Skip to main content
Help Center Community Shop

Ruger .204 @ 4225 fps!! What's next...

GunHawke
Hello....

Thanks to all on my last Marlin lever gun question! You guys hit it square on the head[:D]

Now I see the Ruger center fire .204 is here and blazes a trail that Superman would have trouble keeping up with! My question is.....for varmint, a fast, light bullet at high velocity is great (probably good for some larger peasts too). But as the bullets get lighter....and as the casings look like jugs without a finger loop (the WSSM type), just what are we loading for?

I know I hit a wide subject, but just as I get to salivating over a Ruger 10/17 or a Short Magnum the issue gets further confused with faster rounds and stouter casings.

Is all this change welcome? Necessary? I haven't even had a chance to shoot a WSSM as yet. Do those little baby bottles on steroids feed OK?

Just thinking out loud.............................[8D]



"They blink an eye or draw a breath before they pull a trigger. I won't!" J.B. Books
0

Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • bambihunter
    I think they were specifically after the mark of making it faster than factory loaded .220 Swift. If those speeds are true then they've done it, but once you get that fast it does start to burn out the barrel. I had a .220 Swift for years and in the factory loadings the barrels would last quite a while, but if loaded up to these velocities, then it would be reduced to under 1000 shots (more likely under 500 rounds).
    In practical terms, this is just for bragging rights. I'm a fan of the .220 Swift which is faster than the 22-250 but in the field they have so similar specs it ain't worth the difference in price and availibility - this should be similar only worse...
    0
  • duckhunter
    ANOTHER 'GOLD MINE" FOR RUGER AND HORNADY.BUY RUGER STOCK

    I WOULD RATHER BE DUCK HUNTING.
    0
  • Contender Man
    Kind of a firearms "Field of Dreams" thing; if you build it they will buy it!



    If you only have time to do two things so-so, or one thing well ... do the one thing!
    0
  • 260
    i think the .204 is for a 40gr. bullet at 4225. i just finished building a custom rifle based on a 6mm rem necked down to .224 that is .22 cal. over my chronograph im 40 fps short of 4000 with a 60 gr. bullet. this thing works. i've taken 5 whitetail with it this year from 70 yds- 245yds, all 1 shot DRT (read dead right there). the bullet exited on all shots .it is sighted dead on at 275 yds. with mid range trajectory at 2.3" and 1" low at 300 yds. it has a 26" tube with 1-8 twist. guys, this girl will do it
    0
  • groundhog devastation
    The .204 Ruger is not one of the "jug without the fingerloop" cases. It is simply the 222MAG case necked down to 20 caliber. The bullet offered will be a 32 grain Hornady VMax. I don't think it will be the throat erosion kind of cartridge that the WSSM's are going to be. And it's possible the WSSM's won't be as hard on throats as earlier thought due to the fact that the factories realized early on that they could be rough on barrels and began treting or lining the barrels to reduce the problem. I still say Remington and Winchester both missed the boat with the shorties by not bringing out either a 25WSM or a 25SAUM instead of the WSSM version. GHD
    0
  • bambihunter
    If someone would make a .23 caliber flat shootin' gun - then I'd be in business for varmit hunting AND deer hunting in Kansas (at this time it reads .23 caliber centerfire for rifle).
    0
  • allechalley
    I remember the other side of this thing, that the .220 swift and the later .17 rem had problems with the bullets disintegrating sometimes before they hit the target, paper or otherwise. As someone on this board recently said 'dead is still dead no matter how it is done'.
    Of course, metallurgy and research have changed a lot of things tremendously the last couple years. Who ever heard of a Scandium, much less a .38 revolver that weighed 11oz. 5 years ago?
    0
  • boeboe
    What I wanna see is a .50 BMG necked down to .22 caliber.

    To err is human, to moo is bovine.
    0
  • bambihunter
    Boeboe, they have a .50 BMG necked down (sabot actually), I believe it is either a .22 or .25 caliber. I don't remember the specs but they were impressive to say the least.

    alleychally, I've had both the .17 Rem and the .220 Swift (both 700 VSSF's) and never had any trouble that I'm aware of, but then again I mostly shot factory fodder so maybe that was if they were hotloaded. They would certainly blow apart upon impact! [:D] The Swift has been around for a lot longer than most people realize, it could have been when long ago when metal wasn't quite the science it is today as you stated.
    0
  • Mballistic
    I don't know what the big deal is about with the Ruger .204. I have a .19-223 Calhoon. I get 4450fps with a 27 gr. bullet and 4125 with a 32 gr. bullet. These are the "max" loads published by Calhoon. I see no signs of pressure of any kind. Could probably push these loads faster (especially the 32 gr.) but why?
    My two cents,
    Jeff
    0

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Recent Activity