SmallCaliberCentral

Hey, guys, I have a buddy of mine who I directed to this site to get him into a 204. He is currently undecided as to what rifle to get. If you want to show off your 204 rifle and what it can do, make the best sales pitch you can. If you love your Rem, Kimber, Savage, Ruger,ect show it to him and let him hear why you think the 204 is such a great cartridge ! He is watching !

Not sure what your buddy's budget is. I think the best bang for the buck would be a Savage Model 12. I have the LRPV and man does it shoot. The down side is it's heavy.Has the target accutrigger which can be adjusted very light. Also has the 1-12 twist. Mine will shoot the 40's also.
I have taken ground hogs well past 400 yards and prairie dogs past 500 yards with it. Here is a rifle and target pic when I first started load development. I just picked a COL and went with it.

Here is a pic of the rifle.



Here is a target pic of the load development.



If your buddy has a more expensive taste,I could try and persuade him with my Cooper MTV or my Sabre Defence AR in 204 Ruger.

The BIG advantage of the Savage rifle is the fact that it can be changed pretty easy. Don't like the caliber it is now? Spin on another barrel and you've got a different rifle. The list of calibers that it can be changed to is endless. Mine go from 20 VT to .308 with a bunch in between. I single feed so mag feeding isn't a problem.

Don't count out the Howa's. Especially if cash is an issue. Last time I looked, they are still priced less than the Savage and shoot excellent right out of the box. Also you might consider the Weatherby Vangard, which is made by Howa. My 204 is a Howa 1500 varminter, and my 223 is a Wetherby vangard. Both rifles will shoot under 1/2 moa with my handloads.

I second the Howa if price is of concern. Very accurate and well-made (the poor man's Weatherby).

Well I am going to second plus, Bodei's comments on the Howa. My 204 Ruger is a fine shooting rifle, for the money, compared to others. Not a thing wrong with the Cooper's and such, but my budget just does not let me spend that much. I make plenty of hits with the proper load in the Howa. Bill K

for a little more than a howa one of these cheers bazz

I know that my RRA and Savage both shoot better than I can, 0.5" no problem with hand loads everytime, and 0.3" when I'm shooting well. I shoot off bipods only, with a rear bag.

Accuracy with the Savage 12 VLP:


Range test showing accuracy and trajectory of the RRA:


Varmint whackin' with the RRA: