223 brass to 204

[mrb1982]

Did a search, didn't really see what I wanted to see.

I have a bunch of 223 brass. I have an inaccurate mini 14 that I would rather not trust for good coyote hunting. I am thinking about a 204, who knows. But I am wondering if maybe I took 223 brass, run it through a full length 204 die, would it come out alright?????

I know the 204 has a 222 parent case, but I don't know enough about the differences in case to know if it would work. Seems the 204 is a little longer, would a guy gain that back at all??????? More or less posing questions for conversation purposes.

While I have the ear of knowledgable fold on this thread, what do you think of a 223 for coyotes? I know that the common answer is 22-250, but if I got a good 223 remington rifle and loaded some good rounds it would be pretty lethal out to 300yds, wouldn't it? Plus, the cost of shooting it would be much less since I already have all the brass.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[BrentM]

Not sure on forming the 204 out of 223, sorry.

204 is awesome. I have one and sold my 220 swift as I prefer the 204 with the light pills. At 300 I shoot .75" groups no problem.

223 is absolutely a great chambering for yotes for the distance you are talking about. If you chose heavier pills you need stick with the 22 vs the 20. You can get match grade bullets in the heavier pills and shoot LR with the correct twist. The 223 is not as fast as 22-250 but 3200 vs 3800 fps at closer range is not that big of a deal IMO. We were shooting 525 a couple of weekends back with a 1/7 twist AR 15 and 68gr pills. It shot well, I was impressed with it.

 

[mrb1982]

Not sure on forming the 204 out of 223, sorry.

204 is awesome. I have one and sold my 220 swift as I prefer the 204 with the light pills. At 300 I shoot .75" groups no problem.

223 is absolutely a great chambering for yotes for the distance you are talking about. If you chose heavier pills you need stick with the 22 vs the 20. You can get match grade bullets in the heavier pills and shoot LR with the correct twist. The 223 is not as fast as 22-250 but 3200 vs 3800 fps at closer range is not that big of a deal IMO. We were shooting 525 a couple of weekends back with a 1/7 twist AR 15 and 68gr pills. It shot well, I was impressed with it.

Yeah, I know there is a drastic difference in drop after about 300 yds between the 223 and the others. I am thinking like a 55 gr bullet. Trying to decide if the savings from already having hundreds of rounds of 223 brass is worth giving up the fps. The more I think about it, I think it is. 22-250 is an awesome round, there is no way around it. If you were to make the decision on nothing but performance, 22-250 is the way to go, and may be the way I go. But trying to find brass right now hasn't been an easy situation, along with the cost. Just trying to simplify things a little I guess. Maybe use the added savings in the brass I already have and put that into learning how the gun shoots and knowing where to put it???? I don't know

 

[BrentM]

I agree with all of it. Loved my swift. Spit 55 grain bullets at blistering speed but the twist of the barrel didn't allow me to shoot heavier pills. I guess it depends on what you want to do. I would put a good scope on a 223, get a good ballistic program, and have fun. I see absoluetly nothing wrong with a 223 within its range of limitations. The only thing the swift or 22-250 goes is give you more range. That is the question I think you have to answer. How far do you want to shoot.....

I should have my Leupold back in a week or so. Having m1 turrets installed so I can shoot the 204 with precision. I have a B & C drop reticle that is fine for larger targets but I want to dial for shooting small stuff. My go to load is at 3800 fps with a 40 gr pill. It shoots .15 MOA consistently. I would like to use that BC, speed, and accuracy for once. ha ha. Thought about putting my Night Force on it but my 6.5-284 is set up and I don't want to touch it. I hope the turrets will get me what I want out of it.

 

[biggdawg]

fairly certain you can't make 204 out of 223 but you can take your 223 and make 20 practical.

i have a 24" black hole weaponry 20 practical and it is a shooter. 4100 fps with 32 vmax and 3800-3900 with 40 vmax.

all you do is use a 223 bushing die and neck down to 204 i do mine in 3 steps the first time.

 

[Supermag]

I love my 204! BUT, you aren't going to be able to turn 223 brass into 204 cases. The 204 parent case was the 222 Rem Mag. You CAN do a 20 Practical and that gets you nearly the same performance as a 204.

 

[mrb1982]

Yeah, I was afraid I couldn't really make that one fly.

That 20 Practical is a pretty cool rig. I am guessing it being custom that it comes with a price tag to match. Maybe a little more than I am interested in, not sure.

I am kinda just working on getting into the coyote hunting stuff so maybe I will just use the ole trusty 270 or 7RM for a while and see how it goes and then decide from there. Seems like it would be fun as heck to get into calling them in. Could I probably kill as many with one gun as the other? Yep, but every once in a while I am guessing I would want that extra pop where the 250/swifts come into play.

 

[biggdawg]

the barrel was around 305 that is only difference between a regular 223. It is stainless 3 land polygonal.

 

[mrb1982]

the barrel was around 305 that is only difference between a regular 223. It is stainless 3 land polygonal.

Interesting. I am guessing that isn't including installation. Might be something to think about a little

 

[biggdawg]

that was just the barrel but ar's are way simple to work on and build. i have built 5 or so with another in the works.

just takes a barrel nut wrench, and a upper holding block. pretty simple.

 

[Catfur]

But I am wondering if maybe I took 223 brass, run it through a full length 204 die, would it come out alright?????

I know the 204 has a 222 parent case, but I don't know enough about the differences in case to know if it would work. Seems the 204 is a little longer, would a guy gain that back at all??????? More or less posing questions for conversation purposes.

No, the parent case of the 204 Ruger is the 222 Remington Magnum, not the 222 Remington. The .204 Ruger is too long to make from .223 brass.