SmallCaliberCentral

hey guys new to the forum here. i'm interested in getting a varmint gun so i can reach out farther than my .22 lr will allow! i'm aware this is a .204 ruger forum so i probably won't receive any bad views on the cartridge. it is my most serious consideration right now for which chambering to get. is this really that great a cartridge? i've heard great things but i'm worried if i do get one i won't be able to use the 40gn plus pills and would like the option to get yotes as well as small animals. is this a bad problem or just told by people who don't like the round. apparently 1 in 12 twist is too fast for the heavy pills as i've heard. help guys? try to convince me of what i already want!

Hi Vic. Sounds like your mind has been made up already.

If your 204 doesn't like the 40gr V-Max then try the 40gr Bergers & the 40gr Noslers. If that doesn't work then the 39gr Sierra BlitzKings will more than likely do the trick. These are good bullets for ground squirrels up to coyotes. The 204 has many advantages as does the 22-250 & the Swift. But if you want to see your hits & burn a whole lot less powder then the 204 is the way to go. If you were to check ballistics charts between the 204/22-250/220Swift do it with bullets that have comparable BC values. This will give you fair assessments of each.

The 35gr Berger has quickly become the go to bullet for furhunters too. They just stone drop coyotes with little or no pelt damage at all. And almost all the bullets just shred p-dogs.


Welcome to the Forum too!!

First off, Welcome to the forum, this is a pretty helpful bunch, and they'll be able to answer any questions you might have.

If you don't handload (and it sounds like you don't, yet....) the .223 is probably the better choice, factory ammo is available in a wide variety, and .224" bullets have been proven over the years, tested and perfected. It's main flaw, is that the trajectory suffers badly in comparison to the .204.

The .204 is still undergoing some teething troubles with it's factory ammo, none is 100% perfection on coyote sized animals. It's a tough truth, but I DO think it's true enough. For the handloader, who has a wider variety of bullets available, it can be made "very good" for coyote sized animals, though, as noted here by many of our posters. It's trajectory is much flatter than the .223, but ammo costs more, too, so that's a point against it.

Hornady developed the cartridge for prairie dogs and ground squirrels, and the coyotes were an afterthought. For what Hornady/Ruger wanted it for, it's awfully, awfully good, though, and we all like them a lot. Most of us handload, so we have a better variety of bullets to pick through.
I've been as fair and honest as I know how to be. I'll leave the rest of it, up to you and the other guys to hash out.

I've got a lot of varmint rifles and I've been involved in the hobby for over 50 years. I wouldn't seriously consider anything but a 204 as a best first rifle and I wouldn't buy another cartridge untill I had two 204's.

I also wouldn't be a varmint shooter who doesn't handload my own shells. You can custom tune the loads to your rifle and your targets, get better performance and save some money doing it.

This doesn't mean you couldn't enjoy the hobby with a rifle of another cartridge, I'm just giving an experienced opinion of what's best today. Tomorrow somebody might introduce the 21 Whiffleblaster and change everything.

thanks. i don't have all the equipment myself but my friend does and i do load my own rounds and i'm still working on getting everything besides just the dies. i load for my enfield, mosin nagant, and swedish mauser as those are my rifles. see why i want a varmint gun? a .223 is probably the more logical choice but everyone has a .223 and it really doesn't strike my fancy. i like the .204 on paper but know no one who has one yet so i can shoot the thing first. i think it'll be between the .204 and the .22-250 but i think the .204 will be nicer on the barrel. so many cartridges, so little money !

This should answer the question about a 204 with a 40 gr bullet....and 490 yards of space!

http://www.rugerhunting.com/forum/viewt ... f=5&t=5157


There is quite a few others on here that have had the same or better success, just a little practice, a bench, some fair glass, and NO sun block!

Vicv,
Welcome to the forum! The guys have given you good info, if you get a .204 you won't be dissapointed.
Gary

The 204 will be better for long hunting shots (300-500)yrds
beyound 500yrds is a sport of its own

vicv--Welcome to the Board. I'm a little biased towards the .204 Ruger caliber, but when you stop and take an objective look at which caliber to get, the .204 Ruger should be right up near the top. Even if you don't reload, you still have some fairly decent factory ammo to choose from. The 32 gr. V-Max Hornady factory loads were shooting pretty good out of my Savage 12VLP before I started reloading. I have read many account where shooters are getting real good accuracy from the Federal ammo that uses the 39 gr. Sierra BlitzKing bullet.

One thing you stated that I must correct before it gets lost was:

apparently 1 in 12 twist is too fast for the heavy pills as i've heard. help guys?

The 1 in 12" twist IS NOT TOO FAST for the heavy pills, it is a tad bit slow for the heavier bullets. My 12VLP doesn't shoot the 40 gr. V-Max very good, but it does handle the 40 gr. Nosler BT and 40 gr. Bergers just fine. The 39 gr. Sierra BlitzKing (according to Sierra) has a higher BC than any of the aforementioned bullets and usually shoots great in most 1 in 12" twist barrels where some of the 40 gr. bullets don't work well.

You have some tough choices to make, but if you choose the .204 Ruger I think you will be a happy shooter.

First of all, welcome aboard. My guns shoot the 32 gr bullets very well, to the point I haven't gotten around to loading any 39 or 40 gr bullets yet. My first rifle didn't like the Hornady 40 gr factory rounds, but it didn't like the 32 gr factory either. Both my guns love the 32 gr Blitzkings and Benchmark powder. My guess, it just might shoot the 39 Blitzkings. Load and shoot, load and shoot, is the only way to find out. Good luck, keep us posted as to what works for you.

thanks guys. may be a while saving but i think i'll go with the .204 in a savage varmint 12