Moving on from .17 Rem

[Aussie1]

G'day Blokes and Lasses.
For the past 40 odd years I have employed a Tikka M55 in .17Rem cal. to handle my varmint shooting. It has been re-barreled 4 times and the last barrel was beginning to show signs that it was past its most accurate life. Also I found I could no longer buy new brass for it and the cases I had were showing serious signs of end of life. I thought I could resize the .204Ruger brass but that was out of the question, so the decision to have the old rifle re-barrelled again but to a more modern calibre was made.
The .204Ruger was the obvious choice because of the head diameter. In due course it was collected from the gunsmith and put into service. What an eye opener it has turned out to be. Accuracy as good as the .17Rem and incredible stopping power for such a small cartridge. Reloading it with Pro Varmint at 29 grains with the 24" barrel it is pushing the little Hornady 32 grain V-max pill to just on 4,000fps average. (tried the factory Hornady loads and they averaged 4,095fps) chrono was a barrel mounted magnetic chromo. Groups were astounding with 5 shot groups consistently under 0.3". Plus the wind does not have as much effect as it did on the .17Rem.
I shoot wild dogs with it and so far not one has taken a single step after the projectile strikes. Obviously the hydraulic shock from these wicked little things is instantly fatal. My shots are always taken at the head or if side on the heart/lung area.
On many occasions wild boar will come to the animal carcasses I have laid for the wild dogs, they are a nuisance because they keep the wild dogs from coming in, so I have used the .204Ruger on them as well and the killing effect is amazing on such large heavily armoured animals. Admittedly the range has been from 100 to 200 yards but again the boars just drop on the spot.
Have any of the forum members been using the .204 Ruger? If so I would love to hear what you reload as I have not tried any other loads than the one listed and the factory loading from Hornady.
I have heard that the 1:12 twist that I have is not good for the 40 grain pills, is that right?
Oh and BTW Merry Christmas coming up hope you all have a great one. Ours looks like being a pretty hot time.

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[Geardo]

Pics!

 

[Aussie1]

Pics!

How do I do that? 72 year old and not computer savvy

 

[nehalemguy]

 

[nehalemguy]

How do I do that? 72 year old and not computer savvy

When you post look for the upload tab next to "post reply". I want to see these wild dogs you speak of.

.204 didn't really seem to take off too well over here. I don't personally know anyone who shoots it. Anyone?

I personally shoot a .243 Win with 55 grain NBTs moving along g at 3850 fps for canines here.





E

 

[Aussie1]

When you post look for the upload tab next to "post reply". I want to see these wild dogs you speak of.

E

Ok I see that. I'll give it a go.

Ok I have tried to put some pics in. Don't know if I have done it right.
Have some of the boars as well but my old laptop has died and most pics on it.

 

[Aussie1]

When you post look for the upload tab next to "post reply". I want to see these wild dogs you speak of.

.204 didn't really seem to take off too well over here. I don't personally know anyone who shoots it. Anyone?

I personally shoot a .243 Win with 55 grain NBTs moving along g at 3850 fps for canines here.

View attachment 524060 View attachment 524061 View attachment 524063 View attachment 524064 View attachment 524067

E

Pretty much what the wild dogs do to the livestock over here. They can cause real problems in sheep areas often killing 50 or 60 sheep in a night with just a few nibbles on some. Seems like they just kill for the fun of it. Is that picture of what is a coyote? I think the wild dogs over here get a bit bigger.
They will attack and kill humans, a woman was lucky to survive an attack near where I hunt. We get bounty on the scalps of these dogs, from $50 to $200 depending on the damage they are doing in the area.
I was using a 6.5x55se alongside my .17Rem, but to be honest the .204 Ruger is so accurate and deadly I do not need the extra power. Bearing in mind of course that the critical factor is always putting the projectile in the right spot to begin with.

 

[nehalemguy]

Growing up we always had more problems with domestic dogs that we did with coyotes or feral dogs. In 1979 we lost 37 lambs in a single season to domestic dogs. Finally after shooting dog number six did we get one with a collar that had I.D. tags on it. That owner got a large bill.

E

 

[Aussie1]

Growing up we always had more problems with domestic dogs that we did with coyotes or feral dogs. In 1979 we lost 37 lambs in a single season to domestic dogs. Finally after shooting dog number six did we get one with a collar that had I.D. tags on it. That owner got a large bill.

E

Well done. People have to learn to be responsible for their animal friends and not let them be a pest.
I have had to shoot several dogs that had gone feral, often the blokes using cross breed dogs for hunting wild boar lose a dog which then goes feral and they can do serious damage to livestock. I try to catch them if possible but most times they are too far gone feral to come near, so they end up losing their scalp as well.

 

[nehalemguy]

Coyotes over here average 9-11 kg with a really big one going 19-20 kg.

I never enjoyed shooting someones family pet, but I also never enjoyed seeing my hard work torn apart in a killing a spree either.

E

 

[DirectDrive]

G'day Blokes and Lasses.
For the past 40 odd years I have employed a Tikka M55 in .17Rem cal. to handle my varmint shooting. It has been re-barreled 4 times and the last barrel was beginning to show signs that it was past its most accurate life. Also I found I could no longer buy new brass for it and the cases I had were showing serious signs of end of life. I thought I could resize the .204Ruger brass but that was out of the question, so the decision to have the old rifle re-barrelled again but to a more modern calibre was made.
The .204Ruger was the obvious choice because of the head diameter. In due course it was collected from the gunsmith and put into service. What an eye opener it has turned out to be. Accuracy as good as the .17Rem and incredible stopping power for such a small cartridge. Reloading it with Pro Varmint at 29 grains with the 24" barrel it is pushing the little Hornady 32 grain V-max pill to just on 4,000fps average. (tried the factory Hornady loads and they averaged 4,095fps) chrono was a barrel mounted magnetic chromo. Groups were astounding with 5 shot groups consistently under 0.3". Plus the wind does not have as much effect as it did on the .17Rem.
I shoot wild dogs with it and so far not one has taken a single step after the projectile strikes. Obviously the hydraulic shock from these wicked little things is instantly fatal. My shots are always taken at the head or if side on the heart/lung area.
On many occasions wild boar will come to the animal carcasses I have laid for the wild dogs, they are a nuisance because they keep the wild dogs from coming in, so I have used the .204Ruger on them as well and the killing effect is amazing on such large heavily armoured animals. Admittedly the range has been from 100 to 200 yards but again the boars just drop on the spot.
Have any of the forum members been using the .204 Ruger? If so I would love to hear what you reload as I have not tried any other loads than the one listed and the factory loading from Hornady.
I have heard that the 1:12 twist that I have is not good for the 40 grain pills, is that right?
Oh and BTW Merry Christmas coming up hope you all have a great one. Ours looks like being a pretty hot time.

Great write up.
Welcome to NWFA.
The 204 Ruger is a fine cartridge.

 

[41mag]

Great thread, thanks for news on .204

 

[Aussie1]

Coyotes over here average 9-11 kg with a really big one going 19-20 kg.

E

Ok. Yes they are a bit smaller. Average weight for a mature dingo (wild dog) is around 20-23kg, but as with humans you do find "super-sized" ones that hit the 25 -28kg mark for the males, females usually smaller of course.

The wild boar is also a major problem here. Last trip I weighed one that tipped the scales at 248kg. I was surprised that the .204 Ruger was so lethal considering the mud they coat themselves with plus the thick armour plate over the shoulder. Head shots no problem but didn't think the shoulder shot would drop them like it does.

 

[Aussie1]

Great thread, thanks for news on .204

I really want to hear more about what use the .204 is finding in other places like the US etc. I know it has really hit a high note in the UK where they are posting some remarkable youtubes of long range varmint hunting. I tried to upload some video on the forum but it does not work.

 

[nehalemguy]

Fyi....for my metric challenged friends....that's approximately 550 lbs.

E

 

[Aussie1]

Great write up.
Welcome to NWFA.
The 204 Ruger is a fine cartridge.

Thanks mate. Do you use one for hunting?

 

[nehalemguy]

@ Aussie1....What line of work are you in?

Also, just so you know...we have this view over here that pretty much all wildlife in Australia is deadly.





E

 

[titsonritz]

Coyotes over here average 9-11 kg with a really big one going 19-20 kg.

I never enjoyed shooting someones family pet, but I also never enjoyed seeing my hard work torn apart in a killing a spree either.

E

Keep your damn dog away from the livestock or expect it to one day catch a bullet. Petty simple concept if you ask me.

 

[DirectDrive]

Thanks mate. Do you use one for hunting?

No, I've never had a .20
When I was varmint hunting it was .222 and 6mm

 

[Aussie1]

Fyi....for my metric challenged friends....that's approximately 550 lbs.

E

The rotten thing was on the edge of a steep washed out creek bank and "Murphy's Law" was right there, it rolled down into the creek and I had to hook the winch on my truck to it to drag it back to the top. Then when I tried to hoist it up to weigh it the tree branch broke and dang near came down on top of me. Talk about a comedy of errors. Finally got the big bugger up off the ground and then in my excitement forgot to take a pic standing beside it. So only have one of it that I took in the bottom of the creek bed. Thank goodness it was dry at the time.

Bullet placed just behind leg and he just rolled over dead. Range was only 140 yards. I had a look inside his chest later and the damage was incredible, the heart and lungs were literally minced, so not surprising he did not move other than to drop dead and roll down the bank. Such devastation from such a tiny projectile, but too much for foxes as it does not stay inside like the .17Rem. did.