New 204 Ruger and Hornady Vmax bullets

L

LarryA

New member
Has anyone else seen the new Ruger M77 in 204 caliber that shots a Hornady 32g Vmax bullet at 4225 fps. It is also offered in 5 other models. They use a .223 casing.

The lead seems just a bit on the light side. I sure would like to be able to play with it without buying it.LOL

Does anyone think that the lead may be too light for yotes??????
 
i killed acouple with one droped them where they stood and the bullet didn't come out. even know it is a 32 grain bullet it is just like the 17 remington in the fact that when it hits the shock of it is so great. very neat fast round and a lot of fun.
 
I personally believe it is too light and volatile for yotes. Hit a large yote in the shoulder and you will run a good chance of losing him.

They are better left for prairie dogs and such. You can kill pretty much any animal with just about any bullet, but it still does not make it the proper choice.

The Hornady 40gr vmax at over 4000 fps in my 22-250 will vaporize on almost anything it touches. The 32 gr will be worse. Not too mention being hard on barrels.

Good Luck
 
I was using the 33gr V-Max on yotes, then I tried the Berger 36gr hp. I like that better, it seemed to penetrate deeper before coming apart. I shot a couple red fox with the Berger also, I liked that much better than the V-Max. The V-Max were shot at 4200-4325 ftps. The Bergers were shot at 4120 ftps.T.20
 
The on;y thing the same between the .204 Ruger, .223 and the .222 Rem Mag is the size of the case head. .204 brass started as .222 Mag, blown out, with a steeper shoulder and necked down to .20. Yep, I thought that's what you meant.
 
What the Ruger ads say is that the 204 Ruger has the same case head and overall cartridge length as the 223. It is based on the 222 Rem Mag case.
 
YOTEASSASSIN
I have shot big yotes with a 17 rem using the calhoon bullet and it makes mush out of them no matter where they have been hit, if you shoot a 25 or 30 gr. bullet some where in the vicinity
of 4000 ft per sec. there is going to be one heck
of a exploding effect. i have also used the hornady v max and none has run off yet. i have picked them up by the hind foot and shuck them and it sounds like a milk shake so i wouldnt worry about the 204 being able to do the job.
take care and keep your powder dry,, Joe
 
joetuc:

Good comments. After a few folks actually shoot the 204 Ruger, they will see what a great caliber the 20 is. Your comments on the 17 Remington are very valid and the 20 is like a 17 on steroids.

I have a couple of 20 Tacticals (a near ballistic twin of the 204 Ruger) that I shoot 38 and 44 grain hand swaged bullets in, and they are a flat, hard hitting round - and very easy on barrels. The Hornady 40 grain and the Berger 35 and 40 grain bullets will make dynamite out of the 204 Ruger for hand loaders

~25 grains of burnt powder going down a .204 diameter barrel is not near as hard on barrels as 35 grains of most anything shot in a 22-250 is going down a .224 diameter barrel. And the 20's do kill coyotes very effectively. The 33 grain Hornady has killed lots of coyotes since it was introduced several years ago.
 
Again I say the V-Max bullet is a poor choice for coyotes as closer shots will splash and make a crater the size of a orange ,some will die and some will run off and dye ,some will live to be V-Maxed another day .
 
I think the .204 will be a little on the lite side. I have no experiance with it personally, but I belive the cartage would certainly take coyote sized game, if the shots are limited to 100 yards or less. Sure the bullit is fast, but theirs not alot of energy on it when it reaches the target. More than likely the bullit will blow up on impact. Not a good thing. Not to mention windy conditions. A 30 plus grain bullit can drift a couple of feet in a short disatnce, resulting in a miss, or even worse, a bad hit!
Cat Hunter
 
Hmmm... not enough energy, blown around too much by the wind. Seems like I've heard that before! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

The .204 runs right there with the .22-250 for wind drift, and not far enough behind on energy to make any difference. And actually, it really depends on which loads you compare - the .204 loaded with 40's has less drift and more energy downrange than the .22-250 loaded with 50's. It does shoot flatter, and by enough to matter, in my opinion. The .204 kicks the .223's butt in all three categories, at least if were talking regular hunting type loads at hunting type distances and not VLD's or match bullets at long range.

If the 32 Vmax doesn't cut it on coyotes, there are plenty of other bullet choices.

Myself, I really don't care what anyone else wants to shoot. And I'm not getting a .204 Ruger either, for my own reasons. But, let's try and stick with the facts.

- DAA
 
DAA:

Very well put and to the point. Over the years I've played with the whole bunch from 17 Remington to 22-250/220 Swift. No doubt about it - the twenties kick the rest. And I am a great fan of the 17 Remington and the 22-250.

All of my 224's will stay in the safes this summer for PD's and also in the winter for bigger stuff. The Tac 20(a ballistic twin of the 204 Ruger)is superb for all of them. I hand swage my own 38 and 44 grain HP's in .204 diameter and wouldn't be afraid to take any shot I'd take with my 22-250 - or with the factory .204 bullets available.

What folks who have never shot a 20 don't realize is how good they perform with the heavier bullets at long ranges. Once folks start reloading the 204 Ruger with heavier bullets, they won't mind giving up a little velocity over the lighter bullets. - BCB
 
DAA; I certainly respect your knowledge level and appreciate your input.I agree with you on everything except the part about I ain't getting one, cause I am. I can't wait to fondle that thing. I read this stuff and smile at some of these folks. I bet they sometimes wish they had something bigger for Whitetail Deer than them ole 300 Mags. Might need it for a longer range shot. LOL. I guess to each their own opinions, right?
 
A 40gr 20cal bullet at 3900FPS or a 32gr at over 4000FPS should kill any Yote walking on this planet. After doing some reading around the net on the 204ruger wind drift, bullet drop, energy I beleive the round will be superior as far as ##s go to many varmint Cal's out there. I will still be using my old 223 as I have ton of cheap ammo and a rifle thats already paid for. Plus there is many a pile of yote bones laying out in the fields around my place so it's not like the 223 isn't doing it's job for me.To each is own the 204 in a nice rifle should make someone a fine varmint hunting rig.
 
Perhaps I have been misunderstood. I am not degrading the .204 or anyone who has or wants one. I am simply giving my personal opinion on the round. As I said I have no personal experiance with it, and my belief is that it is a little lite in high wind conditions. Speed on a varmit bullit is great, but if you score a bad hit you could lose the animal. I have lost animals in the past because of bullits that are too lite and too heavy. I would have a hard time beliveing that a 32 grain bullit will buck the wind as well as a 55 grain bullit at nearly the same velocity. For those that belive in the .204 and the .17- hey keep using it. If it ain't broke don't fix it. I will stick with granddaddy of all varmit rigs- the 22-250
 
It's hard to get the perfect round for everything for sure. light fast bullets,Heavy bone breaking slower rounds. It is just best to pick what you like and be glad there are so many rounds made today we all have a choice on which we like. The 20 cal rounds are new to the market and seem to fill a void between the 17 cal's and the 224 cal's. Everyone has their own thoughts about every round so this one will prove no different.Nothing wrong with stateing what you think that is what this forum is for.
 
Ya know fellers this is most interesting, Every body has a different bent on what they think is the best varmint gun. well i have one also, if you use and like a certain cal.fifle and it works for you thats great.I started this buisness in 1948 when you could not go buy all the nice things to hunt with that is offered to us taday,
at that time the only real load that was considered a varmit gun was a 22-250 that was before remington broufgt out this load as a factory load,So we used to make our own,Like the
219 zipper and 219 donaldson wasp and there were guys playing with 20 cal,s back then they also
had 17s so this is not new stuff. most of the time we had to swedge our bullets,Id like to end this post with a invitation to new mexico and let me show what the smaller cal.s will do.I think you none beliver's might be surpiised.
Have a nice day, and keep your powder dry,, Joe
 
Hey Joe, was wondering where in N.M. you're at, i'm in Midland TX and hunt near Eunice a bunch. Give me a shout maybe we can get together and kill a few coyotes, i've got a really sweet place about fifteen miles east of Eunice with lots of coyotes. Would also like to shoot a few prarie dogs with my heavy barrel 22-250 this summer. Also please let me know if you hear of any calling contests over in that area, we hunted the last one over in Eunice and did pretty good, but just barely missed a payday.
 
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