I found a 204 Ruger stainless model 77 in the 20" barrel model I was wondering if a 20 " barrel is too short.What have you shot with your 204 Ruger so far.This little caliber still gets my attention.It did stir alot of attention for a while.How often do you have to clean the barrel.I heard every 60 shots or 50 it must be cleaned is this true.I waited till the new wore off to get one .

20-24" is just fine for OAL. I clean mine about every 60 or so shots, it seems to be enough.
I am on my second one, a Steve Satern custom AR15 with a 1:9 twist. It shoots great except for the 32gr Hornady factory bullets, the fast twist blows them up within 50' of the muzzle.

So much so that I bought another. The 'kill' count would range into the thousands....its a prairie dog nightmare. I clean them when they need cleaned, maybe every 100 rds. or so.

I've got 4...no complaints

I'm also thinking of buying one, also with a 20" barrel; how are these on coyotes??

thanks in advance,

Regards,
Craig Nolan

I have a model 700 varmint for PDs and love it. The other I have is a custom model 7 Rem with a 24" barrel. Shoot the same load with a 32 gr sierra in both. My son has shot half a dozen coyotes with the model 7, all one shot kills from 50-300 yards.

Prior to getting my .204, I hunted mainly with a Ruger 77/22 Hornet. This also has a 20in barrel, and I did not feel that it held me back at all. I think you will enjoy that short quick handling rifle when hunting coyotes and fox. As far as cleaning, I usually clean it after I shoot it. Not because it needs it, because I don't know when the next time I'll get out to use it will be, and I don't want a fouled barrel in the gun case for too long.
My .204 has only accounted for woodchucks so far. I haven't taken it out for fox or coyote yet.

Good luck!

I have a custom chambered .204 as well as it's ballistic twin a .20 Tactical. Both have 26 inch barrels, works well for my purposes.
For a walking rifle I can see the advantage of a 20 inch and while I'm sure it'll shoot fine I would expect a pretty significant muzzle flash and an increase in volume (read "earplugs at all times").
The only thing on fur is that the hyper velocities with the 32 grainers have a tendency to hydraulic on entry and if the critter is shot fairly close it's a fur wrecker if that matters. Some guys I know solve that using Berger bullets that aren't so frangible. If all ya want is dead, no problem with whatever bullet.
For what it's worth my .204 does it's best in WW cases with RL10X, 39 grain Sierras, and 7 1/2BR primers. That 39 grain Sierra with it's .287 BC sure reaches out there and touches things.

I love my .204..... I have a 26 inch barrel.... it shoots anything well up to 45 gr bullets.... I have gone up to about 200 rounds without cleaning.....

I clean after a round of shooting which may be anywhere from 50 to 200 rounds. Have not noticed a drop in accuracy at the 200 round mark. Loved this caliber so much that I went and bought another. I now have two savage 12's.
One in a VLP and the other in a BTVSS. I plan on getting a third one, in a lighter variation for my carrying yote gun. May get a CZ-527.
This is one awesome fun little caliber.

I've 'had' two 204 Pac Nor barrels...both 12 twists...3 groove barrels on s/shot Savage actions....both rechambered...first is now a 20 Vartarg...(20 Fireball) second is a 20 Practical..(20/223)...the 204 is an awesome round...but for high volume shooting these other 20s work better for me...

I have the Ruger Ultralite with the 20 inch barrel. It is usually the first rifle I pick up when I head out for some "walkin" varminting. It is an absolute joy to carry and shoot. Accuracy is very acceptable and the report is not overly abrasive.

If you don't own a .204 you don't know what you're missing!! Accuracy, no recoil, reduced report(noise isn't an issue versus a .223 or .222 based chambering, versus the Grand and Glorious 22-250.......................a helluva lot of difference!!!)
I've owned and shot several of them now and the .204 is and will be a main stay in the GHD arsenal. With the heavy-long barreled versions, VLP, VLS, Ruger Target/Varmint, what's not to like?? With the shorter versions, Model 7 Synthetic, ADL(24" barrel) whatever in a light carry varminter.............no it's not a shoot 100 times in 30 minutes Prairie Dog town rifle but it's darn fun to shoot and spot your own hits or your own misses!!
If any of you all own the MODEL 7 Special Run(they were special about 2 years ago but now I think they are cataloged)take the stock off, fill it with (stocks are honeycombed/tupperware/cheap to mold plastic)DEVCON from front to back and then free-float the barrel. It adds maybe 1/2-3/4lb of weight but significantly helps accuracy!
I may add that one of the factory Model 7's in the untouched configuration is the ONLY .204 I have ever seen that would shoot the 40 grain VMAX's(factory or otherwise!!!) to acceptable levels of accuracy!! Stick with the 32 grain Hornadys or the Sierra 32 grain BlitzKings or the 39 grain Sierras and have at it!! 28.0-28.3 grains of Accurate 2230 and your choice of 32 grainers or 27.5 grains of Accurate 2520 behind the 39 grain Sierras!!!!..................all you need to know! GHD, PS.(longest measured witnessed groundhog devastation with the .204 has been 771 yards!).................I do not recommend the .204 for over 500 yards as the little bullets just lose too much punch to deliver humanitarian dispencing of rodents over this range!! BUT, DARN!! They sure are fun up to that point!! (But then again, our "rodents"(vermin) over here in the East are bigger and tougher than the sage rats or prairie dogs you folks in the West get to work out on!!)

it works well on 150 yard coyotes with 9 gr. of blue dot

I have a Kimber .204 Varminter. I absolutely love it. My daughter can shoot PD's for hours. The recoil is very light. A 32 gr Sierra BK just over 4000 f/ps knocks the Sh__ out of coyotes out to 200 yards (literally!).Bullet time in flight helps with lead on running shots. And it is very accurate.

Have several .204's, but I like the .20 Tac better.

Tom

The .204R is a "must have" caliber. Mine are 26" tubes, but I would think the 20" barrel would be a dandy.