Me too!

buck88, maybe I should have explained That these seals, sealion, and sea otters are not protected, When they destroy the salomon nets in the river!!!! I have complete permission from the dept of fisheries, and humting permits for the seals, sealions and seaotters.

Got a scanner, I sure would like to see a copy of this hunting permit and also which river it pretains too and which "tribe" you belong to!

Thanks for the info. I was able to sneek out for a couple of days last week to break in the new rifle, I was only able to round up one box of ammo be for I embarked on the four hour trip home. I was able to take a few crows and seaguls at ranges of only upto 100yds. I am lucky enough to have an old dump to shoot at. There are a few different targets up that way: crows, seaguls, feral cats and dogs, rats, and other things running around. I also am able to set up on the beach to shoot at seals, sealions, and sea otters. Head shots while they are bobbing in the waves present some challenging shots.

I am wondering what is wrong with the 17cal cleaning rod? I purchased one because it was the only thing that the shop had. Also using a 20cal brush and 17cal jag.

I will start to do a little reloading as soon as I can get back out there, My college doesn't allow guns in their apts. So my reloading equipment is four hours away. Next chance to get out there will be next weekend. So far for powder I have AA2230, and Varget and the only thing I Have found in the shops around here are the 32gr vmax's.

buck88-- Congratulations on the purchase of a Cooper Varminter in .204 Ruger. I have drooled over the Coopers, but haven't ever made the plunge for one. I like the looks of the Varminter, but I do a lot of coyote calling and would rather have a repeater for those times that I call in a "herd" of coyotes and need to make several quick shots.

What type of targets are you going to be shooting with your rifle? Paper only; varmints and paper; varmints/predators (for fur) and paper? If you are only after varmints, the 32 gr. V-Max will give you a lot of speed and lots of red mist on shots of short to medium range (out to 250 to 300 yards). Berger makes a good 30 gr. bullet for the .204 too.

If you want to shoot longer shots, I'd recommend one of the 40 gr. bullets that will hold into the wind better. Right now, I am at my wits end with the 40 gr. V-Max bullets. I have shot maybe 125+ of those bullets through my Savage 12VLP in .204 Ruger and have not found a decent load yet. Maybe I am trying for too much velocity, but I certainly though 3,900 or a tad faster was attainable with the .204 Ruger. I am currently working at finding a load that will work with the 40 gr. Berger length tolerant bullets and I think that both H4895 or H322 will be good for my rifle with the 40 gr. Berger bullet. Again, I may be pushing for too much speed and may have to drop back in the powder charge weight a wee bit, but "speed kills."

Previous posters have directed you to the Internet for finding .204 caliber cleaning and reloading tools. My little town doesn't have any real decent sporting goods stores, so the Internet has been my source for .204 caliber supplies. I'd definitely recommend getting a .19 or .20 caliber one-piece cleaning rod. Don't try to do the job with a .17 caliber rod. The threads on the .19 and .20 caliber rods are the same as the threads on the .17 rods, so if you can't find a .20 caliber jag, you could try a .17 caliber jag.

I don't think you will find that the .204 Ruger is difficult to reload for. There is some reloading information available on the Internet at powder and bullet companies now and you should be able to find a powder/bullet combination that will give you great accuracy and many fun years of shooting with your new Cooper. Let us know how you are progressing with your new prize!