Just got a Pro Hunter barrel in .204 for my Encore rifle, and have some Hornady 32-grain pills to load. Thought I would start with 748 for fuel. How do you fellas like your .204s?

I have a Rem, a Kimber and Savage in .204. very happy with it, I am glad the Rem's got a faster twist rate, i was able to use the 45 HP from hornady very successfully. The kimber is very accurate.

I like my 204 Ruger, it’s my second favorite gun for prairie dog. The Swift is my favorite. I haven’t tried 748 but out of the powders I have tried my Ruger No. 1B seems to like BLC-2 the best with the Hornady 32 grain V-Max.

I think the .204 Ruger is the top choice in a Varmint rifle.

Guys: I can hardly wait to get mine to the range. Now if this Arctic air mass will just move on out and let things warm up a bit ...

It is my favorite caliber. It shoots flat and kills with no recoil. I found Benchmark and VV133 to be great powders. 204 seem to like 39 grain Blitzkings and 35 Bergers bullets. I have Brownings, Kimber Varmint, Kevlar CZ and a Tikka Varmint in .204.

I have four .204 rifles. Had one built before they were avaiable from manufatures. Also have a Kimber, a Savage, and a number 1 Ruger. Great caliber to shoot. Fun on a rifle range, a very good gun for praire dogs and coyotes. I like the 39 or 40 gr. bullet with 27.8 grs. of Varget. Sighted in at 200 yds, which is one and a half inches high at 100 yds., I have a 3 inch drop at 300 yds, with the custom rifle, the Kimber and the Savage. The Ruger does not shoot quite as well.

I have an H S in a thumb hole vamint, a beautiful shooting rifle. I too load my 40 gr ballistic tips with 27 gr of Varget, pretty much a 1 holer at the range. Haven't had it out yet on vermin, but soon it will see some coyote action.

Thanks guys. Looks like I should try some loads with Varget, too.

I have two. A Savage 12 VLP and a BTVSS.
Favorite powders are RL-10X, benchmark, and H-4895. Bullets for yotes are the 35 and 40 gr bergers and the 45 gr hornady sp's. For the smaller critters my favorite is the 39 gr sierra BK, 32 gr V-max, and the 32 & 40 gr nosler BT's. Have tried the 26 gr varmint grenades and so far seem to be okay as well.

I have a Browning and my buddy has a Cooper. We both shoot 28.2 gr. Varget and 40 gr Bergers. The Cooper will make one LITTLE hole with 5 shots a 100 yds and the Browning will keep em in less than 3/8 of an inch. 1/10 of a grain will make a difference in my groups so you have to take your time working up loads. God Bless and Good Luck, Louis

I've got a DPMS in .204, 24 inch fluted heavy barrel with Leupold 4.5-14x40 varmint hunter reticle. I put in a Timney trigger as well. It shoots real nice. Just loaded some 32 gr Bergers and 32 gr Ballistic Tips, both over Varget. I'm guessing both loads will shoot better than me. To me, the .204 is far superior to the .223 ballistically, so when the opportunity came to swap my Bushmaster in .223 for the DPMS in .204 I went with it. Have yet to kill anything with it yet however. Good luck with your .204.

Hi all,

I have a .204Ruger on a Sako 75 I Varmint action. It is AMAZING! Using the 39gn Blitzking it achieves 3920fps and kills instantaneously. I have taken foxes out to 280yards with it and rabbits at 280 yards (could do longer, but don't have the land...). There aren't enough good things to say about the 'lazer death ray' that it is:
fast and flat
recoilless
accurate
deadly
and a pleasure to shoot all day. It will soon be mated with a McMillan A5 stock and can't wait to take her out again!

best wishes,

Finman

32 grain sierra, caseload of varget, equals the only groups i have shot in the 0.20" range in a while.

-Matt

27.5 grains of Accurate 2520 and the 39 grain Sierra is all you need to know!! Never seen or heard tell of a .204 that combo didn't fit!! For S&G, I could give you loads for the 32's using Accurate 2230 if you want. PM me for them! 4500fps will not disintergrate them! Case life sucks though! Charlie (GHD)

Have the Encore and a Savage Model 16. I like 35gr Bergers and 39gr Sierra's with Re10X. My Encore is the more accurate one.

B/O, I have the 28" ProHunter blue barrel in 204 and have loaded it exclusively with 40 grain Hornady V-Max bullets under H4895. The reason for this combination is that I like heavy for caliber bullets (though I was concerned that the barrel twist might not stabilize them) and I already had 8# of H4895 on the shelf. This barrel will always shoot sub-MOA and sometimes sub-.5MOA with this load. Whether the fluctuacion in accuracy is due to the load/equipment or operator's ability is open to scrutiny. I don't think you will be disappointed with this choice of cartridge and firearm. The only complaint I have with this cartridge is it's sensitivity to wind drift when shooting at longer range, but that is always a problem and the lighter the bullet the more drift.

Bill,

I have a Kimber Pro Varmint in .204 and brought it new about 2 years ago.

Absolutely love it! I shoot 39gr Sierra BK's over 28.2grs H4895. That load hovers between 1/4 & 1/2 inch all day and just pips the 4000 fps mark. This from a 22 inch barrel, I guess I got lucky and got a fast barrel.

I just love the non existent recoil, and how I can see my shots print on the paper almost as soon as I squeeze the trigger. Its cheap to run, gives awesome ballistics and I've killed a few animals bigger than rabbits with it - goats namely, but a mate has been head shooting deer with his, longest shot was 354 metres.

Easily one of the best rifles I've purchased and this ones a real keeper.

Cheers,

Michael.

Mine is a CZ Varmint with their HS Precision stock on it. I had the barrel set back and rechambered it with a minimum spec, zero free-bore, snug but no turn necked, custom reamer. Basically a .204 Wildcat. With the free-bore removed factory ammo is unsafe and it is marked as such.
The benefit is I can load 39 grain BlitzKings or 32 grain V-Max's to fit into the magazine and still touch the lands while maintaining good bullet purchase. I get better accuracy and factory claimed velocities using less powder, factory load data no longer works as I get more with less.
It's favorite fodder consists of WW cases weight segregated into MTM box 50 lots using RL10X and Sierra 39 grain BlitzKings lit up with 7 1/2BR primers. Very accurate (.3's and .4's) and way big on the fun factor!!

I bought mine in a XR 100 but only so I could re-chamber it in 20 VarTarg. It is more accurate than it was in the 204( admitedly just a few boxes of factory while waiting for the reamer) uses 19.2gn 4198(adi 2207) with 35gn Berger for 3650 and reaches out there. Have also taken goats with it. I think the 20 cal is exceptional whichever case it is on.

Von Gruff.

Hey Von Gruff,

What range have you been shooting out to with the 35gr Bergers? I loaded a bunch in my .204 and if anything they are even more accurate than the Sierra's I am using. Rifle puts the 35gr bergers virtually through the same hole.

Cheers,

Michael.

I was head shooting out to 200 (love the "red mist") but havent done much past 250 yet. It has a .084 on paper but 2's are expected. Have just ordered a blank so I can re-stock it in a more walk about friendly handle as the BR stock on the XR 100 is a bit clubby for comfortable carry. The Bergers are excellent and just that little bit harder than the v max's so hold up better on the goats. I had almost the same accuracy with the 32gn v max but velocity with accuracy was far better with the Berger. The Bergers are the Moly version but am just about finished the few boxes I had and they are unavailable for now.
There is a write up on my 20 VT in issue 108 Sept-Oct 08 of NZ Guns and Hunting.

Von Gruff.

I have an Encore barrel that I was planning to sell but you guys have convinced me to keep it and give it a try. I have to say that I have seen hardly any bad opinions of this caliber.