Hi Guys:

Well it was and is a rainy Saturady here in Notheast PA so I decided to go to the range anyway.

I had three new rifles to shoot and break in. The new 204 Remington 700 VLSSTH did pretty well. I sighted in, took about 4 or 5 shots, forgot my cleaning rods so never even cleaned the bore at the range.

It shot a three shot group @ 100 yards, I believe it was shot 8th 9th and 10.. shot in .416 with Factory Hornady 32 grain 204 ammo. This is with no barrel break in, or even cleaning yet!

The only thing I had my gunsmith do was stone the trigger to lil less than 2 lbs.. and completely float the barrel.

I will try and post a pic...



This is what the new setup looks like.

Thats a real sweet little rig you have there.

Is it single shot or a magazine?

Hi Markus:

This one has a magazine, holds three or four down. I thought the thumb hole stock was a cool touch.

Thnaks... Jim P.

PAHunter-- I really like the looks of your hunting rig there!!! What brand bases and rings did you put on it? Also, what scope did you install. They match that action and barrel just right!!!

From the looks of that target, you have a real shooter there!!! When you start handcrafting your loads, you may have a one-hole shooter!!!!

Hi SF:

Thanks.. The rings and bases are Leupold SS. The scope is a 4.5 X 14 Nikon Buckmaster. I like to match the scopes to the barrel, aka SS to silver.

I have over a dozen Leupolds, couple of Burris and two Bushnell. I started playing around with Nikons last year when I put a Nikon 3X9 ProStaff on my CZ 17 HMR Model 452. What a nice bright scope for the money. Then I bought and put another one on on my inline Muzzleloader. Again it worked and looked great.

And so far I am very pleased with the Buckmaster, at 100 yards I shot and moved it around the targer, it was right on the money. There was not a lot of choices in a silver high powered scope.

Regards... Jim P.

quote:

This one has a magazine, holds three or four down. I thought the thumb hole stock was a cool touch.

I thought it was supposed to hold five?

Hi Naja:

You are correct, I just tried it, it does hold five rounds in the magazine.

I just got the Hornady ammo and never loaded it to it max in break in. I was just loading one round at a time.

Regards... Jim P.

PAHunter: Wow - what a classy looking rig you have there!
I really like the Remington thumbhole stocks. I have a Remington XR-100 in caliber 204 Ruger on order as we speak! It has a similar thumbhole stock but will be in blued steel version and its a single shot.
This XR-100 will be my third 204 Ruger Rifle in my Varmint arsenal - and to say I have been just thrilled with my present two Rifles would be an understatement!
I have a Remington 700 VLS in 204 as well as a Ruger 77 V/T (stainless). They both have 26" barrels and both are very accurate indeed. Not just with my hanbdloads but both shot the Hornady factory ammo (both 32 and 40 grainers) into 5 shot groups at 100 yards right at .500" consistently!
But the thing that sets the 204 Ruger off from most all other Varmint cartridges is its amazingly flat trajectory and wind bucking ability!
I have killed Coyote, Badger, Rock Chucks, Prairie Dogs, Ground Squirrels and some flying nest raiding Varmints with my 204's!
The light recoil, mild report, universally good accuracy and the slow to heat barrels make this cartridge, in my opinion, one of the top Varmint cartridges of all time!
Neither of my present 204's needed any "prompting" by a gunsmith to attain excellent accuracy for me! I did do a trigger pull lightening job on my Remington 700 though.
Be sure to try the Sierra 32's if you do some handloading. I have two close friends that rave over the accuracy of this bullet in their 204's and I have seen for myself how well this bullet performs on Varmints in the field! Its impressive!
I do have one question on the scope bases you have on your rig though. Are those bases of the reversible type? I often use the two piece bases on my 700's and 40X's but I have not used the set up you have. The rings on those bases seem to be quite close together but if your rig holds P.O.I. - does not shift - then they are working fine for you. Anyway I was just worried the rings were to close together. Again the mild recooil of the 204 Ruger cartridge probably won't be knocking things loose for you - I am guessing.
Long live the 204!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

PAHunter-- After looking at the back base and scope ring I have to admit that it sure looks like the back ring isn't even sitting on a base??? I didn't even notice that until the previous poster said something about it. I have the Leupold 2-piece bases for my Remington 700 ADL in matte black, but those bases of yours sure don't look like my Leupold bases???

Every time I look at that fabulous setup, I think I should have one too!!!

Hi VG & SF...

They are SS Leupold Rings and bases. The front base can go either way, long end toward the bolt or the barrel, just swich the ends.

I have it set that way for my eye clearance and focus for the scope. If I set the front base facing the barrel the scope would be to far forward for correct eye relief.

Trust me the rear ring is mounted to the base... LOL

VG.... I have long been a fan of Sierra Bullets in my handloads for my Remmie heavy barrel
22-250... 52 grain match HPBT at around 3850 FPS with H380..

I agree, the 204 is just a sweet cartridge to shoot. I have to do more shooting, maybe this weekend. Last Saturday was dedicated to chasing long beards in the pouring rain.

Sunday morning at 7:00 AM I was laying in bed and my wife turns to me and says I just heard a Turkey gobble. I jumped out of bed and in my driveway was a 10 in long beard in full strut... geez... adding insult to injury...LOL Can't hunt on Sundays in PA.... yet...

Regards... Jim P.