Should I Trade In My .223 For A .204Or 20 Tac ?????????

[ianm 2,594]

I have two .204s, both Tikka T3 supervarmint, my night vision rifle is 20" and my day scoped rifle is 24". I have been down the .223 route and although not bad i don't think it was a patch on the .204s.

 

You will hear a lot of bollocks about the calibre, spouted by people who have never owned one and seem to spend their life reading similar bollocks on the internet and then dishing out advice based on flawed information.

 

For vermin up to and including fox i think they are superior to the .223 for the following reasons. They are much faster using 32grn bullets, mine do 4100 fps and 4300 fps respectively and because of that they shoot very flat indeed. This is a big bonus whilst using night vision as range is very difficult to judge under those circumstances. There is very little felt recoil. Because there is no recoil as such you don't lose the sight picture.

 

I have found with both of mine that very often there is no exit hole, depending where you have hit the target, all the bullets energy has been dispersed inside turning organs into soup. I have also found that they are far less wind affected than .223, possibly because of a better bc and the bullet flight time is a lot less, i don't honestly know why, i just know what i see regularly.

 

Hodgdon powders tend to produce faster velocities than other powders which is what the .204 is all about, The difference between a long and short barrel is only about 200 fps and to be honest when you are in excess of 4000 fps it doesn't really matter.

 

I have shot a great deal of foxes with this calibre and been completely satisfied with it's capabilities. I have never heard of amongst other people i know that use this calibre, nore have i had any so called splash issues. If the phenomenom exists at all, i suspect it will be a hornady bullet problem and not a calibre issue. Nosler varmaggedons are a hollow point 32 grn bullet and are deadly accurate with devastating target damage.

 

At the end of the day the choice is yours, i wouldn't recomend the .204 to someone who doesn't reload as ammo choice is pretty limited, but it's a reloaders dream as it is very easy to load accurately for. All i can say is a .223 will never be in my cabinet again, if i find myself needing a heavier bullet ( and i never have ) i would rather use my .243 with 55 grn bullets.

[GEOFF.223 83]

Good read that tried explaining to some old boys how a smaller lighter faster bullet will be affected by wind less

 

Say a large round that goes about 2600fps

Compared to a small one doing 3900fps will get to the target faster thus not being pushed by wind for a as long as a larger bullet going slower i the air longer more wind drift.

[GEOFF.223 83]

Was on fone today to a gun dealer here in northern Ireland that specialises in mostly rifles and reloading gear and he has convinced me to go for a

t3 super varmint in .204

 

He told me yes no prob he will get a 20tac made up for me for using a rem 700 action for about 1300/1400 pounds

 

As he has a 20 tac he said if he was doi g it againt he would go .204 ruger because of more accessible parts especially brass

and more load data out there

 

So im taking my .223 and my 17hmr to trade in against the tikka t3 super varmint tomorrow

 

He also stocks vortex scope now so will have a play with one of them when up there

 

looked up review of the

viper pst rfp 6-24x50 for £585 its sounds a steal from tge reviews it gets

 

Excited for tomorrow

 

NEW TOYS NEW TOYS NEW TOYS NEW TOYS

[perthshire keeper 1,239]

Im in northern ireland so im limited to only .22 and below sized bullets

 

A 40gr .204 drops 1.5 inches less than a

50gr .22 250 at 400yards

 

Also as i reload i will save money on powder as the 22 250 uses more.

 

The .20 cals seem to be more accurate than other size rounds under 500yards.

 

Yes i understand that your saying there is not a mager difference but

 

Little recoil

Cheaper to reload

very accurate hopefully

why not go all the way with a 20-250

[GEOFF.223 83]

 

 

Im in northern ireland so im limited to only .22 and below sized bullets

 

A 40gr .204 drops 1.5 inches less than a

50gr .22 250 at 400yards

 

Also as i reload i will save money on powder as the 22 250 uses more.

 

The .20 cals seem to be more accurate than other size rounds under 500yards.

 

Yes i understand that your saying there is not a mager difference but

 

Little recoil

Cheaper to reload

very accurate hopefully

why not go all the way with a 20-250

Because i think the .204 is a better round same wind drift as .22 250 but less recoil cheaper to reload and incredibly accurate

 

Any way its to late ordered the tikka super varmint in .204 today

[Alsone 789]

Which .204, Ruger or Tac?

[GEOFF.223 83]

Ruger

[SportingShooter 0]

Had a sneeking feeling you may not settle for not having a new rifle

 

Good luck with it, post some results

[GEOFF.223 83]

Had a sneeking feeling you may not settle for not having a new rifle

 

Good luck with it, post some results

There was a t3 lite in the shop but i really wanted the super varmint.

 

But its not available until August time and then i will still have to apply when i get it with the serial number and the license for a shotgun here in Ireland is taking 4-6 months and center fire takes longer again so I'll get it early next year by the sounds of it.

 

got land signed for and all on the firearms permission sheet with over 500acres pity i didnt now the serial number by the time my license comes back the gun might be here.

 

Awell still the .223 to play with until then.

Edited July 20, 2015 by GEOFF.223

[rob reynolds uk 3]

I shot the .223 for years,but after shooting the .204 i had to have one,so i got one and i still love the way it drops foxs and i get to see the strike everytime,it dont use much powder and the bullets are cheap i use blitzking39gr which is the bullet to use if your going past 200mtrs - at 350mtrs the 39grn bullet gets there faster and hits harder than the 32grn bullet 26.5 grn of reloader 10x. br cci primers.. o.give of 1.938

[GEOFF.223 83]

Alot of guys prefer the 32gr bullet seen a few vids of oys shooting them out to 500yards