Tell me about your .204 uppers!

J

JJTAlwaysWishing

New member
Eventually I would like to get a complete .204 upper and haven't seen a crazy amount of them out there.

Of the ones I have seen I really like the Wilson Combat, honestly though unless somebody has had a bad experience with them most people enjoy Wilson. Also I really enjoy the White Oak Armament 20" complete upper, it's sexy
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lol. Oh by the way the Wilson is a 18" 1-12 twist and not sure about twist for the White Oak.

I honestly would feel slightly weird owning the White Oak upper, just because we have a chain of gas stations in my area named White Oak haha.

What are you running and what do you like and dislike? Any suggestions as to something I could look at? Budget anywhere from $1,000 to $1,500 but would like to keep it close to $1k.
 
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Ritch built mine with a BHW barrel that shoots great. 24". I wouldn't even look at a 204 under 20" and 22" would be my minimum. I like speed and those little 20's like all they can get. Lots of guys feel otherwise but that's there choice. As long as we get the performance we want that will do it for any of us. I happen to want the extra whack on a PD.

Personally I blieve a 20 Practical is a smarter way to go IMHO for several reasons and they all involve $$'s and flexibility.

Greg
 
Originally Posted By: JJTAlwaysWishingOh I should've said this, I want it for predator hunting, I want something lightweight and I just like the idea of the .204 for some reason.

Load that puppy up with a 32 Sierra or a 35 Berger pushed out of a 20" tube and you will have a coyote whacker. No problem at all. Different game, different tools.

I love 20's no matter what the head stamp says. There are faster ones then the 20 Cal Trio but they are not near as easy to make. For a factory round the 204 is hard to beat IMHO.

I recommend the 1:10 for a bit more flexibility BTW.

Greg
 
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Originally Posted By: JJTAlwaysWishingOoo me too, I like 20 cals also. I'm also a 22 cal also though. Not a big .17 guy though, seems like everyone wants one and I'm just not with it.

I have a 17-223 and a 17 Rem. in an AR. They are nice little guns but for me they are a bit limited in bullet choice. The only complaint or concern I have is that they can be temperamental in charge weight variation.

I shoot almost zero factory ammunition and had some trouble finding some 17 Remington brass but after much searching I did get some. Pricey stuff but it won't ever be as high a round count as the 17-223 I have. The funny thing is I am going to have Ritch do another 17-223 for me in the next three weeks if the parts show up. I have an extra barrel that is engraved that I want to show off that I got several years ago done as a favor.

Greg
 
Originally Posted By: JJTAlwaysWishingOh I should've said this, I want it for predator hunting, I want something lightweight and I just like the idea of the .204 for some reason.

I put together a couple uppers using 18" BHW 20 practical barrels. The first was a 22" that I cut down to 18" last year and it worked great. 200 yards is a very long shot for me and most of my animals are taken under 100, so I don't need the extra velocity.

I had a 204 ruger AR15 with a 22" Douglas barrel. It worked fine, but I wanted something lighter, and using 223 Brass is more practical.

I will say I had to use a small base sizing dies for my newest BHW barrel. The fired brass from the first barrel is too large to chamber in the newer one.
 
I have built a couple using the 18" Wilson Combat barrel and they have all shot very well. I just sold one I had so I could build one with a threaded barrel the guy that bought it is very happy with it I don't think you can go wrong with the Wilson Combat barrel. I am having McGowen build me one now so I could get it fluted threaded and contoured the way I wanted it and is an 18 inch also. I like the shorter AR's my self for the maneuverability and they are not noise heavy like the longer one's but that's me.
 
I had one custom built back around 2005-6 by a builder in CA, shortly after the .204s hit the market and fell in love with the round...It generally sits in the safe since health took me off the shooting effort several years ago and now we have moved to FL and public land is restricted to shotguns and rim fires..

Mine has a Douglas 22" XX Match Grade barrel with a 1/12 twist that is free floated..It's scary accurate with the right loads..While it's not any of the fancy "TactiCool" features, I've always figured the prey didn't really care what it looked like..I had the builder use an EOP (Elevated Opitcal Platform) upper receiver that raises the mounting rail 1/2" to allow the use of standard scope rings..


 
I forgot to mention that your other choice the White Oak Armament barrel should suit you well also I have used there barrel's for all the 6.8 spc I have built and some 223 and am very happy with their work and would highly recommend them but they don't offer a shorter barrel in the 204. So if you go with the longer barrel than they would be a great pick. Good luck with the decision.
 
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Black Hole Weaponry 22" National Match Profile barrel, Troy Alpha 15" float tube, Lo Pro JP Adjustable GB, Bushnell Elite 6500 2.5-16x50mm Mil-Dot. Separated Upper is an 18" 6.8spc, not pictured is a matching 20" 5.56 upper. Only thing I wish I would have done differently was to have this tube threaded like my other 2 like it so I can use a can to quite down the ear-splitting 204Ruger.
 
i have a 24" DMPS LR204 upper. other than being a bit nose heavy when shooting offhand because of the length and the bull barrel, its a great shooter. i wouldnt say its imbalanced as such, but you can definatly feel that weight out there compared to my other heavy profile uppers (16 and 20" respectively).

its a tack driver with handloads. under a half inch @ 100 yds and shoots ~3/4 MOA @ 200 yds with factory 32 vmax.
 
When building my .204 upper, I wanted the same thing-a calling rifle, NOT a benchrest gun. The ONLY barrel manufacturer who would produce my 20" .204 barrel in a custom (thinner) profile, was Hart. That's who made my barrel, and it shoots very well. Others I contacted simply would not do it, and one said 6 barrels was the minimum for a custom profile.
 
You may be overlooking Predator Technology Group. A sponsor here at PM.
I had them build a 204 upper for me with an 18" barrel, and they were fast getting it done. I want light to carry, and it shoots dime sized groups. If I sacrifice a 100+ fps, a coyote will never live to say thank you.
My rifle is light and accurate. I knocked over 4 PD's yesterday at about 125 yds.
Jason @ 602-317-8510
 
Ironic you mention that, just looked through their site. These ideas are not really the near future type things. My funds arnt ready for a $1,000 purchase, I really want lightweight. I really would love the .204 suppressed but the more I read it seems very rough on any suppressor on the market and they arnt cheap. I will probably end up just getting another 5.56 and suppressing it and going from there. But for now the two I am most interested in is Ritch, and PTG.
 
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