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Re: .204 thoughts

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22 September 2004, 06:21
VarmintGuy
Re: .204 thoughts
Socalgrizz: Welcome to the AR Forum and this thread!
I have a Remington 700 VLS in 204 Ruger as well as a Ruger 77 V/T in the nifty new 204 Ruger caliber!
Someone above was not impressed with the 9" flatter trajectory of the 204 at 500 yards as compared to a 223 and I can only say this to that - come on out west where the Varmints are fast, wary, and don't often hold still for long! Having a round that shoots 9" flatter at 500 yards is a BLESSING! I have a small pickup load of 223 Varminters in my arsenal and I really love each and every one of them! BUT the 204 is for my uses, ranges and the wide spectrum of Varmints I Hunt, a significant improvement over the 223!
Speed kills!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
23 September 2004, 08:45
pdhntr1
VarmintGuy

Quote:

Someone above was not impressed with the 9" flatter trajectory of the 204 at 500 yards as compared to a 223 and I can only say this to that - come on out west where the Varmints are fast, wary, and don't often hold still for long! Having a round that shoots 9" flatter at 500 yards is a BLESSING! I have a small pickup load of 223 Varminters in my arsenal and I really love each and every one of them! BUT the 204 is for my uses, ranges and the wide spectrum of Varmints I Hunt, a significant improvement over the 223!



What�s going on? Seriously, when did you start taking cheap shots at posters that were expressing opinions that are GERMANE to the issue? First of all you know I have spent many years chasing Varmints out there. I have been hunting the Dakotas and Montana since 1973. And the preaching about the 9� flatter trajectory is not needed. Whether someone is impressed (or not) with what a certain caliber does, should not enter the discussion. I made no comments one way or the other.

My comment to Montdoug was a gentle reminder to try to keep the thread on track, to address the questions that Uplandr had. He ended his post discussing a 500 yard prairie dog rifle. Refer to Uplandr�s original post. I can�t find a connection.

Gentlemen,

For all the 17 and 204 experts on this thread I am not sure Uplandr�s questions/concerns were addressed. Uplandr�s choices were the .17 and the .204. The reason he doesn�t like the rifle he has now is because it has one commercial loading. Did any of you .17 experts discuss this in your posts? Did any of the .204 experts on this thread discuss this for Uplandr�s benefit? No. But you did discuss all kinds of reloading the .204 for his benefit, which he said he didn�t have time for. In recommending he consider the .223 I was addressing his commercial load concern and his statement that he didn�t have time to reload.

Quote".....particularly fox and coyote" (Uplandr)

Coyotes, being the largest of the varmints in his area, to a large degree, defines the choice of caliber and BULLET. Did anyone compare the 20-40 gr. bullets available for the .17/.204, to bullets available in the .223? In recommending the .223, I was addressing my concern learned from over 30 years of predator hunting. A fragile bullet will (often) not get the penetration needed when hitting a big coyote in the shoulder. At the least you end up with a useless hide, and as I said before, you may not find them at all in the brush. You have one chance to kill them in the brush, the bullet can not fail. That is why I recommended the .223 because of the wide array of commercial loadings for heavy varmint work.

Quote:" My longest shot has been 70 yards, most are inside 50." (Hornetfan, after 4 years of predator hunting in PA and MD)

You guys got me here. A .204 is flatter shooting at 70 yards than a .223

Later, pdhntr
23 September 2004, 09:53
Kory
pdhntr1,



Ya, we went off topic as threads often do. No offense was intended. Can we still be friends?



Kory
20 September 2004, 17:14
Hornetfan
In the last 4 years of serious predator hunting in PA and MD, I do not think a 17 can be beat if you are going to keep the fur. Your called game will be 97 percent foxes to 1 percent songdogs, with opossums, coons, skunks, pasture panthers and owls making up the rest. A fox is not put together like a ground hog. I have a 22-250 and 2 223s. Both with factory loads are on the hot side for foxes you will need a needle. We hunt timber and fields with scattered wood lots. My longest shot has been 70 yards, most are inside 50. Even in the dark foxes stick to the cover or along the edges. I firmly agree with GHD on this one. Out west, Nebraska, Montana or Texas coyotes would get a 22-250 or bigger 25-06 being a favorite for deer to ground hogs. I say this with the full intentions of having a custom 20 built by May. This is also said by soemone who will always have a 22-250 and a 223 in the vault. I will caution you on a sub caliber they will breed, Mountdoug will agree with that. 17 Rem gets my vote for what you are looking for.
20 September 2004, 17:17
Hornetfan
GHD, I will take that 204 off your hands. I think I can fix it. You missed the orange spot everytime, something must be wrong with it. LOL
22 September 2004, 16:18
groundhog devastation
Hornetfan, One of these days, I'm going to tape the "dime" to the target board and proceed to shoot it at 200 yards just so somebody will notice "he hit the dime"!!! With the 204 it really won't be that hard!!! As I've said before, "1/2" @ 100 is easy!!! 2" at 500 is somewhat more difficult!!!!" GHD
21 September 2004, 17:45
socalgrizz
i have the rem in 204 and it's great one thing i like about it is the reduced recoil over the 223 it makes it much easier to see the hits