what are .204 like?

gez.308

Well-Known Member
My mate is thinking about buying a .204 for foxes, i have no idea what they are like compaired to my .223. Any help out there. Cheers, Gez
 
They are awesome calibers. They shoot very high (for their weight) BC bullets at exciting speeds. Due to this the shoot very flat and are very very good in the wind due to this. There performance trajectory and wind bucking ability is like a .22-250 but with a bit less energy. I think most people who try them don't go back to their .223's. I know a few people who have or have had both and they say the never bother with their .223's anymore, two friends of mine sold their .223's as the .204 was a better performer in all types of vermin and on fox.

With the .20 cal like I have said you have laser beam trajectory, excellent wind bucking ability with next to no recoil, you can reload it for the same price as any other .22 centre fire, quite a large selection of reloading components and a selection of factory ammo although it may be more expensive then .223.

The only advantage I see in the .223 is that you can buy cheap factory ammo and it is c/w deer and munti legal and if you are going to shoot 1000's of rounds paper punching then the .223 might be better.

If its vermin and fox destruction your mate is after, I'm sure he fall in love with the .204.





Hope this helps,


steve.
 
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In short - awesome. Flat as a flat thing and very fast, low recoil round. From what I have seen ( I don't own one, but have been present) - a highly effective round. More effective than 223? - Depends on your shooting style and range etc - but they sure as hell do the job. As does the 223....

223 more of a utility round with the ability to also do smaller deer. If you still want that and more speed - 22.250? All as wide as it is long.....
 
I believe it sits squarely between 220swift and 22-250, so can essentially deliver a fox/varminting bullet out to almost 300yds at MPBR - ie. no holdover or BS, just point and shoot.. so apart from perhaps eating powder and barrel life, it's an effective round.

however, ask yourself how often foxes are shot at that range...if often then great, if infrequently, then why bother.
 
Gez my .204 gets well used and i find it an outstanding foxing /varminting tool its does just flatten foxes the 204 is flat shooting hard hitting low recoil cheap to reload but any of the .17/.20/.22 CF would do the same job out to 300m

i dont think Mr fox would tell the difference between a 32gr .20cal hitting him @ 4000fps or a 45gr .22 @ 3400fps they would both be very effective.

if he does get one he would not be disappointed in any way ....Neil
 
tell him to get one. any of the 20 calibre rifles are superb. i will have one at some point in thr future. be boring if we didnt try different calibres wouldnt it.
im also a fan of the smaller calibres like 17 and 20 calibre centrefire rifles
 
I've owned a pair of rifles chambered for 204 Ruger . I "had" a Ruger 77MKII VT with the grayed stainless and laminated stock when the cartridge first hit the market That one shot some astronomical good groups with factory ammo and or handloads . It shot factory so well I couldn't really do any better with my handloads . Either way it was an honest to goodness 5 shot 1/2 MOA rifle . And like a 6mm PPC I had in the same type rifle I got tired of it and sold it to someone that wanted it more then myself !

The other 204 I have had is one I bought used in a Ruger #1B single shot and gave to my father for Xmas a year or two back . This one shoots okay but nothing like the first one . My pop likes #1's and I like to collect stuff so it seemed a good compromise . This #1 is about a 3/4" for 3 shots at 100 yards with handloads . I'm sure I could put a Kepplinger trigger in it and do a little better .
 
I have a Kimber .204 Varmint Classic - it's awesome !! Changed from .233 Tikka T3 to it & there's no goin back ;)
 
Hi all , was at the range and there was this bloke hitting paint ball ammo at 200 yards with his .204,now that is accurate , but it was a calm day
 
Just to give a counter veiw. Totally unbiased as someone who owns a 223 and is having a second custom barrel 204 built at the mo.

The 223 is far more versitile - standard factory rifles are available from 14 twist to 6.5 twist and everything in-between.
This means that you can shoot bullets ranging from 30 grn pills at over 4100 fps --- to a 90 grn javelin with a BC of 0.550 that will get you out to well over a kilometer if needed. ( 204 cannot compete with that )


As far as i am aware, All 204's are fitted with a 12 twist barrel - this is often insufficient to fully stablize the 39 / 40 grn bullets - so shooters often have no choice but to shoot the 32 grn pill which have a much lower BC

In any case the Ballistics of the 204 are over stated - bullets have optimistc BC' values, ( the 39 grn / 40 grn bullets are actuallt around 0.250 )
The very high muzzle velocity figures only seem achievable by wringing the sweet f -- K out of the ammo and having a 26 inch tube. Hornady openly admits that the reloader cannot match the factory velocities. I personally crono'd the 32 grn Vmax factory ammo - Hornady stated that the ammo would be doing 4200 + fps - in actual fact it was just under 4000 fps.

Here is a good read > http://www.gunmart.net/accessories_review/hornady_204_ruger/

In my experience the 223 is certainly no more or less deadly than the 204 - I believe it hits harder - well it should, it fires a bigger, fatter heavier bullet. Foxes seem to by knocked to the ground - the 204 is very much like the 17 rem - in the way that fox fall like a puppet that the strings have been cut. In actual fact it make no difference.

The 223 has a huge range of ammo freely availble and all gunshops will carry a stock. This is not always true of the 204 - Also for the 20 cal reloader, it has recently it has been difficult to get hold of certain 20 cal bullets - Up to a few weeks ago midway were showing them on back order only.

The 223 can also be deer legal under certain circumstances - which may or may not be a consideration.
The 223 barrel will still be shooting accuarate, long after the 204 has given up the ghost - especailly if the owner trys to match the 4200 fps + that manufactures quote.

In term of flat shooting the 204 is the winner ---- but not a huge ammount like some on here would have us believe.

BTW I am a 204 fan - but there are always 2 sides to the story.

ATB
Alan
 
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I am also a fan of the 20 cal rifles and as most know on here i have run a 20 Tactical for a long time now, i love it so much it hurts, i have gone and had another custom one and its stunning.

G1963 hit a charlie with my current rifle a few weeks back and he could not believe how good it was, 200 yards chest shot and i said just aim at the chest and you will not have any issues,

so no issues.

its a posh 204 in many ways but have a read of this, http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rc...jB0df4MAfQGyBxnK4ULOw&bvm=bv.1354675689,d.d2k

it also covers the 204 that you are asking about, so in essence its my 204 but as you will read it does the same but just a tad better when it comes to how much powder you use,(and thats not a lot).

never the less when you start to talk barrel length/twist/bullet weight it all has an effect, no matter what calibre you choose to run with,

regards and best wishes.

bob.

I read this and fell in love with the calibre and had one built, never looked back,

The Tactical 20 was designed by Todd Kindler, owner of The Woodchuck Den, Inc. for precision long-range varmint shooting. The goal was to design a twenty-caliber cartridge with super long-range performance, but on a modest case design to minimize recoil and noise. Todd also selected the time proven and readily available top quality 223 case to base his Tactical 20 on (most shooters call it the 20 TAC today). Todd designed the 20 TAC with the accuracy proven 30-degree shoulder and the proper neck length to accommodate a wide range of bullets that he knew would be available down the road.

It didn’t take the 20 TAC very long to prove itself in the varmint shooting sports. It soon was destroying alfalfa eating woodchucks at 400 to 600 yards and stopping coyotes in their tracks with minimal pelt damage – something the most serious coyote hunter likes to see. Serious varmint shooters around the world started building 20 TAC’s for their varmint hunting needs. It wasn’t long until the word spread regarding the outstanding design and long-range potential of this cartridge. Some of the shooters like Greg Tannel owner of Gre-Tan Rifles, who just happens to have a solid reputation for building the most accurate competition and varmint rifles in the world built himself a 20 TAC and called it a “Death Ray On Varmints”!

The 20 TAC is one of the early twenty caliber cartridges that Todd has designed and it soon “blew the 20 caliber door wide open”! With 30 to 40 grain bullets, it is one of the most accurate and efficient 20 calibers available today. With the high B.C. 40 grain bullets, it has less bullet drop and wind drift than the 220 Swift! And does it with less than 25 grains of powder compared to the 220 Swift using 39 grains of powder!

Are you ready for a serious “Death Ray” varmint cartridge? Then buy or build a 20 TAC today! The Woodchuck Den has all the precision reloading dies and equipment to help you on your 20 TAC, so give Todd a call at 330-897-0614 today!
 
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Bob cant wait for mine to arrive now decided to top it off with a zeiss 6 x 24 x 56 ret 60 illuminated dot
regards pete .

nice one pete,

I love mine to bits, and have said it before,

If in order that i need to sell another rifle so that my kids can have a good Christmas the tikka 595 243 set up would be going and the 20 tac would still be in the cabinet, and the only reason for that is,

you can pick up a 243 anytime.............but to pick up a 20 tac,tacs a weee bit longer.

bob.
 
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