SmallCaliberCentral

The wife and I got up early and headed south into PA to expand my never ending quest to locate a .204. The first store I stopped at had a Savage model 11 but I wanted a heavy barrel. Several stores later produced a used Savage heavy barrel with a flimsy Tupperware stock. I assumed that this was the bottom end model. I would have to get a new stock if I bought it so I passed. I had called several other shops including one of the big distributors in PA but no one had any .204's. Even called Cabelas. I thought that the distributors retail store would have a Kimber Varmint since they advertised it in their sale paper but they did not have it.

We went further south ending up at a gunstore (150 miles from home) that I used to use when I lived in central PA. I walked down the wall of guns several times and did not see any .204's. I noticed some Kimbers and stopped to look at the wood. Then it hit me. Mixed in with the Kimbers was a Cooper. I hesitated to ask the caliber since I assumed it would be a .223. The clerk said ".204 Ruger". I looked it over and noticed that the test target was dated several years ago. I tried to haggle over the price but could only get $60 off. I bought the rifle.

Is everyone having problems locating .204's? They apparently are not very popular anymore. I am glad that I found a Cooper. My Cooper dealer told me yesterday that it would take a year to get one.

Tom

Congrats on a score! I love my Cooper .204. Out here on the left coast you can still find them, but like most calibers, the .204 ammo is getting hard to find. Gary

Congradulations!!! You have a wonderful rifle in a great caliber. Enjoy!

The 204 Ruger isn't hard to find in my area.....

I own three 204's and did not have a problem getting. Probably because they were impulse buys. Wasn't really looking for one but figured what the heck when I found them for sale.

Dave

Congratulations on what sounds like a great rifle. You must provide pictures! The stores around me seem to have difficulty keeping them in stock. They say its the hottest small caliber at the moment.

Congrats!! That is a very lucky find. I bought 2 Ruger #1s in .204 in the past few years, one from Cabela's in KC and the other from BassPro in Springfield, MO. In the last few months I started another search and found the .204 to be quite rare. I've looked for the following: any Cooper, Remington 700 VLS, and Kimber 84M Varmint. I go to the Tulsa Gun Show twice a year as well as other shows and have cruised gun shops all around the KC area. I really want the Kimber, but no one has it in stock and retailers tell me it is a 6 month to one year "or longer" wait to get one. I had the opportunity to handle the equivalent of that model Kimber in .223 and still kicking myself for not buying it. I used the think in terms of one gun in each caliber, but lately I think having several .204s and .223s is a good thing. I have multiples of 17HMR and .22 rimfire, so why not my favorite centerfire too? Please stay in touch and let us know how the new Cooper performs!

Thank you for the replies. I will provide pictures once I get a scope on it.

Tom

I see that basically everyone offers them in their lineups (Savage, Remington, TC, Ford, Chrysler, GM...), but seeing one "on the rack is a different story.

Was that Grice's in PA? I've had good experience w/them. But I live in NY (commie liberal idiot land...)

No. The dealer was Gieser in Sunbury. Grice is who I called for the Kimber. I have dealt with Grice many times in the past.

Tom