204

S

sniper81

New member
looking at getting one in a tc venture predator, now that the round has been out for awhile,whats everyones opinion on this round for coyotes say out to 400
 
Originally Posted By: Blackhawk43I think it may be the best of the light varmint rounds.

Being a long time .17 Remington fan (and still am) it took me a while to really warm up to the .204 Ruger. But I have to admit that the .204 really does fill a niche. My longest string of prairie dogs shot without a miss as well as ground squirrels has been with my .204. The very flat trajectory and not having to guess at as much holdover is the reason for this. When I first got mine I missed a lot of 400+ yard prairie dogs simply because I held over them instead of just aiming at their heads. I quickly learned and appreciated how flat of a shooter it really was. Some of the very best tosses ever I got with my .204 as well. That surprised me and pleased me too.

I dont load mine very hot- the 32 grain bullet at 3900-4000 fps does me fine. I might use a 40 grain on coyote but even then I dont think that is really all that necessary. Any yote hit well with a .204 at any reasonable range is not going anywhere.
 
The 45gr SP's do a wonder on coyotes. I personally stay away from Vmax's for coyotes, we had too many runners with solid hits. But the SP's anchor them just fine.
 
I like how the Sierra 39 gr shoots, but do not like it for coyotes. Will give the 35 gr Berger a try on a few next winter. Will always have a 204 with on pd shoots( with the Sierra).
 
I have had a CZ 527 Varmint in 204 Ruger for 4 years now. I love that caliber.
Mine seems to prefer the 40gr Vmax with BLC2. Also the Dogtown 34gr HP from Midway shoots really well too. Around 1/2" at 100 yards. Any coyote that would be unlucky enough to get hit with that 34gr HP would really have his day ruined. The Venture is a good choice. I have a couple of them in other calibers and they shoot lights out! I'm a huge fan of those rifles.

Robert
 
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I have a nearly new extremely low round count CZ 527 Varmint 204 I’m getting ready to sell if you’re interested. It’s been restocked into a pretty laminated stock and it’s already been bedded.
 

Just curious - is 204 brass readily available? I always thought I would own a 204 but seems other things have kept me from getting one.
 
I have a TC venture in 204, mine is the standard model but it's a fine rifle and I think the predator model would be outstanding.
From my informal exp, witg the 40 gr bullets I think its better than a 223 and just behind a 22'250 out to that range .I'd have no issues with it. With the 45gr hornady sp which will stabilize in the TC 1:10 twist i think it would be lights out for a calling rifle
 
I've never had an issue getting 204 brass. But factory rounds are so cheap I just buy a few boxes of the Hornady performance whenever it's time to get new brass...also of note is I think my 204 brass has lasted longer than 223 or 243 brass does. I don't load super hot, ~3600fps with the 39/40 he bullets
 
The great thing about the Venture Predator 204 is it has a faster 1:10 twist so you can shoot the heavier 40 and 45 grain bullets without stabilization issues. I've heard the 45 works well on coyotes but others have said the lighter bullets are fine. So far I have only tried Hornady 32 grain and reloaded 40 grain Nosler bullets. Both shot good but no idea how they will work on coyotes.
 
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