204 ruger ammo?

[Prdtrgttr]

"but every time I hold the Rem.700 Varmint light it begs for a home"

SkinnyDipper, I had the same bug for the longest time. Ever since that gun came out I wanted one, but couldn't afford it. Everytime I was in at the gun shop I would look at and hold their 17 Remington LVSF, this went on for about 2 yrs, finally, I saved enough, went in to buy it, and you guessed it, she was gone .
So they just ordered me a new one , I love the look and feel of the LVSF!
Go and git one, you won't be disappointed.

[mike-ness]

Hi I own a VLS Rem in 204 and let me tell ya I had some bad times with this rifle I live in Germany at the time(and also hunt there),I went out one evening to go out for a hunt.At about 9 pm (in the summer) a fox passed my way and it had rained a little,I checked the range..Bang! I took the shot with the 204ruger tipped with the 32grain V-Max.

The fox dropped..all of a sudden he jumped back on all fours and took off!!! I just thought "damm I must of hit him good ?????"
A day later I found him dead about 163 yards away from were I shot him! Well what happend? Ill tell ya the vmax exploded on the wet pelt of the fox!Dont ask me why ? but it happend, I geuss it might be better to use a different typ of bullet then the Vmax(or better yet load em your self). Eny way that happend to me,and I thought Id share it with you. Dirk from Germany

P:s I hope to be back in Canada Soon!!!

[tolait]

my 204 w/32gr vmax loads have taken close to 100 dogs at ranges from 35 yds to 580yds all but one or two have been plant nose fimly on ground and hardly even twitch tail .it,s imo about the best coyote caliber there is.

[Stinky Coyote]

agree...buddy hit a twig or something and or nicked him with a glancing shot...you hit a coyote square with a .204 and its over....cripes...i heard the same horror stories with .17 hmr and the v-max...10 of my 17 coyotes to 100 yrds no problems and i'm 17 for 17 on coyotes with that caliber...if i ever had a splash like described above....i would blame it on a glancing blow...no other reason or way it could happen imo

Skinny...here's some reasons to avoid the ultra tiny cz american that feels like a little rimfire in the hands...















Here's the news though....it doesn't come perfect. Action a little too rough, too much steel on bolt handle to mount scope on low rings and might benefit from a bedding...not sure because i had it bedded from get go just to rule anything out. So with some JB Paste(bore compound stuff...blue or pink on container) on the action and cycle the crap out of it...really smooths it up. Some really fine sand paper on an empty case slide in and out of magazine to polish the feed lips to help the rounds come out a little slicker helps...plus store mag with 5 in it...spring is extra strong in the mag. What else...the trigger?...needs nothing...i can find the creep your talking about if i go real slow with an empty gun in my basement...haven't been able to find it in the field or on the range....set trigger not necessary...even for range imo....too light. I adjusted the other one down and its the sweetest trigger i have...nothing needed there. Had the smith machine some meat off the bolt handle...took him all of 2 minutes...so i could use low rings, burris 3-9x40 with bp reticle and learned it out to 500 yrds....good to go... shot one group learning drop at 500 yrds and it was 6"...just one try and only trying to learn drop...my 300 yrd group doing same was 2" fyi and my 400 was 4". Crown hasn't been touched...though maybe should have had smith do it too? I don't care...shoots good enough for me.

Labor of love...so if you like to tinker a bit...you'll love this little gun...i think it has alot more character than most of the guns in my cabinet and dang does it kill everything you point it at....like a good rifle should!

You'll see the pic of the bolt handle after machining to clear scope on low mounts above.

So there you have it....do all of them need that work? no....but lots benefit from it...most shoot that good from the gate though.

Don't get one...terrible choice.

I think its actually the best calling gun and caliber available. The tiny tiny size is unmatched in any .204's i've seen....the detach mag....a must for 10 stands a day in and out of truck...plus having 6 ready to go is sometimes needed...then the caliber...not a finer calling caliber out there imo...like crossing a .22-250 and .223...whats not to love....trajectory of .22-250, hitting power of .223 and best part...YOU SEE IMPACTS IN SCOPE! Its all good in the hood with that rig.

[Skinnydipper]

Stinky:

That was SOOOOOOOOOO convincing that I went and bought one the day before yesterday, just waiting for the scope!
Thanks for the detailed improvement plan.
I do truly believe that this gun will fit really well into my objectives with it even though I still find it to look............a bit clunky !
I'll be sure to post it's first smackdown............just for you!

[Stinky Coyote]

Makin me feel special there skinny. Blush.

I'm glad i'm so convincing lol. I think you'll like the little gaffer...miniature lightning bolt in your hands i say.

[Skinnydipper]

Stinky:

Picked it up today and thought I'd show you the first paper....4 shots at 100 yds.
I think it may have some potential......now I'll get to the polishing and reworking

[Stinky Coyote]

nice...factory 32 gr?

[bradtothebone]

Heres my loads, with both rifles, I used Varget for these and I can gain about 100-150fps with h4895 and close to the same for accuracy, these are UNWORKED factory rifles.....

[Skinnydipper]

Originally Posted by Stinky Coyote

nice...factory 32 gr?

Yah, the factory 32 gr. Hornady. Do they fly anywhere near the claimed 4225fps.?

Brad:

I will definitely be moving towards reloads in the future but just don't have time at the moment. I use the Varget in my Savage .22-250 and get great results also.
How do you find the Blitzkings for overall coyote performance? I may have to sample some of those as well.

[bradtothebone]

Both my rifles shoot the factory 32gr almost as good as those targets, not quite tho, but the 39 has a little extra wack.....ANd even though hey are a bit slower I prefer the accuracy to velocity on these....


And the factory stuff DOES get to the stated velocity.... When they first came out and ammo was hard to find, i bought 5 or 6 cases from WSS...


One lot actually chronoed a 4300 and change, most were around 4150-4200....

[Skinnydipper]

Originally Posted by bradtothebone

Both my rifles shoot the factory 32gr almost as good as those targets, not quite tho, but the 39 has a little extra wack.....ANd even though hey are a bit slower I prefer the accuracy to velocity on these....


And the factory stuff DOES get to the stated velocity.... When they first came out and ammo was hard to find, i bought 5 or 6 cases from WSS...


One lot actually chronoed a 4300 and change, most were around 4150-4200....

Can you speculate the powder that the factory loads are using?? I heard rumor that it was a special one designed for the .204 to maximize it's potential, but not yet available for the consumer.

[bradtothebone]

No idea, whatsoever, but H322 works great for 32gr, I personally use 32vmaxfor 32gr but BKs for 39gr..... Have used bergers, but prefer the BKs

[Stinky Coyote]

I have a chrony alpha...bout a $150 dollar chrony...mine says about 4030 fps for the 32 gr in the little cz but gotta get the chrony out at least 10' feet or a little further away i find...too much muzzle blast on the little round. The drop or lack of up here is pretty awesome...with a 1.5 high at 100 i've shot at points of interest in the snow at 330 yrds and it looks as though i'm connecting square on but reality probably hitting a little low...but close enough to disrupt the little thing i was aiming at...and close enough to probably hold center of coyote to 350 yrds....thin dry air up here?...i would have thought i'd have more drop than i do for the velocity my chrony says. Oh well...i'll take it.

Good shooting Brad!

[Skinnydipper]

Here's the new CZ dressed in winterwear, in her new front yard:

[Bushmaster]

I love the camo job....do you have a bait down on the river ??

[Skinnydipper]

Originally Posted by Bushmaster

I love the camo job....do you have a bait down on the river ??

With all the controversy regarded ethics lately here, my answer to you would be "what bait?" "I'm sure those deer and moose parts must have come from a stupid creature that ventured across the river before it was totally frozen"

P.S. the chainlink fence is to keep the coyotes from eating the Schitzu!

[brett01]

i own a .204 in a remington 700 sps as well. I purchased the rifle brand new over 2 years ago before the rage of the small .20 cal took off. i was one of the first people in central alberta to have one. Since then it has taken over 40 coyotes plus numerous foxes and 1 wolf. i shoot the 40 gr. v-max and it works wonders. I found the 32's to be a little light and the dogs would run 50 yards or so after they had been hit. If you hit them clean and square through the lungs or the heart they drop without hardly a twitch. But if you get them far back and gut shoot them, it leaves a heck of a hole and they will run quite a ways. Winchester finally made a load for the .204 but it only comes in 45 gr. These i have not tried yet as i find no need for it. I sighted mine in at 1 inch high at 100 yards. i find at that 175 to 250 range i have to aim low for the heart. Because if i aim for the middle i the bullet seems to still be coming up through the arc and i shoot high. Thats the beauti of the tragectory of the little .20 Anyway just thought i would give you my feed back, good hunting!

[Singleshot]

Bradtothebone;
On the first page of this thread you mentioned that you had ordered 20 calibre Berger bullets from Extreme Accuracy in the US. How long ago was that? I have been trying to order some from them for several months now but their website indicates that their online order desk is closed for maintanance. Maybe that paranoid bunch of Chicken Littles in Homeland Security has shut them down for shipping bullets to Canada .

[bradtothebone]

Last year sometime, I burned up most of the bergers, and decided to use the blitzkings, my rifles didn't like the 40s and the 35s left large holes in the pelts so i use hornady 32s for gophers and the 39s for dogs...

[brett01]

ive heard decent reviews on winchesters 45gr. although they dont have the velocity or tragectory of the 32's and 40's. Although being a larger bullet i would think at longer ranges it would be more effective, with a bit more knock down power. wont know until i try it for myself, ill keep u updated

[Prdtrgttr]

This guy from Sask. has Berger bullets for the 204.

http://www.prairieguntraders.com/

Originally Posted by Prdtrgttr

This guy from Sask. has Berger bullets for the 204.

http://www.prairieguntraders.com/

thx for that link man