Need Help .204 Ruger Upper Advice

Fireball221

Fireball221

Active member
Ok, here is the skinny. I would like to buy a .204 upper, spoke to Remington, NOPE won't do it they said, call Bushmaster still no word back from them, DPMS makes them but 24 inches for a .204, NO THANKS. Spoke with RRA and they won't make a .204 upper.

So here is my dilema, I would like a complete .204 upper in a shorter barrel 18 to 22 inches or a 24 that is light...Does anyone know of a reasonably priced .204 complete upper builder or have one that they are willing to part with? Thank and I look forward to hearing your advice.
 
Fireball221, Just a piece of advice,,, keep your barrel length at 22" to take advantage of the accuracy due to the velocity of the .204... Certainly, it will shoot with a shorter barrel, but you will find that the accuracy out past 250 yards will suffer..

You can talk to a couple of the sponsors that we have here on the forum and any of them will make you a lightweight upper... one thing to consider with the lightweight form is the stability for long range shooting will be less than with a standard weight rifle..If you are planning to use it exclusively as a carry rifle, then that is a different matter.

I've been shooting .204s since about 2005 and have had a .204 AR since before DPMS came out with theirs... My builder gave me basically the same advice that I'm giving you and I've never had reason to regret taking it..
 
Length of the barrel and how accurate you gun are not related, even at longer ranges. An 22" barrel is not going to be more accurate than an 18" barrel at 300 or 400 yards just because it is longer. It will have more speed, but that doesn't relate to accuracy.
 
Hey I have your same problem. A .75 contour (entire barrel)should do well, and mine will be 23" with a 1:10.

Either Hart or Lilja will do it, but the $$$ is steep($400ish). Lemmi kow what you find, I am a few weeks out from putting the money down. Barrel only is $400ish.
 
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Recko555, you are correct about barrel length and accuracy, to a point. However I believe what OldTurtle is talking about is the ability to get hits in field conditions with a rifle. Faster bullets drop less then slower bullets. If you take the velocity away from the 204, you take away its main advantage over the 223. Slower bullets are effected by the wind more and drop more, both make it harder to make hits at range. So velocity directly affects accuracy in the field.
 
Reckko555, Not to start an argument, but it's a demonstrated fact that in long range shooting, the bullet becomes more unstable when it slows down and passes through the sound barrier...and it's at that point where any breeze and gravity has more effect on the point of impact..so barrel length and accuracy, at longer ranges, are co-existent...if the velocity is present to begin with..

One of the attractive issues of the .204 is it's laser like trajectory when compared to some other calibers at longer distances..as well as the reduced recoil that let you see most impacts through a scope..
 
i've got a .204 upper from white oak armament. these guys make some of the best target guns out there and they've started making some varmint uppers mine shoots .25" with factory ammo on the good days. they used to have a few on hand that they keep in stock but who knows these days.

the added length going from 20" to 22" will add a relatively small increase in velocity and while i agree with old turtle on the inconsistancy of a bullet that is not traveling the speed of sound the 20" will keep that velocity well beyond 300 yds. pull up a trajectory program and punch some #s to see an estimated distance that it would have the above mentioned effect.

John at white oak talked me out of a 22" barrel for this reason. i'd be very interested in hearing what Mike at D-tech or some of the other custom builders have to say on the subject.

honestly 2" either way probably won't make too much difference
 
Thanks guys, I really appreciate the comments and help...You all always come thru for our members...I'll let you all know what I come up with...
 
Give John at WOA a call or e-mail him. They make some very nice and good shooting rifles. I have a 20 ordered from them and hoping it will show up in the next couple of weeks. Everyone that I talked to said that they are scarry acurate.
 
Originally Posted By: deaddogwalkinGive John at WOA a call or e-mail him. They make some very nice and good shooting rifles. I have a 20 ordered from them and hoping it will show up in the next couple of weeks. Everyone that I talked to said that they are scarry acurate.

how long did you have to wait?
 
The 20prac. Was ordered back in march. Talked with them on monday. It should go out the end of next week beginning of the next. I was told when I ordered it it would be 10-14 weeks. I don't know if that is on all their guns or not. If it shows up next week it will be 10 weeks.
 
Originally Posted By: OldTurtleReckko555, Not to start an argument, but it's a demonstrated fact that in long range shooting, the bullet becomes more unstable when it slows down and passes through the sound barrier...and it's at that point where any breeze and gravity has more effect on the point of impact..so barrel length and accuracy, at longer ranges, are co-existent...if the velocity is present to begin with..


Yes, I agree. But the key point you said was long range hunting. No one does long range hunting with a .204. A .204 bullets goes below the speeds of sound around 750 yards (with a starting velocity of 3720 fps with 39 grain bullet). I don't see people putting coyotes down consistently at that range. The speed difference between barrel length isn't going to be enough of a difference to be a factor here.

Side note.........18" barrel at 1000 yards.

 
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Here's my short barreled .204. I put it together this morning. It's not light, but it's what I wanted for calling and hunting over bait. I just bought a 24" Shilen barrel from midway and had it cut and recrowned. I had it cut right after the writing that says "240 Ruger", and it's 18 7/8" long. I had a recessed crown and then had it bead blasted. I'm going to make another post with specs, but here's a pic :
29285_125954554084388_100000095310198_314705_6353782_n.jpg
 
Cabelas had a Bushmaster Predator .204 in their sale flyer about a month or so ago for $999.99 on sale. This is a cabelas exclusive only. I called the Sidney, NE store and they had several in stock at the time. Call them and see what they say. I think the regular after sale price was $1149.99. Thanks, Brad
 
Are you still looking for a 204 18 inch upper. I can sell you one. I bought a brand new bushmaster 204 18 inch rifle. I am using the lower with another 450 BM upper. The 204 upper is new and never been fired
 


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