OldFart�I am enjoying the .204 Ruger a lot. I have shot 278 bullets down the barrel and only about 55 of those shots were in a prairie dog town and the rest have been at the range. The range time I have spent with it has been a bit much, but then I have to remember that I am trying to work up loads for three different bullets. The bullets I am working with are the 32 gr. V-Max, the 35 gr. Berger FB HP, and the 40 gr. V-Max. I have also tried 8 different powders during my range tests. Those include, from fastest burning to slowest�Benchmark, H322, Winchester 748, Reloder 10X, BL-C(2), H4895, Varget, and Vihta Vuori N540.

The 35 gr. Berger will be my coyote bullet to start with this season. The 32 gr. V-Max is primarily my small varmint bullet. The 40 gr. V-Max will be my loooooong range small varmint bullet, but it may become my coyote bullet if I find it doesn�t tear up the fur too bad. From the ballistics tables and trajectory charts I have run, the 40 gr. V-Max with its BC of .275 and muzzle velocity of around 4,000 fps with my hand loads should really reach out and touch those varmints.

Although the recoil is a bit more than the .17 Remington, I can still see the �red mist� when the bullets hit the prairie dogs. I am anxious to try it on coyotes so I can watch the shockwaves pulsate through the coyote�s body. Kind of ghoulish, HUH?!?!

What length barrel are you getting for your gun? My Savage 12VLP has a 26� barrel, so I think I am getting pretty much full value out of the powder I am burning. Let us know how your new barrel wrings out.

OF-- My experience with fouling pretty much mirrors GHD's, once I did the barrel breakin of about 50 rounds. The 55 shots I took on prairie dogs were done with no barrel cleaning any time during that string of shots. Accuracy was just as good on shot 55 as it was on shot 1 of that string.

OF, I had a .204 Savage VLP very early on and as of now it's up to about 400 rounds down the tube......no undue fouling to speak of from me! Actually it's got about 26 shots down the tube as of tonite and I'm headed out in the AM for a hunt......no cleaning needed!!! Neglible barrel heat and no recoil!!! Not bad for fouling...what is it not to like? And the darn thing shoots to boot!!!! Good luck with your .204! You will love it!! GHD

Silverfox
Thanks for your input. I received my barrel and will shoot it for the first time tommorrow. It is also a 26" heavy barrel. I've purchased a bunch of the 32 grain v-max bullets, so we will see how it shoots.
Do you have a problem with barrel fouling? I know that the 17's have that reputation and was wondering how the 204's fair.
Thanks for your response