204.

sniperman

hi folks,anyone know of dealers stocking new 204 rifles? i believe they are growing in popularity due to the flat trajectory,mate of mine is considering one over a 223,any recommendations?thanks all

LIFFY FISHING

sniperman wrote: »

hi folks,anyone know of dealers stocking new 204 rifles? i believe they are growing in popularity due to the flat trajectory,mate of mine is considering one over a 223,any recommendations?thanks all

Domnic Byrne.

yubabill1

Hornady have a new 35gr 223 round supposed to give 4000fps.

That's 204 territory.

Haven't seen it here yet, US ammo shortage, probably.

Stonehall9

I have a ruger m77 in .204, extremely flat shooting and reliable out to 250 and beyond , serious fox gun but the price of ammo is getting very expensive.

RossiFan08

yubabill1 wrote: »

Hornady have a new 35gr 223 round supposed to give 4000fps.

That's 204 territory.

Haven't seen it here yet, US ammo shortage, probably.

The 40 gr 223 round (which you can get in ireland) is fairly on par with the 35 gr regarding trajectory and velocity.

40 gr
Trajectory (inches)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
-1.50 0.90 0.00 -5.50 -17.60 -39.10

Test Barrel (24") Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
3800/1282 3249/937 2762/677 2324/479 1928/330 1578/221

35 gr
Trajectory (inches)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
-1.50 0.80 0.00 -5.30 -17.30 -39.60

Test Barrel (24") Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
4000/1243 3354/874 2795/607 2299/411 1858/268 1479/170

The only issue is that the twist rate needs to be low to stabilize the lighter bullets. I am up for be corrected but a 1 in 12 twist would be needed for these lighter rounds

sniperman

not many on here using 204 then?

Cass

RossiFan08 wrote: »

The 40 gr 223 round (which you can get in ireland) is fairly on par with the 35 gr regarding trajectory and velocity.

My mate was on the range some months ago with his new Remmy in 223. He had some 40gr V-Max to try and zeroed it at 100 yards. He then moved to 200 yards to see what the drop was. First shot at the 200 yard target was dead centre of bull. I have a picture but cannot upload.

There was no drop from 100 to 200 yards. Nice going with a 223.

RossiFan08

sniperman wrote: »

not many on here using 204 then?

I was considering buying a 204 6 months ago but went with a 223 instead. Mainly due to the availability and price of rounds for the the 223. On top of this, with hornady's new 40 gr round the advantage of the 204 is no longer that great. See Cass post above.

270WIN

sniperman wrote: »

not many on here using 204 then?

i had two 204's, none of em would shoot the 40 grain . they would shoot 32 grain fine and were very accurate with 39 grain federal.then the federal stopped the 39 grain and i reckon that finished the 204. there is a very poor range of ammo for the 204 and a lot of dealers dont have any. i switched to a 223 cz 1 in 9 twist and it shoots a half inch group with 40 grain hornady. it shoots all ammo within an inch. imo go for a 223 but there is a lovely cz american 204 in knocknagoshel shooting range for around a grand.

lakesider

My mate was on the range some months ago with his new Remmy in 223. He had some 40gr V-Max to try and zeroed it at 100 yards. He then moved to 200 yards to see what the drop was. First shot at the 200 yard target was dead centre of bull. I have a picture but cannot upload.

There was no drop from 100 to 200 yards. Nice going with a 223

What!..did gravity get switched off?..thats aginst the laws of physics:eek:

Cass

Must make the gun worth more so.

lakesider

Cass wrote: »

Must make the gun worth more so.

maybe so, youll be telling us it can shoot round corners next!:pac:

Cass

Well it's his gun so i didn't want to brag, but now that you mention it.......................

gearoidol

I believe the 204 is one of the best sub 350 yard varminting calibre out there.I owned one ,traded it for a 223 and missed it everytime I took the 223 out of the cabinet .I have rectified this now and got a full custom built last year.Similar ultra flat tracjectory to the 220 swift but with hmr recoil and 3-4 times the barrel life.







5 shot group with 40 grain at 100 yards

sniperman

lovely set up there gearoidol,would love to try out one.

gearoidol

sniperman wrote: »

lovely set up there gearoidol,would love to try out one.

if you are looking for a serious factory 204 a good tikka or sako would be hard beaten but will have like most other factory rifles a 1:12 twist so will be more suited to the 32 grainers and may not like the 40s at all .

My advise would be to find a nice second hand 223 and rebarrel with a 1:10 204 barrel ,probably be looking at around €1500 total including the doner and you would have a sub .25 moa rifle that would be vey hard to beat

lefthooker

I've had two .204's, one factory one custom. Both 1 in 12. Both were exceptionally accurate with 32 39 and 40gr ammo. The custom barrel shot the 45gr pretty well too. So it's potluck whether a factory 12 twist will shoot the 40s.

There's too much made about ammo, price or availability. I could lay my hands on as much as I wanted. I only ever shot hornady, federal was too difficult to come by but I've started to notice fiocchi and sellior & bellot on the shelves now too. Prices were on par with premium .223 ammo and cheaper in some instances. It's a common enough cartridge, if your RFD says he can't get any he's being lazy.

If I ever get the longing for another 204 it'll be a custom job on a donor rifle. It'll be something a bit different tho.

LIFFY FISHING

I am shooting 55g Vmax .223 at the minute & all's good but I have a hankering in rebarreling my Remmy 700 vsf for a 204 custom barrel, it will unload a heap of weight for dragging around at night, everytime I make my mind up I change it again

g00167015

gearoidol wrote: »

if you are looking for a serious factory 204 a good tikka or sako would be hard beaten but will have like most other factory rifles a 1:12 twist so will be more suited to the 32 grainers and may not like the 40s at all .

My advise would be to find a nice second hand 223 and rebarrel with a 1:10 204 barrel ,probably be looking at around €1500 total including the doner and you would have a sub .25 moa rifle that would be vey hard to beat

Have you tried the 39grain sierra blitzkings, which are used in the federal brand cartridges? Higher bc (0.287 versus 0.274) than the vmax and seem to be easier to get away with in slower twists. Federal cartridge model p204a

SBKs are the dog's doodoo of vermin/varmint projectile. In 40 years time when we are finally allowed to reload more of us will be able to find out :-) Lovely rifle pics btw :-) The 10 inch twist is probably a better allround for the 32 and the 40 grain together.

amadablam

RossiFan08 wrote: »

The 40 gr 223 round (which you can get in ireland) is fairly on par with the 35 gr regarding trajectory and velocity.

40 gr
Trajectory (inches)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
-1.50 0.90 0.00 -5.50 -17.60 -39.10

Test Barrel (24") Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
3800/1282 3249/937 2762/677 2324/479 1928/330 1578/221

35 gr
Trajectory (inches)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
-1.50 0.80 0.00 -5.30 -17.30 -39.60

Test Barrel (24") Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
4000/1243 3354/874 2795/607 2299/411 1858/268 1479/170

The only issue is that the twist rate needs to be low to stabilize the lighter bullets. I am up for be corrected but a 1 in 12 twist would be needed for these lighter rounds

Probably superfluous to the topic at this stage but I have shot the 40gr vmax accurately out of my 1:8 twist 24inch barrel 223. I've been fine up to the 75gr bthp rounds too. Also know a guy with a 1:8 twist sako that is shooting the 40gr accurately also. Best solution, try them and see.

Only lost accuracy with the Superformance ammo out of my rifle.