Ruger 204

[billygoat]

Wondering if anyone owns one, or is familiar with the cartridge? Just saw it in gander last week... Not sure what I think of it... Kind of looks like a necked down 223 except the casing certainly doesn't appear to hold the powder. The gun boys tell me it a great varmit gun, but I can't imagine that it could compete with the 22-.250?

[AJ]

Re: Ruger 204

While I don't have one, I do know a little about it. It's based off the .222 Remington Magnum not the .223 Remington. It is the fastest factory loaded cartridge. It is even faster than the .17 Remington. Varmint hunters wanted something between the .17 Rem and the .223 Rem. The 32 grain load is advertised as to have a muzzle velocity of 4225 fps. Your milage may vary. There was some popularity with the .19 and .20 caliber wildcats. Ruger in a joint venture with Hornady came out with the .204 Ruger.

Factory ammo is limited to Hornady at this moment. They offer a 32 gr and 40 gr offering. Remington says they are offering the same bullet weights in their Premier AccuTip line.

Handloading data is available from at least Hodgdon. Bullets are available from Hornady (32 and 40 gr) and Berger (35 and 50 gr).

I have no doubt that it would be a good varmint gun. It should hang right there with a .22-250 on targets out to 450 yards or so. Where it is better than the .22-250 is in barrel heat. Since the .22-250 burns more powder, the barrel heats up faster reducing the number of shots before having to stop for cooling time. For eastern ground hog hunters, this is no biggie. For a western prarie dog shooter, its an issue.

[billygoat]

Re: Ruger 204

Thanks AJ, the barrel heat issue makes good sense, hard to believe that the rifle would hang with the 22-250 out at the 400 yard range, but I am in no position to argue... sounds like a viable varmit rifle.