SmallCaliberCentral

Hi Woody,

Don’t discard the 32gr for fox, I used to shoot a 17 rem with 22gr Bergers and they used to drop foxes stone dead at 250 yds. Just like a bag of jelly when you picked one up.

I am now shooting a new Howa 204 and although my groups are not as good as I would like, (about the 1” with one or two now at ½”) they are getting better, but it is with home loads.

Like the man said, get the gun bedded in with a couple of hundred rounds and start reloading for better results.

If your Rem has a floating barrel, make sure it is still floating when the barrel is hot.

PS I am near to Rochdale Gt Manchester UK

Arthur

rossandjet is right, 32gr are fine on foxes... ive shot quite a few.. (39sbk's are far too dear to shoot all the time at $2a pop)

still waiting for some rounds to turn up!!bloody gunshop is useless hopefully will be here in the nxt wk then i can see which bullets it likes then the fun begins with reloading to get them more accurate!! i am only using this rifle for fox and the odd crow and magpie so wont get many rounds put through it unless i shoot a few bunnies for a laugh cheers for the tips guys

well after a long wait of getting the bullets i wanted, i managed to try some 40 grain remington accu tip and they done exactly the same so the rifle don't like 40 s never mind as i tried 32 grain hornadays today and they shot super!!no keyholing atall last three shots were within three quartes of an inch of the bull at 100 metres so i am happy now just got to go look for a fox this evening to see how they perform if not a poor old bunny might just have to be the target if foxy don't make an appearance on the pheasant shoot!!perfect timing as all the fields have been mown off and the wheat is being cut as i write and the bean fields will be done fairly soon poults go in tomorrow so i need to get on these fox's as soon as possible happy hunting

Used to work at cabellas and sold a guy the exact same gun and it was nothing but trouble! I also own a remington VSF in 204 and it shoots all 39's and 40's very well, Try the 39 grain BK, should be fine.

well so far i have had four shots at live quarry,as i have been waiting for a fox to show!!one was a crow at 177 metres and that just vapourised lol the nxt was a bunny at 100 metres and that also was a mess as the bullet did nothing going in but the otherside was blown to bits the nxt shot was a miss then last night before dark i caught a fox out crossing the field heading in my direction managed to get a good rest and gave him a squeek to stop him from walking and i dropped it stone dead!!!yippeeeeeeee aimed at the base of his head but shot a bit higher and blew half its head off was only 80 metres away so not a long shot but still a great achievement for me as it is now christened and all the problems are now a distant memory !!!

Glad to hear you found the magic bullet! Don't forget we love pictures around here! Gary

thanks gary typical everytime i go out i forget my camera but will get some pics as soon as possible!! if i remember the camera

32gr work for coyotes so they will work for fox.The 39 gr bk are a great bullet too.

I want to add that the stock on the SPS and the SPS Varmint are crap. I had a varmint and replaced the stock with a used HS Precision and my groups dropped from 1.5" to .5" or better. I talked to Remington today on another question and complained and the guy said, nicely, that you get what you pay for. These are bottom of the line rifles and on the better rifles, THEY use HS Precision stocks.

If you can't get anything to work right, look at the stock. My .02$

Woody,

I am now getting fed up trying different bullet and powders in my Howa 204 sporter but one thing is for certain, I will not be shooting V-max 40gr, they group like a shotgun.

It will shoot both V-max and BK 32 gr with H4895 or 10X to about 3/4" and also the 39g BKs with 10X also to about 3/4"

I am now certain that I can improve on the 3/4"groupings when I can get to do something with the very heavy trigger, but I think any other improvement on that would mean an operation to replace my 71 year old eyes.

Arthur

I have a 700 SPS Varmint and I was really disappointed. To the point that I am going to buy Savage next time. I have it working better now, but with a lot of $ in it.

It likes the 32gr VMAX and H4895 at 28 grains best, but that is not perfect. Mostly one hole and a couple fliers.

With the SPS Varmint, the problem is the stock which is crap, or as you might say, bollocks. It is all voids in plastic and there are actually two little tabs which are designed to keep the fore stock in contact with the barrel, but not too tight so that they can generate some really nice vibrations.... Also in my case the slot to receive the recoil lug was quite a bit larger than the lug on the action so that it would rattle around in the stock. There is no bedding block or pillars so you screw the action into plastic.

I can't believe the regular SPS is any better.

I replaced mine with a used HS Precision that I got off a gunsmith local. HIGHLY RECOMMEND after market stock if you can.

Also got a Timney trigger which I like quite a bit.

Good luck to you. Bed your action or replace the stock as soon as in my opinion.