204 will it lift a PD out of it hole like a 22-250?

[ShooterJ]

Just wondering if the .204 will make PDs go flying like some of the you tube videos.

I know the 22-250 does it but have not seen many .204 vs PD videos out there.

If it does which bullet does it best the 32 or 40gr?

[Silverfox]

My 204 Rugers using 40 gr. V-Max, 40 gr. Nosler BTs or 39 gr. Sierra BlitzKings will lift prairie dogs out of their holes. If they are outside their holes it will make them do acrobatics.

[Rick in Oregon]

I'll just say that all four of my 204's will suck a rat out of his hole if hit solidly inside of 300 yards regardless of bullet weight. Here's a few examples of ground squirrels "learning to fly" (no Pink Floyd puns here..)



We have liftoff.....



One more time.....



I've got beaucoup more, but I think you get the point. Bullet weight + velocity + target moisture content = lift and spectacular visual entertainment. "Yes Loretta, a 204 Ruger will indeed lift a rat out of his hole". (But a 22-250 will do it better as a result of basic physics. )

[Bill K]

Heaven yes it will. I use mostly 32 grain tipped and they do great acrobatics. Like RIO is showing or even more so at times, sort of depends on where and how you hit them. But do not worry the 204R will make them fly. Bill K

[ShooterJ]

Wow thats some firepower on those rats!

So for acrobatics you need to hit them inside of 300 with 32 or 40gr. I have a bunch of each type but only used to sight the gun in so far.

Why choose 32gr over the 40gr for PD? Of the two which blows them up better.

[Rick in Oregon]

Why choose 32gr over the 40gr for PD? Of the two which blows them up better.

Many shooters want pure speed with acceptable accuracy, others want accuracy over speed (myself included). Inside of 300 yards or so, you will not notice much difference in rat aerobatics with either the 32 or 40 grainer. Both will destroy a rodent to the molecular level with stunning visuals. But past 300 yards, wind is always a factor, and the 39gr SBK or any of the 40's will hit harder and buck the wind better. It's been my experience that anywhere PD's or ground squirrels are found, so is the inevitable wind, so most of us pack both bullet weights for different conditions.

If only one bullet weight makes more sense, then I'd go with the 39/40 grain offerings for the obvious advantage they give.

[Bill K]

True. Like RIO, I carry both 32 & 39 grain. so beyond 300, across canyons for chucks, flats for GS's and with wind go to the 39. But calm and short range, say out to 300, the 32 works just fine. My loads with either all shoot well under moa and only miss when I goof. Can not blame the load or bullet. Bill K

[Jim White]

I just use 39's everywhere in my 204's and 32 in my 20-VT. And yep, they can flip & twirl better than any Olympian Gymnast or Figure Skater.

HTH

[204Luver]

My theory is that what "lifts" the rat, wherever it may be, is the hydrostatic pressure (from the internal explosion) bounching the squirrel off the ground. The closer they are to the ground when they are hit, the better the aerobatics. Today I tested the theory by shooting some freshly killed ones lying on the ground -- at 200 yds those would go much higher (six feet) than live ones ever go for me (3 or 4 feet).

Their holes are always angled, not straight down. So, there may be a floor to bounce them off even when they are "in their hole." Most often when I shoot them when they are in their hole they instantly disappear into the hole, with maybe pieces flying out, but not the whole squirrel. Therefore, I wait until they come out.

I use only 32-gr. bullets in my 204, to give me the best chance of seeing the impact.

[204Luver]

A fine, fun day on the prairie. As always, I learned a lot about long-range shooting. This one was so close he did not get shot -- no challenge. I'm not there to just slaughter squirrels, I'm there to improve my long-range shooting.

[Rick in Oregon]

This one was so close he did not get shot -- no challenge. I'm not there to just slaughter squirrels, I'm there to improve my long-range shooting.

Yup, there's the joy of long range shooting, and there's also "inside the wire shooting".

After exactly 52 years of shooting ground squirrels, one thing I've learned in all that time is that we should ALWAYS have a favorite .22LR belt gun handy for those sneaky little rats that pop up out of their burrows 25 yards from your bench that has that tack-driving laser centerfire rifle nested in it's bags. Skippy and his pals have been known to chew more than one set of Danners!

My EDC ("Every Day Carry" for the unenlightened) .45ACP with a Kimber Rimfire Compact Conversion Unit mounted for field work:



Sometimes it's one of my revolvers.....




22LR conversion kits on 1911's are more fun than drunk clowns.....



And you really never know just who may show up unexpectedly.....best be ready for those that get inside the wire......



Reason No.48 to always have a .22LR handgun handy (as if more reasons are necessary)......the oft chance a frenzied jackrabbit breaches the wire in rat camp.....



Moral: If I'm in the field shooting rats, there will ALWAYS be a .22LR handgun nearby for Sneaky Skippy and his pals!

[204Luver]

Scorched earth is fine for the little rats, Rick, if that's what you're into, but I am shooting p-dogs. If I shoot too many of them in a town the ones that remain will relocate, perhaps to somewhere I cannot drive to, or perhaps not even shoot at all. There are not enough of them to provide me with as much long-range training as I would like. I'm therefore no longer inclined to waste them by dispatching them at close range.

[Bill K]

I guess we all have our reasons for shooting those ground squirrels and PD's. I, like Rick and many others, will take the close one's, along with the long range one's, most of my shooting of them is between 150-400 yards, but some further, with some closer, as they pop up nearer your feet, etc. The reason for taking the close one's is that the property owner's that allow me to shoot their pivots, alfalfa and other crops, want them taken out, as they eat thousands of dollars of crop income. And since the owner allow me to hunt those area, I will assist them in anyway I can.
Besides to hit those little ground squirrels with a open sighted handgun has some good challenge to it.
So again I guess we all our reasons and will enjoy out shooting sport as we want. This I do and I will just also push the envelope more, I guess, by aiding the property owner and his wishes also. Bill K

[Rick in Oregon]

"Scorched earth"? You obviously have never visited a rich alfalfa field inhabited by over a hundred thousand ground squirrels. You could spend days shooting them and return a week later and it would appear you were never there. You have no idea and know not of what you speak. Bill and my other western buddies will all attest to this.

I shoot PD's also, but feel the shooting is so much better here as to not make the drive really worth it any more. And PD's are huge in comparison to our little rats, so they are much easier to hit at extended range. I enjoy a challenge too, hence my preference for ground squirrels. I'm well aware of the ability to shoot out a PD town....that's not the subject here. But it is when I shoot rock chucks, always leaving critters for 'seed' and being reasonable as to how many chucks I take in a given area.

If you've never spent a day in the rat patch on your bench with your favorite CF rat rifle in the bags and a handy rimfire handgun nearby for those little buggers that penetrate the wire, well then, the fun we have you do not know, and your horizons have been severely limited as a result.

I'll add that if we do not kill enough of these little rats, the ranchers will hire professional poisoners to come out and decimate the entire property and leave it barren of animal life. "Scorched earth" indeed.

[bloc]

"Scorched earth"? You obviously have never visited a rich alfalfa field inhabited by over a hundred thousand ground squirrels. You could spend days shooting them and return a week later and it would appear you were never there. . . .

Yeah. I've seen fields where, if you soft-focus your eyes towards the field's far edge, the impression you get is of the field's entire surface moving! Sometimes it reminds me of a vast field of popping popcorn. It's really hard to describe.