Tell us about yourself...

[DannoBoone]

Howdy. Danno here. At age 63 and semi-retired, still interested in small calibers. I've looked through this site off and on for
years. I have an Encore barrel chambered in Tactical 20 which has been as accurate as a lot of bolt actions. But there are
times when a person just likes a change, so I've gotten a Predator in .204R. One thing I find a little odd is that hardly anyone
is using H4198 in the .204. Why is that? It's the most efficient, fastest, and accurate powder I have used in the Tac 20.?.? The
inventor of the Tac 20 pushed 33gr bullets as fast as 4300fps using H4198 in his converted Rem 700!!

I was born and raised in SW Nebraska. Did a lot of p-dog damage with .22-250's and .25-06's as a teenager and later in my
early 20's (after a 4-year stint in the Army). P-dogs were great targets with the '06 when practicing up for deer! That was
back when farmers and ranchers still considered it a favor to reduce their p-dog populations, rather than using them for
a cash crop. Later moved to Iowa where the laws considering deer hunting are limited to slob-gun or muzzle loader. Sure
have missed the .25-06! Fox and coyotes are the only animals that center fire can be used, but I do a lot of shooting at
the bench with various calibers, as well as our own custom smokeless muzzle loaders--have built a couple of them, too.

Going to try my luck at calling coyotes while they are grabbing every whitetail fawn they can get their teeth into. Getting
very sick and tired of them reducing the deer population around here. The predator will give follow up shots, if needed,
and any help I can get from all of you will be greatly appreciated.

[skipper]

I am still trucking and don't know if I will ever be able to quit. I have a number of pretty good shooting guns 2 of which are .204's. I have a ruger mark II which shoots ok but my savage model 12 does much better. I have hunted most of my life but have given up on the elk and deer hunt partly because of the idiots who don't know that they're not supposed to make sound shots or rumor shots. I hope to get to Montana again this year soon with my son for a prairie dog hunt, I have managed to do that only once and had a great time. at 68 years of age I better do some of the things I enjoy before I tip over. I would like to get a target just for the heck of it.

This is skipper. I believe you are attempting to enter the 2015 Ruger 204um Challenge. I sent you a private message. Please, check your private messages.

By the way, welcome aboard the forum. You will find a wealth of knowledge here.

[Rob the Slob]

Hello all, Rob From Lake Charles, Louisiana here. I have been lurking around here for a year or so and I have decided to join this forum.
I am 60 years old and have been hunting something all my life. I just started the small caliber rifle shooting this past year and a half. I went prairie dog hunting for the first time in May of 2014. A friend of mine and I went on our own up to Clayton, New Mexico in early May. We talked to the local federal wildlife people and they advised us of some p-d towns on the federal grasslands. We hunted a day and a half and this massive cold front came in and we were not prepared for that and drove back home. At that time I went up there with a Savage 17HMR and a pair of Remington 700's in .223 and 22-250.
I spent a year thinking about going back and purchased a Savage Model 12, LRPV right bolt, left port in .204. WOW is all I could say. It took me 2 shots to get on target and then my 3rd - 6th shots were less that 1/2 MOA. I also purchased a CZ Model 527 in 17 Hornet. Well we went back this year and stayed 5 days, there were 4 of us this time and although it was a little cool we really had a great time. We shot over 1000 p-d's and Now I am hooked. All I want to do is go back and shoot some more.
We don't have too much down here to shoot at. We do have nutria rats down here in the swamps that are fun to shoot.
I will post a little video of our May hunt in the other section.

[BangFlop45-70]

Hello, Steve from the warm and sunny south. Just joined within the last week or so. New to the .204 "clan". Just purchased a new T/C Venture. Finished shooting it for the first time today. Right out of the box, with Fiocchi Extrema 40gr V-Max factory ammo, I shot a 6-shot .336" group off of a bipod and rear bag. Couldn't be more pleased. I look forward to punching holes in critters as well as paper. Great site - I hope I can make some positive contributions.

[TEXAS222]

Welcome 45-70. Yes, this is a great site with a lot of helpful people and without a bunch of bickering & arguing. I'm sure you will contribute to it just fine. I sent you a couple e-mails.
Jim D

[1BigOX]

I am new to the forum and looking for information about this caliber and weapons systems. I live in Niagara Falls in the People's Democratic Republic of New York under King Andrew. I usually hunt predators like coyote, fox, raccoon, and bobcat. Because of the recent weapons restrictions my S & W MP15 had to be modified so I did not have to register the weapon for later confiscation. I have land I hunt in areas where rifles are allowed for deer season. So, I can use my AR there, but it is 80 miles one way to the property and making a day trip is expensive. As a result, I hunt in the area around me on public land. However, during open deer seasons (archery, gun, muzzle loading) you are not permitted to use a rifle .22 rim fire or larger. No .22-250, .223, or even larger calibers can be brought into the field. So I have to .17 or .204. I am choosing to buy a .204 Ruger for this fall. I have done my research and decided on buying the T/C Dimension platform. This platform allows me to buy other equipment at a lower price and have a new gun for less. Now it is just a matter of researching factory ammo and testing the best load combinations for the weapon and deciding on the glass I will use. Looking forward to doing some learning and waiting for hunting season to start with goose in a couple weeks and coyote in 6 weeks.

Tigh Savage

[Bill K]

1BigOX.. Another option to check out is a Savage rifle in .223, then check out some barrel sites for pre-fit savage barrels in other calibers (first one in your case say a 204 ruger) and you have a switch barrel set up. Easy to do with just a few pieces of equipment, i.e barrel nut wrench, barrel vise and a set of head space gauge's. Just a thought. Bill K

[AUSSIETRIGGER]

G'day

I'm josh, I live in NSW Australia. I work two jobs, one as a plant mechanic in a hydraulics and engineering workshop. The other is in the local gun shop .

My shooting partner and best mate is my fiancé. We have a beautiful little girl together(8months at the moment). She is a bit of a gun nut like myself.

Between us we have 6 firearms. 2x .22lrs, 1 17hmr, 1x 410 coach gun, 1x 308 tikka t3 hunter stainless fluted and my pride and joy the tikka t3 varmint stainless .204 topped with a vortex viper hs 4-16x50 bdc.

I love shooting, anything with a blade, 4wding, camping and the country lifestyle.

Feel free to ask me anything

P.S. I love the knowledge base on this forum and the welcoming and friendly nature.

[Mickey D]

I've been a .204 shooter for about 3 years, mostly on coyotes in CA
I moved to Idaho this past January and looking to do a bit more on coyotes, marmots, rock chucks, and ground squirrel.
This forum looks like a nice place to visit and share information.

[Bill K]

Welcome Mickey D. It is a good site, with a good bunch. Love that Salmon ID area, but just too old to move from Ca (n.e.) up there. Should have done it years back, when I did travel into that area and a couple others in ID. Looking forward to your posts/photo's on your hunts. Bill K

[Rick in Oregon]

Welcome aboard there, MickeyD!

Salmon Idaho.....former home of my all-time hero, Elmer Keith. Like Bill, I wish I had moved there back in the late '70's when I "discovered" Salmon, but alas, ended up here in Central Oregon instead (also excellent). Salmon will remain a great place as long as it does not get what Oregonians call "Californicated", as what has happened to many places here in the PNW.

If you like to shoot squirrels and rock chucks, you picked the perfect place. So now we know you're there, we expect lots of great pics of your varmint adventures. Your 204 is in a great place, but we warned, you'll probably also end up with another .20 caliber rifle for those squirrels, and it will most likely be a .20 Vartarg; the best rat caliber to ever come down the pike.

Again, welcome to the forum, lots of like-minded guys here.

[JaxTeller]

Hello from West Central, MN!

Found this site while searching the interwebs for a good coyote rifle. Had never heard of the .204Ruger up until a month or so ago. Now I have a T/C Venture on order with my LGS, and a Crossfire II scope laying around for it. Should be ready to go next week....

When am not shooting, I am working in IT.

[Bill K]

Welcome JaxTeller, now you did it.. A 204 R. hooked for now, next a 20 VT or 20SCC will be on order.. Enjoy the site, as other's said, we like photo's and stories of the hunts.. Bill K

[Mickey D]

Thanks for the warm welcome gentlemen. I'm a forum member of several gun related sites, and will probably recognize many here.
Now to get lurking!

[tedster]

Hi all, thanks for adding me to the forums.

Just about to get my first .204 Ruger with a Tikka T3 Varmint in stainless steel arriving next week.

I'll be looking to hand load for it, probably using 39gr Blitz Kings. Mostly for varmints to protect my chickens!

Anyway, all the best to everyone.

Cheers

Ted