22 and 6mm 204 Ruger

Awesome! What dies are you using?

Im a big fan of small sixes in contender or encore handguns.....in general really, but haven’t had a rifle in one. 6br, 6x45, 6x47, 6tcu....., love em.
6mm/204 .....i might like to try. Wondering how it might do with an 8” twist????? I normally favor 10” rate.
 
The 6mm works well in a 10 twist but I've never shot anything over 70gr mostly 58gr V-max and 55gr NBT Lead Frees. I've been shooting the 22-204 since 2006 and the 6mm-204 since 2007 and the 25-204 since 2005. My 22-204 is a 9 twist but my goto bullet is the 40gr NBT for pelt hunting.

I use a Redding Type S FL bushing die for the 204 Ruger and swap out the stem and expander ball for one out of a 223 die and just have to put on the appropriate bushing and expander ball. With the right guts I can load 204 , 22-204, 6mm-204 and 25-205. I did have to open the top of the die to allow the 66mm and 25 cal. necks through to the bushing.

These are just about the simplest wildcat to work with, just run the 204 brass through the die trim and load. No fancy case forming and no fireforming. The 204 Ruger case is an improved version of the 222 Rem Mag.

Another nice thing about these is the 22-204 will re-chamber a 223 and 222 Rem mag without having to set the barrel back. The 6mm-204 will do the same to a 6x47 Remington(old benchrest cartridge 222 Rem Mag opened to 6mm).

22-204 at work ( I was experimenting with 50gr NBT lead Frees)

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I defer to AWS in his advise on dies.

From my load development on the 22-204, this is a hands down winner. Nipping at the heels of a 22/250 with 10-14g less powder.

This equates to 2x the barrel life.

I have two barrels ready to chamber, a 9T, and a 14T. Will be interesting to see what some of the heavies will do, 60g tmk and 60g v max, 69g tmk are on my list of things to do.

First reamer was undersize in the web, ended up being a roughing reamer only use, screw up from the reamer maker. JGS is grinding a new reamer set up with the 55g Nosler as a base line, reamer print is 22-204 KC, and JGS is a very, very fine company to deal with.

Thanks AWS for all the encouragement in this very good project.
 
AWS, I am going to do the 22-204. Like you, I am going to get the Redding FL bushing die and just put 223 guts in it. Going to use Winchester brass...what bushings size/sizes are you using to get proper neck tension? I have loaded a couple of rounds to get some measurements and am getting .2475 neck diameter with seated bullet. I am thinking a .245 and/or .246 bushing.

Thanks
 
I use mostly Win and Hornady brass. The .246 sounds right, I have to go out in the shop and tear apart the die to be sure though. I size the neck just enough for the expander ball to graze the neck, my brass lasts a long time. I haven't bought any new brass since my first brass. I do anneal and have sized them up and down if I need some extra to test a bullet. I don't deer hunt any longer so don't need a lot of 25-204, I keep 50 rounds of 100gr Partitions(incase I need some venison), 50 rounds of 85gr NBT (In case I try for an antelope tag) and 50 rounds of 75gr V-max for coyotes in the off season. The rest I've sized back down to 6mm-204.

 
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Originally Posted By: AWSI use mostly Win and Hornady brass. The .246 sounds right, I have to go out in the shop and tear apart the die to be sure though. I size the neck just enough for the expander ball to graze the neck, my brass lasts a long time. I haven't bought any new brass since my first brass. I do anneal and have sized them up and down if I need some extra to test a bullet. I don't deer hunt any longer so don't need a lot of 25-204, I keep 50 rounds of 100gr Partitions(incase I need some venison), 50 rounds of 85gr NBT (In case I try for an antelope tag) and 50 rounds of 75gr V-max for coyotes in the off season. The rest I've sized back down to 6mm-204.


Thanks AWS...
 
So what are the advantages over other wildcats like 224 Valkyrie etc. Is the 204-22 same as 204-223? So many wildcats lately it is hard to keep up with advantages etc.

Rudy
 
So basically what is the difference in a 22-204 and a 222 Mag? The 222 mag is the parent case,yes?, so is it shoulder angle? Maybe its more like a 222 mag improved? I'm confused????
 
I posted this here a few weeks ago but cant find so here goes again, slightly straighter body, shoulder moved forward and changed to 30 degree.

From the left 221, 222, 223, 223AI, 222 Rem Mag, 22-204, 22-204 with 80gr VLD, 22 Dasher, 22x47 Lapua (picture curtesy of alff)

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I'd think a 22-204 would basically be a slightly improved version of a 222 Rem mag. Can't imagine there is much case capacity gained going from a 23 degree shoulder of the 222 Rem mag to the 30 degree of the 204 Ruger but 204 brass is probably much easier to get and it'd be a pretty simple neck up.

I imagine it would be nearly a twin to the 223AI, maybe a teeny tinny bit more capacity with the 22-204. The 223AI would have the advantage of using Lapua brass, but a 22-204 wouldn't require fireforming.
 
The 204 cartridge is longer from the base to the shoulder...look at the pic...from base to shoulder it is longer than the 223 and 222 mag. Also as mentioned, no fireforming.
 
There was an article on the 6mm-204 in one of the Hodgdon Magazine Reloading manual a few years ago, complete with some data. 223AI data is a good place to start with the 22-204, 222 Rem Mag data would be a good starting place also but most of the data is for older powders.

I'm looking forward to Ackleyman's results with the 6mm-204, I found great loads right off the bat for bullets that work for me and I use this for predators so I haven't experimented with it. I like my coyotes under 300 yards so again only three bullets have been used, 55gr NBT, 55gr NBT Lead Free and 58gr V-Max. I was shooting this in a tournament in WA and didn't realize I had gotten snow/ice in the barrel and expanded the muzzle and had to shorten it a couple inches but it still shot well after being circumcised.

Right now I've pulled the 6mm-204 barrel off action to play with a 20 Practical on the action. As the coyotes are smaller and there is a much larger chance for cats and fox down here.. I still have a very accurate 6x45mm for shooting 6mm bullets.
 
From looking at other older cats based on the 222 Rem Mag(6x47 and 6x47 Hall) and 5.6x50 Mag(6x50mm S&H) 3200-3300 fps. with modern powders. I never ran 70's over the chrono in mine.
 


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