil-spec in .223, and like the smaller calibers. )

What is the heaviest bullets (non custom) for the .20?
I can shoot up to 1,000 yards at the local range, so want a heavy bullet to try it out.

Thanks!

ret

[greystone]

50 and 55 grain Bergers in a 1-8 or 1-9 twist barrel. I hear good reports about them. Dave

[Hotshot]

If a 204 case holds 2.5 grains more of powder that would be about 10% of your load for the 50 and 55 grain bullets. That might be worth while in a long range effort.

I love the 20's and I like the tac and prac cartridges real well, but this argument has always been there. 22-250 is almost a 220 Swift, 243 is almost a 6mm Rem, 280 is almost a 7 Mag, 308 is nearly a 30-06 and on and on. If almost suits your needs go for it. If you don't want second best choose 204.

[Rick in Oregon]

Hotshot: Well stated. In reality, if a fellow wants to shoot 50 or 55gr .204" bullets, there are cases better suited to the task to keep the velocity up above pedestrian levels, such as the .20 Dasher for example. The 204R case will shoot them in a fast twist barrel (8/9 twist), but there are better choices.

Case capacity/volume to bore diameter is the issue here.

[Wrangler John]

When the .204 Ruger came out my first response was - who the heck needs that? I have a battery of .223 Remingtons, a .22-250, .220 Swift, a couple of 6mm PPC's, and even a .257 Roberts Ackley. Those little bullets didn't seem to offer anything that packed an advantage, and they would be prone to wind drift and rapid loss of velocity. Why all the gun writers said so! It's too long and skinny a case, it won't shoot up with the short fat cases, yada, yada yada.

Curiosity being what it is, I decided to try the .204 Ruger. Glad I did. Here's the selling point for me, confirmed by experience; you open a box or bag of brass, run the cases through a full length sizing die, prime, load and shoot. I decided not to do the heroics of primer pocket uniforming, neck turning, weight sorting cases, or any other folderol. Just load and shoot, trim when necessary. The cases come head stamped with the correct caliber, and are longer than the .223 so I won't accidentally stuff one in a .223 chamber. There is no forming, no necking down or fire forming, no neck turning or inside reaming. Brass is inexpensive, unlike the Lapua/Dakota .20 Tactical brass at $50 per hundred.

Not only that, but the cartridge is accurate with .25" groups attainable with common components and rifles. I found the cartridge very consistent, producing fine usable accuracy with a variety of powders and bullets. Surprisingly, accuracy loads listed in loading data proved to shoot best in my home made rile, saved a lot of work. Best part though is in the shooting, I can actually see the bullets impact through my scope. I shot ground squirrels for forty years before seeing that shock wave blow the dust and fur off! Cool!

[Jim White]

Wrangler John,

I did pretty much as you did, load & shoot. I didn't bother with case prep but I've now gone back and uniformed the primer pockets and deburred the flash hole and I just finished neck sizing all of my cases.

These little darlings just shoot....

[OldTurtle]

Ret, I've considered the Practical and Tactical lately, just for something different to play with, but have kept hesitating for a lot of the reasons stated above...

I used to have a .17HMR until the .204 hit the markets and one of the staff at Sierra Bullets and Starline Brass was involved with Hornady in developing the cartridge for commercial purposes started talking to me about the potential at a shooting match we were attending together...

I picked up the cheapest Savage available (figuring that I might not like it) and within a couple months of shooting it was ordering a custom made AR upper in .204...and never looked back..

With the recent shortage in reloading components and the rise in factory ammo prices, switching to a "wildcat" type cartridge just doesn't seem feasible to me, considering the extra expense and effort to keep it running....but then, I'm somewhat of a pessimist when it comes to the future, with a bunch of Liberals in charge of this country...

Luckily, I have a good supply of standard brass and a reasonable supply of powder and bullets..