Looking for a .204, please help us decide

[BSmith]

I'm in the market for a .204 for my 11 y/o (and me too!). I'm trying to decide between a Savage 12FV and a subsequent stock upgrade, a Savage 12 VLP, and a CZ 527 Varmint. We won't be carrying the rifle much, mostly bench and pdogs on our annual trip home to SD. We reload for several rifles and pistols and load workup for this caliber should be fun and give my son a lot of trigger time. Unfortunately I've never owned either brand of rifle and hands-on time at local dealers is not going to happen. We've tried the accu-trigger on a .243 at Wal-Mart and it has a crisp feel but the synthetic stock was flimsy and the barrel wasn't even close to being centered in the channel. My son didn't seem to mind the release portion sticking out out of the trigger. Never touched a CZ. From the prices I've seen, the 12 FV is the cheapest, CZ about $50 more and the VLP about $150 more than that.

Thanks for helping two soon-to-be .204 rookies!

[Captqc]

You will find that opinions are like belly buttons...everyone has one! But seeing as how you asked I'll give you mine. Of the rifles you listed I'd pick the CZ as I think the quality is better, though I'm sure others will say the opposite. When I got into .204's last year I did a lot of research (ie; playing with various rifles at the gun shop, reading forums, articles, etc. and I liked the feel of the CZ. However, I purchased a used Remington 700 and loved it so much last season that I gave it to my son this year and bought another. Check sites like gun broker, or guns america for prices and go with what feels go to you and your son. You can't go wrong with the .204, it's a great round and tons of fun. Have fun choosing and remember you have to be happy with your purchase, not me Gary

[Glen]

Here's a single shot Savage that has a nice wide fore end & heavy lam stock. The only problem I foresee would be if your son has small hands. Savage stocks are a bit bulky. But it weighs 10lbs & will ride the bags nicely.

http://www.savagearms.com/12VarminterSS.htm

The single shot feature will save your fingers on clip loading on extended shoots plus help with barrel heat a little bit. Shooting won't be quite as fast.HTH


BTW-- Welcome to the Forum!!

[acloco]

My lineup...

Remington 700 in 17 Remington. Awesome rifle. Older Remington thought, but awesome. Want to see somebody's jaw drop, plop a couple of prairie dogs at 497 yards with this rifle.

Savage 12FV in 204 with a Choate Varminter stock

Savage 12FV in 223, single shot, with a Choate Varminter stock

Next will be....

Savage 12FV in 243, prefer a single shot, and might go with a wood thumbhole stock.

[glenn asher]

As much as I like the CZs (I have two 527 Americans), I think the Varmint contour is a bit light for sustained shooting on PDs, so I'd recommend one of the Savages for PD shooting. I really, really like the VLP stocks, although I'm shooting rifles in Duramaxx stocks instead, but I've had very good results with the FV stocks, too. It helps to add another sling swivel stud to the stock, rearward of the stud already mounted in the FV (there's already a place moulded into the stock). There are several threads on this already, in the .204 section.

[Lee C.]

BSmith, First welcome to the forum. I've got the 12fv and the accuracy i get out of it is really good. Alot people don't like the stock it come's with. But as long as the one i have shoots so good it will stay with the stock it came with. I sure like the one i got.

[BSmith]

Thanks for the replies! We're going to take a 90 minute drive tomorrow to look at the Savages. The VLP might fit his face better anyway. The FV would offer the opportunity to do my first pillar/bedding job. I'll post pics of what ever we decide on and his targets as soon as I can.

Thanks again!

[82boy]

All three are good rifles. Me personally I would go for the vlp, for many reasons.

First, My opion I would much rather have a Savage over any other rifle. To start with it is american made, not many manufactors can say that today. You have a world of aftermarket parts and products, and a savage is a very simple gun to work on, anyone with a hint of mechanical ability can change out barrels triggers ect. also if you have a problem with it you can send it back to savage, I know other overseas gun makes you will have a bit of a problem with sending them back.

The reason why the vlp, the stocks are very well made, and highly desireble. If you dont like the stock you can sell it for at least $175.00 or more.

[skipper]

I'm with Glen on the single shot. My son can go through a ton of ammo if he uses a magazine fed rifle. He pulls the trigger as fast as he can cycle the bolt. With a single shot, you can teach him to make every shot count and save money on ammo at the same time.

[Sidewinderwa]

I am a CZ fan but for prolonged varmint shooting I will take my Savage VLP. You can get a $12 insert to be able to shoot it like a single shot. It easily feeds the bullet. The heavier barrel will take longer to heat up. My 204 is very accurate. It is not a good carry rifle, can't beat a CZ for that, but the Savage is a great bench or shooting sticks gun.

[BSmith]

Well, we found a 12FV in .223 locally. That's a lot of barrel on that rifle! Since this rifle is primarily for my son, I think we'd better take a look at the CZ. The extra pound a half for the FV and almost three pounds for the VLP makes a big difference when you're only 11.

[82boy]

why not look at a savage model 11 or 16? same action, great accuracy, accu-trigger, has a 22 inch sporter conture barrel. and alot cheaper than the 12fv.

When he gets older and wants the varmiter barrel, like what you saw on the 12fv, all you need to do is buy a barrel, most found for $120.00 unshot take off; and 40 dollar wrench, and a set of gauges and you are ready to go. Like I said before Savage is well designed and simple, anyone with a hint of mechanical ability can work on it.

[kevinsulikowski]

dont forget to check out the browning varmint stalker or the stainless stalker they have a few guns available in the 204 just need to ask your local dealer since they are a non catalog item for browning. you local dealed should be able to give you a list of whick ones he can get.

[Arizona Hunter]

I have a Howa 1500 Varminter Supreme with SS bull barrel and Boyd thumbhole stock (I LOVE the thumbhole stock), it is beautiful and very accurate. Why Howa? When I was at Sportsmans Warehouse (last year) they had this beauty and also a Cooper ($2000.00-no thanks), and eveything else was .223's. Oh, and even my wife thought it looked sweet. So that was my anniversary present.

My friend has a CZ and it's a tack driver but he also has 3 Savage rifles and they are also tack drivers.

Soooo, get the one you think looks the prettiest or has the best trigger pull or costs the least. All the rifles mentioned above are well made and will last a lifetime.

[stevecrea]

One thing to note about the CZ: the safety positions are exactly backwards from most. Forward is safe, and back is fire. I have a CZ 17 HMR in the lefthand 452 and I love it. It shoots very well, and the quality is very good. Just be aware of the safety issue with your son.

You may want to consider the Browning. They recently introduced a composite stalker in 204 with MSRP of $665. I have a Browning Medallion in .223 lefthand and have been very pleased with it. I would love to have it in 204 but they do not make that caliber in lefthand. Mine shoots very well and has never malfunctioned in 1500 rounds in less than a year!

Savage makes the Weather Warrior in 204, in addition to the Model 12s. It is much lighter and easier to handle than the heavier Model 12s.