|
Author
|
Topic: Any Feedback on the .204 Ruger
|
AllPredatorCalls.com
PAKMAN
Member # 347
|
posted June 21, 2004 04:57 PM
Gents & Ladies,
Finally pulled the triger so to speak on on another rifle purchase. Went down to our local gunshop (Murphys in Tucson AZ) and ordered a Remington 700ADL in .204 Ruger .. was told no more than a 2 week delivery wait.. I was going to break down and buy a Ruger but last night when i saw on the Remington website that they were offering them I was pushed over the edge... Anyway, any feed back from .204 shooters? what kind of fps with the 32& 40 grn bullets are you getting, how about fur damage (or lack of) reports.
Good hunting,
AP
Posts: 7 | Registered: Jun 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Cal Taylor
Knows what it's all about
Member # 199
|
posted June 21, 2004 07:30 PM
Kinda wondering that myself. I have an AR that I would like to re-barrel to .204.
--------------------
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what to have for lunch.
Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
FoxPro Field Staff Member
Posts: 1069 | From: Wyoming | Registered: May 2003
| IP: Logged
|
|
DAA
Utah/Promoted WESTERN REGIONAL Hunt Director
Member # 11
|
posted June 22, 2004 05:33 AM
I can't speak directly to the .204, haven't even held one of those. But I've been shooting a .20BR a lot lately, and have shot a couple .20 Tactical's (very similar capacity to the .204).
Handloading, you ought to get about 4200 fps, or a bit more with the 32's, and about 3800 with the 40's. I'm running about 300 fps faster than that with the BR. Actually, I've got one load that has the 32's doing 4600.
The .204 might be pretty good on fur with bullets other than the Vmax. My experience shooting smaller varmints with the Vmax has me thinking they are going to be poor for fur. And my friend Blaine Eddy made up a .20 caliber years ago in his search for the perfect fur cartridge and he says it wasn't near fur freindly enough to suit him - that was after shooting quite a number of coyotes with it. Really comes down to the bullet, in my opinion. There's getting to be more of a selection, could easy be one of them is a good fur bullet. Hell, I could even be wrong about the Vmax's. I haven't shot any coyotes with them yet. But anything that spreads a jack rabbit around that thin...
- DAA
--------------------
"Oh yeah, they're gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom, but they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em." -- George Hanson, Easy Rider, 1969.
Rocky Mountain Varmint Hunter
Posts: 2676 | From: Salt Lake City, UT | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged
|
|
Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
|
posted June 23, 2004 10:35 AM
I agree, Dave. Seems like it always comes down to the bullet.
So, my take on it is to have some sort of happy medium between velocity, bullet weight, and jacket construction. In simple terms; is the 300 Winchester Magnum "better" than a 308 Winchester, or does the venerable 30'06 do a fair job of covering all the bases? All what bases, you may ask, and that's a fair question.
Normally, you want a bullet to blow a hole in the animal, but then; some want death with minimum destruction.
The job of hitting the target is made easier by increasing case volume and jacking the velocity. Or, by necking the case, from 30 to 270, or 22 to 20 caliber.
Considering the wide range of possibilities, at least where I hunt, I need a flat shooting cartridge to hit what I'm aiming at. That's pretty much a given, when hunting predators.
Lot's of places, they are faced with nothing but chip shots, so the smaller cases and lighter bullets show much better consistancy, from shot to shot.
Personally, I'm a real hard sell, on any bullet, of any diameter, that weighs less than 55 grains. From either the minimum damage, or the knock 'em flat, point of view. If the subject is coyote.
However, the twenty caliber solution bears looking into. It fits into a nitch, as the 30'06 might, in my imperfect example, above. As usual, the problem is finding the proper bullet.
Good hunting. LB
--------------------
EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 32361 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged
|
|
DAA
Utah/Promoted WESTERN REGIONAL Hunt Director
Member # 11
|
posted June 23, 2004 11:32 AM
One thing I think the .204 is going to be very good at, is being easy to make hits with. The trajectory and wind drift numbers for it are impressive. I keep reading comments on the internet about how wind sensitive it's going to be, but these comments are simply not true. It's a lot better in the wind than a .223, and no worse than a .22-250 - a little better, or a little worse depending on which loads are being compared. Combined with very slight recoil and somewhat milder muzzle blast, it ought to be a very shooter friendly chambering.
As I've already mentioned, I've been shooting a larger capacity .204 lately, and I'm just all kinds of impressed how easy it is to shoot well.
Coyote performance, I just don't know. The energy is certainly there. How well it gets work done on coyote flesh, I've yet to see for myself. I'd start with a Berger 35 or 40 gr. bullet though, rather than a Vmax.
Definitely, I agree that the .20 caliber fills a niche, or a void, depending on how you choose to look at it. The gap between the .17 and .22 is a BIG one. If you ignore the .19, anyway (not to dis the .19, but it just hasn't got the industry support that the .20 is now enjoying).
- DAA
--------------------
"Oh yeah, they're gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom, but they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em." -- George Hanson, Easy Rider, 1969.
Rocky Mountain Varmint Hunter
Posts: 2676 | From: Salt Lake City, UT | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
