204 in decline??

[BenBhoy 4,706]

On 14/04/2022 at 18:30, Dervburner said:

I’ve been thinking about a .204 myself for a while now

I'd be very happy to welcome you to my place so you can try mine mate. Anytime, you're always welcome. 

[Stavross 15,301]

3 hours ago, BenBhoy said:

I'd be very happy to welcome you to my place so you can try mine mate. Anytime, you're always welcome. 

Where’s my invite to come and waste all your ammo  

[David.evans 5,323]

I would not want a invite stave to shoot a 204 , better just find your nearest fair ground , that should start it off

[BenBhoy 4,706]

1 hour ago, Stavross said:

Where’s my invite to come and waste all your ammo  

You be careful what you wish for...! 

[Alsone 789]

On 15/04/2022 at 13:26, ianm said:

I don't care whether you agree or not, or anyone else for that matter. 

I would agree on the .204. Terminal effect is sublime. I can see Deker's point from a professional pest controllers position. However, not everyone shoots foxes in gardens from 10 yds.

If we're comparing apples to apples and talking typical CF usage of 120-350yds, then it's hard to see .204 getting beaten for stopping power because it just dumps the energy so efficiently.

Fact is you can shoot anything with anything. There are people killing wild boar in the US with .22RF! It all comes down to range and usage and also some sense of humanity in the latter. For typical CF ranges, .204 is the best choice closely followed by .22-250 in my opinion. If you want quieter or other parameters to be different, then of course there are other choices available. Horses for courses. But I'd still say the .204 is the winning horse at typical distances.

[ianm 2,594]

I spoke recently with a friend who has a mate in the gun trade. He told him that it wasn’t a case of gmk not importing any tikka or sako 204s but a case of not being able to get any. Apparently a while ago in the land of the brave and free everything was 6.5 creedmore and now it is 204 that is the in thing. As we all know whatever America wants America gets, hence the shortage here.

[Alsone 789]

That's good to know. At least it's increasing in popularity not waining.

I wasn't a fan of .204 at 1st due to the splashing but once the ammos was sorted out, it's a thing of the past now and .204 is a sublime calibre. If I had an FAC and a need for a fox rifle, it would be my number 1 choice without doubt. 

As for the ladn of the free, expect to see a rush for 2.77 Sig Fury any day now that may alleviate the pressure on other calibres. It's the civilian version of the Sig 6.8 - the new US army calibre and with improvements over 5.56 and 6.5, plus with the traditional gravitation towards military claibres, I expect the rush anytime soon. The only reason we probably haven't seen a rush so far is ammo cost. Whilst the lower pressure solid target ammo is reasonable. The higher pressure hybrid hunting ammo is astronmical in price - think it's about £80 per 20 currently.

Bit academic for the UK as I dare say plod will never pass it for fox anyway. So unless you have deer on your cert, then I imagine few will be shopping for the .277 anytime soon.