.204 vs. .223

[linksmechanic]

It's not very hard hitting a 12 inch piece of steel from a bench with a 204 I do it every time I go to the local fernan and rod club. It's not magic just hold over with reticle and pull the trigger. Hits every time. Maybe I'm just magic. Or maybe I just shoot to much(3 times a week).

[linksmechanic]

If I was to buy another varmint gun it would be a 22-250 with a fast twist. Then you could shoot the high b.c. bullets super flat.

[head2h2o]

linksmechanic,
You say you would build the 204 with a fast twist barrel. Exactly how fast are you thinking for the 50 gr Bergers?

[linksmechanic]

For the 55 grain bt berger recommends a 1 in 8 which is what I would use. For the 50 grain they recommend a 1 in 9. Have fun.

[Guy M]

I've put a lot more .223 rounds downrange over the years, but I'm enjoying the .204 a lot! I've got the little CZ varminter, topped by a simple 12x Leupold. Do my loading with Wilson dies, and it's just a hoot on our local rockchucks!



My youngest son giving the .204 a try at some rockchucks up on the cliff above the orchard. It worked just fine...


No recoil. 3800 fps with 40 grain Hornady V-Max bullets and excellent accuracy. It's fun to see the impact of the bullet on the animal. The crosshairs never even come off target. I like the .204, but if a guy chooses a .223, he's just got the more popular cartridge, and that has some advantages. My oldest son uses a .223 Bushmaster AR-15 varminter with a 6.5-20x scope. It's a varmint zapping machine!


I don't think there's a huge amount of practical difference between the two in the field. They're both fun and effective.

Regards, Guy

[Ron Ankeny]

As one who shoots a lot of p-dogs (like three days a week June-August) I have come to the conclusion that neither a .204 Ruger nor a .223 are reliable 600 yard calibers. But, if I had to pick, I would go with the .204 Ruger. As for "splat factor" at extended yardages, there isn't any splat...just little holes.

[Chopaka81]

Originally Posted by Ron Ankeny

As one who shoots a lot of p-dogs (like three days a week June-August) I have come to the conclusion that neither a .204 Ruger nor a .223 are reliable 600 yard calibers...

BINGO! Neither are 600 yd cartridges.
I am not an expert PD shooter, but this has June I went on a 3 day PD shoot, my son and shot Rem M700 Varmint rifles in 223. We went thru about 1600 rds between the two of us. With wind I found myself walking my shots onto target at 500 yds. The Pace was so fast we did not have time to range - wind - run exbal - recheck range - recheck wind - run exbal put together the ballistic solution and then shoot. By then either my kid shot the PD while I was screwing around or the PD went back in the hole.

We had a heck of a good time with our 223's - they were much cheaper to shoot than the 204. When are dealing with large Qty's of ammo - it adds up. I was able to get 2000 Rem Bulk 50gr HP's, 2000 surplus Mil Brass and 2000 Rem BR primers. Going with "cheap" brass and bullets raised natural concerns. But we were seing 0.3" 5 shot groups at 100 yd - going 10 shots opened the groups to 0.5". Good enough for easy shooting out to 400yds.

Just my two bits.