Any Thoughts On The .204 Ruger Calibre?

[charlie caller 3,654]

 

Compare .204 32g V-Max (actually most of the .204) and .243 58g V-Max.

 

http://www.hornady.com/assets/files/ballistics/2013-Standard-Ballistics.pdf

 

With regards flat shooting they are VERY similar.

 

As before though, you need to get what you want!

Similar, but the .204 40gr V-MAX pips it by 1.6 inches at 500 yards

 

Not much in it to be fair. I wonder which is the cheaper to reload? This is the debate I'll have with myself when I come to move onto centrefire

 

I think you will find the .243 bucks the wind rather better though, and with a 75- grain bullet even better.

[shropshire dan 467]

Yeah. Decided to go with the .243 now looking at TIkka T3, Howa 1500 and Remington 700

[hunter1 63]

Had one .It never be as good 223 . 223 hits harder and will not be affected by wind .I have a 223. 22.250. 243 . Job done 223 long range rabbits and 22 250. 243 for fox.

[shropshire dan 467]

Had originally wanted a 22-250 but was put off by peoples suggestions of barrel wear

[hunter1 63]

The lads that say they have never had a runner with a 204. 222. 22. 250. 243. Have not shot a lot of FOXES .

[Alsone 789]

Had originally wanted a 22-250 but was put off by peoples suggestions of barrel wear

 

Not likely to be an issue for most people within a normal time scale.

 

You do accelerate the wear with a fast round like 22-250, but I'd expect you to get around 3-4,000 rounds down it before you had any serious wear issues.

 

Considering the average non professional probably shoots on average a couple of foxes a night (allowing for blank nights and single nights as well as the more productive ones), then if you go out foxing once a week, even allowing for a couple of misses, you're probably shooting an average of maybe 5 rounds per night. Allowing for 1 trips per week, year round with no missed trips or holidays, that's maybe 250 rounds or so per year. So you've probably got somewhere approaching 15-20 years usage at that level of outings, and I'm sure there are people around who've got much older 22-250's on original barrels.

 

Even then, if you do wear it, provided you can get the barrels, it's only a new barrel, not a new gun.

 

That said, 22-250 is noisier than a .223.

 

Very little to choose between .22-250 and .223 against fox in my opinion in terms of stopping power.

 

.22-250 has the edge on ballistics but a penalty is noise.

 

.243 is more versatile but all will kill a fox stone dead if the bullet placement is correct.

 

There's a comparison here of .223 vs .22-250 50 gr ammo with dissection and xray of the shot foxes. Very little if any difference!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTQ0eQLt9c0

Edited April 20, 2014 by Alsone

[shropshire dan 467]

Thanks Alsone to be fair looking at that the 223 would be better as their a cheaper round and alot more availability.

 

Thanks

Atb

Dan

[ianm 2,594]

I know of a lad with a 22.250 and he shoots at targets aswell as foxing and averages 1,ooo to 1200 rounds before he needs a rebarrel. The same goes for .243 shooting 55 or 58 grn bullets.

[charlie caller 3,654]

Go for the Howa .243 job done.

[Alsone 789]

I know of a lad with a 22.250 and he shoots at targets aswell as foxing and averages 1,ooo to 1200 rounds before he needs a rebarrel. The same goes for .243 shooting 55 or 58 grn bullets.

 

I'd have thought that's quick from what I've heard as I'd heard 3-4K seems more typical, but that maybe because with target shooting you're getting shot after shot down the barrel one after the other so it's getting hot.

 

I know someone who bought a .22-250 2nd hand and who uses it for deer trips to Scotland and the odd shot on the range (tends to use rim-fire for target because of the cost). She's had it over 2 years now, and the barrels still going strong although she only takes a few deer trips a year. There's no clue as to how many previous shots have been made.

 

However, going back to the original subject of which rifle, my friend had this dilemma when he bought his rifle - .223, .22-250 or .243.

 

He opted for .223 as it was cheaper to fire than .243, quieter than .22-250 (with similar anti-foxing capabilities).

 

Also, not buying .243, meant that if he chose to do deer shooting, he could choose a larger calibre and they couldn't refuse him as he didn't already have a deer legal calibre (.243) on his cert (in the end he got a .30-06 for deer).

 

That said, if you're looking for one all-round rifle, .243 has to be hard to beat if you don't mind the extra £5 per box ammo cost and increased report. If you're just foxing, then most people seem to opt for .223, although .22-250 is an excellent round albeit with some drawbacks (noise / wear) and a slight ballistic advantage compared to .223.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Alsone

[Deker 3,478]

 

Had originally wanted a 22-250 but was put off by peoples suggestions of barrel wear

Not likely to be an issue for most people within a normal time scale.

 

You do accelerate the wear with a fast round like 22-250, but I'd expect you to get around 3-4,000 rounds down it before you had any serious wear issues.

 

Considering the average non professional probably shoots on average a couple of foxes a night (allowing for blank nights and single nights as well as the more productive ones), then if you go out foxing once a week, even allowing for a couple of misses, you're probably shooting an average of maybe 5 rounds per night. Allowing for 1 trips per week, year round with no missed trips or holidays, that's maybe 250 rounds or so per year. So you've probably got somewhere approaching 15-20 years usage at that level of outings, and I'm sure there are people around who've got much older 22-250's on original barrels.

 

Even then, if you do wear it, provided you can get the barrels, it's only a new barrel, not a new gun.

 

That said, 22-250 is noisier than a .223.

 

Very little to choose between .22-250 and .223 against fox in my opinion in terms of stopping power.

 

.22-250 has the edge on ballistics but a penalty is noise.

 

.243 is more versatile but all will kill a fox stone dead if the bullet placement is correct.

 

There's a comparison here of .223 vs .22-250 50 gr ammo with dissection and xray of the shot foxes. Very little if any difference!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTQ0eQLt9c0

 

The op has said....

 

I never shoot or need to shoot fox beyond 200yards..

 

There is little or no point in comparing the terminal ballistic effect on a fox at those distances with .204, .222, .223, .22-250, .243 or anything else you can find to throw in that mix, dead is dead, you don't get a bit dead and very dead, and they all make foxes dead!

 

Not many find it economically viable to re barrel a rifle if you run the normal/average type of field gun, if you are a target shooter or have exceptionally high expectations, or a deep pocket then do what you want, but for many buying a whole new gun is a better/cheaper option than re barrelling their old worn out one!

[Deker 3,478]

 

I know of a lad with a 22.250 and he shoots at targets aswell as foxing and averages 1,ooo to 1200 rounds before he needs a rebarrel. The same goes for .243 shooting 55 or 58 grn bullets.

I'd have thought that's quick from what I've heard as I'd heard 3-4K seems more typical, but that maybe because with target shooting you're getting shot after shot down the barrel one after the other so it's getting hot.

 

I know someone who bought a .22-250 2nd hand and who uses it for deer trips to Scotland and the odd shot on the range (tends to use rim-fire for target because of the cost). She's had it over 2 years now, and the barrels still going strong although she only takes a few deer trips a year. There's no clue as to how many previous shots have been made.

 

However, going back to the original subject of which rifle, my friend had this dilemma when he bought his rifle - .223, .22-250 or .243.

 

He opted for .223 as it was cheaper to fire than .243, quieter than .22-250 (with similar anti-foxing capabilities).

 

Also, not buying .243, meant that if he chose to do deer shooting, he could choose a larger calibre and they couldn't refuse him ( :laugh: Oh please, do behave, of course they can refuse him, as you have pointed out in many threads the police make up the rules as they go along, your favourite being .......they will not issue a centrefire on first grant), as he didn't already have a deer legal calibre (.243) on his cert (in the end he got a .30-06 for deer).

 

That said, if you're looking for one all-round rifle, .243 has to be hard to beat if you don't mind the extra £5 per box ammo cost and increased report. If you're just foxing, then most people seem to opt for .223, although .22-250 is an excellent round albeit with some drawbacks (noise / wear) and a slight ballistic advantage compared to .223.

 

Edited April 21, 2014 by Deker

[shropshire dan 467]

Cheers ian but 1000-1200 rounds to me dosnt seem worth it. How much is a re barrel likely to cost

[Deker 3,478]

Cheers ian but 1000-1200 rounds to me dosnt seem worth it. How much is a re barrel likely to cost

You will struggle to get a new barrel fitted for £500, expect to pay £600+.

 

http://border-barrels.com/border.htm

[ianm 2,594]

 

Cheers ian but 1000-1200 rounds to me dosnt seem worth it. How much is a re barrel likely to cost

You will struggle to get a new barrel fitted for £500, expect to pay £600+.

 

http://border-barrels.com/border.htm

 

 

 

 

Correct.