A New 204 in the Stable

[Rick in Oregon]

I couldn't resist a nice Kimber Model 84M Varmint in 204 that came available. If two 204's are good, then three must be better, right? I thought so too.

The rifle has a very nice piece of Claro walnut with lots of figure in the buttstock. It's glass and pillar bedded, 24" stainless straight taper fluted heavy sporter barrel with a 'match chamber'. I had the Leupold factory build me a custom VX-III 4.5-14X M1 LR scope with the Varmint Hunter Reticle. The objective bell clears the barrel with the low 30mm Leupold rings by about .050"....nice. I'm intending this to be my small caliber walkabout rifle for ground squirrels, PD's, badgers, bunnies, coyotes, and any other worthy varmint critter type target, and compliment my two other two HB .204 bench guns.

Here's an early picture:



Nice short 'pre-'64 Winchester' type action with claw extractor for controlled round feeding (some bunnies ARE dangerous).



I hope I don't goon up such a nice piece of walnut in the field:



I use RL-10X in my other two 204's, usually with SBK's, so this time around I'm working on Benchmark and 35gr Bergers with Fed 205M's in WW prepped cases. As our good New York buddy Hawkeye set a new precident this year with the 35 Berger's and Benchmark, I thought I'd give his load a try in the new Kimber.

As soon as I'm healed up after my "fix me" surgery next week, I'll get out and test "Lil Kim" as she's known here at the ranch. This will be a long two months.

Captqc: I couldn't let you be the only one with a new rifle in the varmint patch next time out. Come on Springtime!

[Hawkeye Joe]

That's one nice piece of lumber you have there . Don't forget to use CCI BR4's(if you can find some)with them Bergers. I finally found some...My bud from work sold me 500 . Good luck with your surgery. That wood has a MIRAGE look.

[KIM204]

LOOKING GOOD Rick Hope it shoots as good as my 84m pro-varmint. Its not as pretty as yours but its a coyote killer. This is one I shoot at 230yds in the head as you can see.

[Orion2see]

Rick,

That is a sweet looking rig! Hope you aren't down too long and can get out and break that new Kimber in. Beautiful stock. I will have to try 35 Bergers and Benchmark as well - CCI BR4's are scarce here in Oklahoma as well. Hope that clears up soon. Can't wait to hear how "Lil Kim" shoots.

[dannybracy]

Congrats Rick! That setup looks sweet!!!! Hows the action feel in that Kimber? Very cool Stick! -Dan

[Verminator2]

Wow great looking rifle Rick!! I'm jealous!

[Captqc]

Rick,
I don't see any need for you to have three 204's so here's what I'm gonna do (out of the kindness of my heart of course ), I'll trade you my new CZ for that sad looking stick you've got there just so you won't feel ashamed to field it (oh, I know, you're thinking that Gary what a guy!) but it's the least I can do for a good friend.
Gary

[Squatting Wolf]

Dang Rick! That is a sweet looking rifle you have there. That is a fantatic piece of lumber! I'm sure it'll be a blast to shoot.

[Sidewinderwa]

Nice! There is a woman that bought one in a 17 Fireball to take to Montana for prairie dogs. She later came in for a 2nd one, needed one to shoot when the barrel got hot! I think that you will be making skippy an endangered species if you keep getting 204s.

[Mike]

Beautiful rifle, Rick. Looking forward to a review after you get to spend some time on the range.

[Ray P]

Rick............Congrads on the new 204! 3 is never too many! My bro has my 1st one I built, and my son and go after the other two. This one is going tough? Which one will shoot better your Sako or new custom? Love the looks.............excellet wood and a fluted stainless barrel. Yep I have some benchmark loaded with 39 sierra's to try as well, after Hawkey posted his results.
Hope your on the mend and can enjoy the holidays.
Later
Ray P

[Ray P]

Rick............Congrads on the new 204! 3 is never too many! My bro has my 1st one I built, and my son and I go after the other two. This one is going tough? Which one will shoot better your Sako or new custom? Love the looks.............excellet wood and a fluted stainless barrel. Yep I have some benchmark loaded with 39 sierra's to try as well, after Hawkey posted his results.
Hope your on the mend and can enjoy the holidays.
Later
Ray P

[Rick in Oregon]

Thanks for all the enthusiasm guys. She's a purty gal alright, hope she performs as good as she looks.

Hawkeye: BR-4's are as scarce as chicken lips around here, and I've used up my stash of them. All my ladder test loads are stoked with Fed 205M's, so we'll see how it goes.

KIM204: I hope mine shoots as good as yours does too. You really did some advanced dental work on that dog with your Kimber!

Danny: The Kimber 84M action, although still new, is fully as slick as my pre-'64 Winchester Model 70's I own. If she's a shooter, she'll be a keeper.

Captqc: No words can describe how touched I am by your generous offer of trade, but I'd hate for you to have to baby this piece of walnut, so I'll endeavor to persevere with it and not burden you with her care. I'll let you take her for a walk in March or April though, as long as you have a chaperone along (me!).

Sidewinderwa: Hummm, that sounds like a good sign, her buying two Kimber 84M's. As Kimber produces their own barrels, I've got high hopes for 'Lil Kim being a performer too. If I worked where you do, I'd have to pay them to work there....my check would go directly back to the store......

Ray: Thanks bud. The plan is when shooting our ground squirrels en masse, to rotate my Sako and M700 204's for cleaning & cooling, and use the Kimber as my walkabout rifle. She'll also get some bench time, but I'll use the other two for the bulk of my bench rat shooting. I'll also use her for coyotes with the 35gr Berger. I'm headed to surgery to get put back together next Tuesday, so with tons of DVD's in the house, I'll be good to go while healing up. I've also got my two Santa's helpers here to keep my company and keep me smiling during the holidays.

Here's Lucy & Rose ready for Santa (notice the tense and alert posturing):



Thanks again guys, I hope all of you have a grand holiday season. I hope Santa is good to all of you.

[futuretrades]

hey rick, congrats on the new stick, beautiful! and i really like the looks of those two puppies you have there to keep you company. the very best to you on your upcoming surgery. looking forward to some shooting with you and the guys in the spring. am getting a little trigger time with the 204. got a real sweet load with rl10x and 39 gr. sbks. shooting under.400 at a hundred. have one group under.300 also. so i am in the process of loading a few hundred for the spring time. by the way i am shooting my howa with a factory chamber. bullet jump is a little over .110
thanks for your help and your wealth of information.
best wishes and the merriest of christmas's
Kevin

[Rick in Oregon]

Kevin: Glad to hear the Howa is a real shooter. The jump in factory 204's defies all dogma regarding bullet jump, as in most other varmint/accuracy calibers, such a long jump would destroy decent accuracy. My Sako with bullets seated way out there with only about .100" in the case has a .090" jump, and shoots bugholes. It shoots so well, I'm hesitant to bed the puppy (but I will anyway).

Springtime: I'm really looking forward to next spring also. I talked to the rancher, and he'd like us to come more often to control the rats.....what a chore, eh? If we needed tracking dogs for our varmints, we'd be set.....Rose & Lucy can find anything, anywhere with their hound dog noses. They find things I wish they hadn't if you know what I mean, but they're great company, and loveable hounds. Now if I could only train them to prep rifle brass.....

See you in the spring, have a great holiday season!