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Hello is anyone out there shooting with 204 ruger?I am in the maket for a varmint rifle and was looking at 22-250 or 220swift.204 looks good good on paper!
The BC on the 40 grain bullet is higher than a 60 grain .224, yet it launches over 3700 fps. This means they managed to come up with .22-250 trajectory and sub .223 recoil. Nifty.Not exactly.![]()
According to the Nosler book, a 22-250 can fire a 40gr bullet @ 4,100ft/sec and the Swift can launch them out @ 4,200 ft/sec.
That's a 500ft/sec advantage for the bigger case. Much flatter and less air time for the wind to effect bullet path over the longer distances.
I have no problem with the new sexy .204, however, like many other new cartridges, it just doesn't seem to do anything special and its not better then a larger capacity cartridge when shooting over longer ranges.
Funny, but long before anyone thought of a factory rifle chambered in the .221FB cartridge, I had one built. It can't do anything that the accurate little .222 can't do but I built it anyway. It turned out to be one of the most accurate, fun shooting, addictive little cartridges available.
I was amazed when it eventually took the shooting public by storm. Chambering a factory rifle in a new cartridge seems to do that. Some last while others whither away. You can barely find a rifle chambered for the .222 despite the fact that is extremely accurate, fuel efficient and has low recoil.
Anyway, there is no need for a new cartridge to really fit into an unexplored nitch. It just has to peek up our interest enough so that we lay down some cash and go shooting.
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The BC on the 40 grain bullet is higher than a 60 grain .224, yet it launches over 3700 fps. This means they managed to come up with .22-250 trajectory and sub .223 recoil. Nifty.Not exactly.
According to the Nosler book, a 22-250 can fire a 40gr bullet @ 4,100ft/sec and the Swift can launch them out @ 4,200 ft/sec.
That's a 500ft/sec advantage for the bigger case. Much flatter and less air time for the wind to effect bullet path over the longer distances.
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No, you're misunderstanding / taking what I said out of context / resorting to an apples to oranges comparison. For a .22 to achieve the same BC as the 40 grain .204 bullet, you have to step up to a 60 grain boat tail. With that 60 grain bullet, your .22-250 or .220 Swift only reaches the same 3700 FPS ballpark the .204 does with the 40 grain bullet. If you're after sheer speed and using a 40 grain .22 bullet, then the 32 grain .204 is the closer comparison. Essentially the same 4200 FPS ceiling with a slight BC edge going to the .22. There's no 500 fps advantage to the Swift or .22-250 if you're looking at bullets with similar BCs.