SmallCaliberCentral

I'm in the market for my first .204, and I don't know where to start looking (or what to look for, for that matter).

I have an extra T/C Encore frame in the safe, so I'm thinking of buying the .204 heavy barrel for it. But I'm gonna have to buy the entire stock set up too, if I go that route, since I sold the old butt-stock & forearm. In other words, it would be like buying a whole new rifle, anyways.

With that in mind, I'm wanting to check out bolt-action rifles too, 'cause I'm thinking I might be happier with a rifle with quick follow-up shots, instead of the T/C Encore single-shot.

Any comments, or suggestions, as far as a rifle, scope, vendor, etc?!

BTW ~ I believe that you get what you pay for, so I'm willing to pay the price. I just can't afford a custom-built rifle, so please keep that in mind, when suggesting a rifle.

Savage 12fv, with a richards microfit (or boyd's) stock added on after purchase. I tried the Accutrigger today at Cabela's, and was very impressed. The standard stock will get you by, but a wood one will feel much better and help accuracy a little. Also, the ruger (forget the model, it was a bolt action) had a nice feel to it, but I've heard the accuracy is not as good as the savage's. The remington SPS varmint seemed to have a rough action, which is why I sold my M700 in .270.

I have to wait 10 more days for my Savage, as they (Cabela's) had to special order it...

CZ American for a carry rifle & the CZ Varmint for a carry/bench type rifle. The American will come with rings & the Varmint won't. But they both have incredible set triggers in them.



Thats just what I would look at.

I guess one important question is: how much do you want to spend? There is Savage or NEF on the "low" end (not low in accuracy where Savage is concerned), all the way up to Cooper, Kimber and Sako on the high end, and a bunch of good rifles inbetween - CZ, Remington, etc.

All will launch .204 bullets, but it's like asking about a car; all will get you to the store, but do you want to drive a Yugo, or a BMW?

There's a big price spread in rifles, just like cars.

For your circumstances, Rick (LowPro), I'd say get the CZ Varmint, like the other Glen (One En) suggested. They aren't terribly pricey, set triggers are superb, and the rifle's not too heavy, either, only about 1 pound heavier than the sporter. I have a sporter, and another buddy has the Varmint, and I wish I'd bought the Varmint now. They usually shoot very well, Doug's does, and they are pretty well made. Some don't care much for the magazine, which is a single column job that sticks out the stock somewhat, but that just means it can be loaded and unloaded easier.
Welcome to the .204um! This is a pretty friendly crowd, just like the bunch over at Missouriwhitetails, and all of them are ready and willing to help out. If you need anything, just ask, no one has to wait too long around here, fellers jump all over themselves to help out.

Check out the Howa Varminter Supreme - laminated thumbhole (3 color choices) and blue or stainless.....

LowPro,, go savage all the way. As far as price to accuracy you can not beat the savage for out of the box accuracy. The accutriggers are excellent. Why would you by an overpriced rifle that doesnt shoot any better than the cheaper brand that shoots just as good if not better. You can take that extra money that you are going to spend on a kimber or one of the others and buy another savage or some good reloading dies. What ever you decide to get you will enjoy shooting this little 20cal. This is the most fun rifle I have ever shot in my life. The 17hmr runs a close 2nd.

I'm in the boat LowPro is...looking for my 1st 204. I've got a trip planned for Montana this summer.

I've been looking at several different rifles.

Remington 700 VLSS
Remington 700 SPS
Remington 700VSSF
Savage 12 Varmint Low Profile
Savage BVSS

I'm wanting a 2007 model for the new trigger in the Remingtons and i've heard the Savages got a new accutrigger also.

Does savage have any new models out for 07?

Does anyone have any experiences with any of the remingtons listed above?

SquattingWolf - see the 07 LRPV....another member has some pics posted.

Rick in Oregon wrote: (not low in accuracy where Savage is concerned),

Hawkeye Joe,

Do you have any additional info on the 07 Savages? I found a few posts about them on here but it doesn't look like many people have them yet.

There are lots of great guns out there. I shoot Remington, Ruger #1's and CZ's. For a varmit rifle in 204 you can't beat the CZ 527's. Mine is the Varmit model with the 25.5 inch medium barrel.

If you like Remingtons the new cdl models are great looking and shooting guns.

CZ 527 Varmit, 204 Ruger


Here's what it does at the range.

Thanks for the replies, y'all...I appreciate it.

It looks like it's between Savage & CZ, for me. I've shot my brothers' Savage (not a .204 though), and I really like the Accu-Trigger. I own a Savage 93R17 .17HMR, and I'm real happy with it, although it doesn't have the Accu-Trigger. Plus I'm hearing a lot of good things about CZ.

Who wouldn't like to have a high-end rifle, but like someone else mentioned, save myself some money, and put it towards some .204 reloading equipment!

Well...now it's time to start window shopping, and narrowing down the models.

Thanks again, for the input! I'll keep y'all posted...

LowPro, You might want to stick with the Encore since you already have the frame. A few months ago I purchased a Pro Hunter 204R barrel on Ebay and paid $250.00 for it, and I couldn't be more happy with it. With little experimenting I'm getting 1/4" to 1/2"with the 40gr Bergers, 1/2" with the Sierra 39gr, and 1" with the 45gr Hornady. As far as the follow up shot, if you hit any varmint properly with the 204, there's no need for one! Here's mine[img][img]http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o117 ... re204R.jpg[/img][/img]

ken sage wrote:LowPro, You might want to stick with the Encore since you already have the frame. A few months ago I purchased a Pro Hunter 204R barrel on Ebay and paid $250.00 for it, and I couldn't be more happy with it.
As far as the follow up shot, if you hit any varmint properly with the 204, there's no need for one!

I haven't ruled out buying a T/C Encore .204 barrel...yet. I have a buddy that's a dealer, and he's keeping an eye out for a good deal. I'm just weighing my options.

So...the Pro Hunter barrels will fit the standard Encore frame? I wasn't sure about that, so I didn't consider it.

As far as a follow-up shot, I guess I should'a made that more clear. I meant that if there were 2 coyotes, I wanted to get a shot at the 2nd one too. I've seen it done...but not with a single-shot.

Not that I think that there's a darn thing wrong with single-shots, or Encore's for that matter. If I didn't like 'em, I surely wouldn't own quite a few single-shot rifles, plus 2 Encore's...

I agree with you 100% - it's all in the shot placement. One shot = one kill

BTW ~ NICE set-up!