SmallCaliberCentral

Hi guys, I am new here and live in Australia and would like a hand to pick a new rifle, I want a .204 for foxes, jack rabbits (hares) and rabbits, there are not really any other varmints over here all big gun stuff. The weapons I have been looking at are in the Savage, CZ and Remington line up, I want a gun that can still be shot off the shoulder as well as the rest or bi-pod, a lot of you guys have custom rifles and that sort of work over here is very hard on the pocket so I want a rifle that will need minimal work stait from the factory a lot of people have told me Savage is very accurate but has a heavy trigger and Ruger rifles need to much work do Blazer do a .204 . And if a custom barrel is the only way to go can you shoot a 35 grain projectile and 40 grain projectile out of the same barrel with any accuracy if so what twist rate do you advise . All my other hunting experience is with large weapons eg .30-06, .45-70 and .270 so these pea shooters are very new to me but I want one bad to vaporise foxes with as the .270 is just to expensive to shoot in this manner.

Thank you in advance for all replies

Regards Ben Maas

CZ American. The triggers are adjustable & they come with medium scope rings. I love my little American in 221 FireBall.

I agree with the "other Glen". Nice, light, easy to carry, fun to shoot, and easily available in Oz, too. I spend a lot of time at australianhunting.net and hear a lot of wailing about getting equipment into Oz, but CZ has a good distribution system there, and should be easy to get.

Mine shoots the 32 and 35s really well, and those ought to handle your foxes and rabbits with ease.

I think Savages have excellent triggers but I don't have any experience with them. I also have a CZ American and its light and very well balanced. The set trigger is also a plus. Easy to adjust. Another vote for CZ altho somewhat of a biased vote. Dave

Ben: You'll get lots of opinions here, add mine to the list: Considering what you've said already, I'd go with the CZ 527 in either the American or Varmint configuration. I'd probably go with the Varmint model, as after shooting a friends CZ Varmint here, it is still light and handy enough to be considered a 'walkabout rifle', and offers a bit more accuracy by virtue of it's heavier barrel.

I've got a CZ 452 in 17HMR and love the little rifle. The quality of these rifles belies their cost. The added bonus of the CZ 527's is their most excellent set trigger. Do just a bit of work at home and float the barrel, glass bed the action if you're so inclined (or not), and go shooting. You also have a choice of Turkish Walnut or Kevlar/Graphite synthetic stock.

The Remington M700 LVSF would also be a contender in 204 Ruger, comes with a nice H-S Precison stock, adjust the trigger, scope it, and go shooting. The stainless steel feature may also be a desirable feature for you there; don't know.

Most here know I'm not a Savage fan, never have been, just personal bias. I also hear complaints about the Accu-Trigger from many, also them being too heavy and clunky for a walkabout rifle. No one will argue though that they are quite accurate out of the box.

If you have a shop near you that carries all brands carried there, the best bet would be to go and fondle them yourself to see which one just plain feels better in your hands. All of them will shoot, some just better than others. Good luck with your quest.

thanks for the advice fella's the only problem I have with a CZ is in the future I want to mount it to a Mc Millan stock and I don't think you can with a CZ, I have a 30-06 cz that is great, my favorite gun at the moment so I am tipping between a CZ varmint or Rem VLSS thumbhole I only like the Rem because the options are endless other than that every man and his dog has one so I like to be a little different. Do any of you know of a after market stock maker for CZ

Cheers Ben Maas

I have a vlss thumbhole and i love it. i free floated the barrel and the got it shooting under a half inch without much effort. i am certain i can get it to shoot smaller groups easy. the trigger was easy to adjust. one of the major issues is that it is a heavy gun. it get heavy after a day of walking. other than that i love the thing and wouldnt give it up for aynthing. i actually traded a ruger number one in 204 for it.

If you have a chance to check out the remington VTR, its worth a look, priced right, weighs about 7 1/2 pounds, and is capable of one hole accuracy with the right load development. I have one and its a great gun to carry on walkabout, mine is a .223 but they make it in 204R 22-250 and 308. I also own several very accurate savages in small calibers, 10 pounds gets a little heavy after a few hours so I purchased the VTR as a walking, stalking varmit getter and it fills that roll well.

Added the LVSF in 204 to the 700 collection recently,did nothing more than a trigger job and put on a Harris swivel bipod,stoked it with some benchmark and 32 gr. Blitz,the thing simply shoots and its a joy to carry at around 7 lbs with scope,Matt

Another vote for the Remington 700 VLSS Thumbhole. I love mine. Gary

Great info fella's, Matt what work did you get done for your trigger job

Cheers Ben Maas

Hi Ben

Im in Aus as well and recently went through the same process of trying to work out what to buy. For a long time I looked at the Tikka's given their MOA guarantee and their reasonable price. What I really wanted was a Savage model 12s in the VLP but found them too expensive here in Aus for my budget (approx Savage $1700 Aus v Tikka $1200) especially when i had to add the cost of a decent scope. Given I was going to be sniping foxes from the hillsides of my property ( I have 130 acres in Gippsland) I was after a heavy barrel varmit style in stainless steel since it always happens to rain when ever I pull a gun out of its bag. (The farmers should pay me to come to their properties and I could break this drought!!)

I was fortunate enough to search on a couple of second hand gun websites and found a Savage 12 VLP with 6 - 20 x 50 Simmons scope plus bipod plus bag plus cleaning equipment for $1000. Spoke to the gun broker and owner and it had only 250 rounds through it. Within the first 3 shots I was grouping sub MOA at 150 m with factory ammo so I am very pleased with the purchase.

In Aus we are somewhat limited in regard to choices in this calibre and if you dont reload the 204 probably cost more then the 270 in factory ammunition. If you arent concerned with buying second hand try the second hand websites as they do contain a few gems for sale. Good luck with the hunt for the 204.

Cheers for that Dave it is good to hear you can get a good 2nd hand gun that is worth buying I am always tempted but in the back of my mind I always think why are they selling their gun, I have only ever sold one gun and that was my Bruno model 1 .22, and I am still kicking myself. Bloody lot of foxes in vic hey I have been working in Portland SW vic and it is riddled with the bastards, rabbits too. Have been looking at bulk reloading for the .204 and it should not be to exxy as I have most of the gear already, a shop in qld is selling .20 cal projectiles in bulk orders very cheep (1000 to the order). The 270 heats up far to fast after a few rounds so aside from the cost of ammo a new barrel is right up there and a new rifle will be near the same price after a smithy has his bit as well. You should see a fox after its hit with a .45-70 (my buff and sambar gun) with a 400 grain house brick great fun, but you have to stalk in close or whistle them right in, not very practical though. I have been looking today at the Howa rifles a heavy, fluted stainless barrel in .204 and mounted to a wild dog varmint stock with a glass bedded action at a very attractive price is looking to be the goods.

Cheers Ben Maas

HI Ben,just had the smith reduce the pull to 3 lbs,I try to keep all my 700s around the same,but the LVSF trigger doesnt seem as crisp as the others.Dont know if its a workmanship issue or just the way the trigger is,but Im leaning toward replacing it with an aftermarket trigger ,Matt

bjmaas wrote:Cheers for that Dave it is good to hear you can get a good 2nd hand gun that is worth buying I am always tempted but in the back of my mind I always think why are they selling their gun, I have only ever sold one gun and that was my Bruno model 1 .22, and I am still kicking myself. Bloody lot of foxes in vic hey I have been working in Portland SW vic and it is riddled with the bastards, rabbits too. Have been looking at bulk reloading for the .204 and it should not be to exxy as I have most of the gear already, a shop in qld is selling .20 cal projectiles in bulk orders very cheep (1000 to the order). The 270 heats up far to fast after a few rounds so aside from the cost of ammo a new barrel is right up there and a new rifle will be near the same price after a smithy has his bit as well. You should see a fox after its hit with a .45-70 (my buff and sambar gun) with a 400 grain house brick great fun, but you have to stalk in close or whistle them right in, not very practical though. I have been looking today at the Howa rifles a heavy, fluted stainless barrel in .204 and mounted to a wild dog varmint stock with a glass bedded action at a very attractive price is looking to be the goods.

Cheers Ben Maas

Ben

Cant believe you sold one of the greatest .22s to ever make it Aus. The Bruno model 1 would have to be one to the best rifles I (well dad has it so one day mine!) own. My Father bought it second hand in about 1965 and it is still out shoots my mates 'modern' rifles.

Dont give up on the second hand market as they all have to be bought/sold through a broker. If you know/trust the broker or have faith that they can tell a lemon when they see it you should be OK. Id be more nervous buying a 22.250 as the barrels (throat) dont last that long relative to other calibres hence the main reason for second hand sales.

Cheers

Dave