Hey all,
I'm looking at getting a new rifle and I have a few questions for you. Right now I'm leaning towards either a 204 Ruger or a .17 Remington for their High speed and long flat tragetorys. What are your opinions on these two cartrigdes and which one would you recomend for long range target shooting and varment hunting. I already have a .223 and a .17 HMR, just wanting something else with a little more get up and go. Thanks......*****

 

.17's (center fire types) tend to be hard on bores and accuracy due to fouling. Very, very sensitive to loads.
The .204 I can't give you an opinion on 'cause I haven't messed with one.
My favorite is a .22-250. Just re tubed mine with a 9' twist and it shoots 80 gr. great. It has the potential of being a good 600 - 800 yd gun. A couple hundred more rounds and I'll be able to give out some info. Right now, I'm pushing the 80 at ~3400.

Shortround out

 

I've got a .17 rem in a 14" TC contender. I shoot 300 and 500 yards with the 25gr bullet. Its more fun at 300, you hit the target more offen. With the lil 4x luepold its hard to see the target at 500. I really like it, and its a great little gun. I've also got a ruger 77 in .22-250, I'll take teh .17 any day over that. It's is just samller(pistol) easier to cary around and take to the range. I shoot the 77 just as far. Its got a Junk tasco scope on it, but it gets the job done. IDK if that helped at all but w/e.

Coop

 

Thanks for the replies. Right now I'm liking the 204 but I need to get some opinions before I decide, the 22-250 would also be an option that I forgot about. I have a Bushnell Elite 4-16 power scope I plan on using on it, so I guess the next question would be what brand of rifle. Browning, Remington, Savage or Ruger.....Thanks *****

 

....hate to throw in another cartridge if your mind is made up on the tiny calibers.....the .25-06 is a great varminting round, will push a 75 gr. HP close to 3800 fps, and you can load larger bullets for antelope / deer size game (know a few who have taken elk with the caliber, but....I'm not supporting that idea at all...)

There's a website where some Montana boys are "testing" the .204 and .17's on prairie dogs and rock chucks; One of the video's is entitled "Maximum Carnage", that should tell you everything....

 

I'm with shortround,

The Remington 700 in .22-250 is a strong performer. I shoot 45-55gr Hornady moly coated rounds through the same hole at 200 yards all day without trying very hard. I can regularly cut cigarettes in half at 300-400-500 yards although it takes some serious adjusting of the Leupold VXIII 4.5x25 to compensate for the drop as I extend my reach.

I have the Kevlar/Aramid Fiberglass stock, full length aluminum bedding block, stainless 26" bbl. variety that is sleeved inside a carbon fiber outer. It disspates heat 8 times faster than the fluted Sendero model. I have a Timmney adjustable trigger set right at 1.5lbs. I can actually shoot a box of 20 rounds as fast as I can manipulate the bolt, with muzzle velocities around 4000fps, immediately grab the barrel and feel very minimal warmth.

I haven't had the pleasure of shooting the Ruger .204, but I've read and heard pretty good things about it. As for the Reminton .17 I just don't know.... sorry.

 

Im going to throw out the suggestion of getting a reloading book or using remington or federals website on ballistics to see what really fits your needs. Are you wanting just flat out speed and flat trajectory at any cost? Wanting light recoil and a light bullet for small game only?
One suggestion that hasn't been tossed out is loading a .30 caliber variety (.30, .30-06, .300 Wby Mag) and load them with a saboted .223 round. www.midwayusa.com has all the equipment and supplies to load these, but again, they aren't factory ammo so you have to put it together yourself.

 

What I'm wanting is something that is a fairly small caliber, is really fast, and has a nice long and flat tragetory 500+ yards. And would be good as a Coyote/Ground Squirrle hunter, because those are our two biggest enemies write now and the .223 just doesn't have enough distance. Recoil isn't much of a concern at all. And I don't have any reloading equipment, so I would like to find a good factory made cartridge. The 22-250 sounds like it might be an option and if anybody has ever shot the .204 I would like some opinions please. Thanks for the help....*****

 

.22-250 all the way. Savage Rifles will supris You with there price and accuracy.
The triggers are suppossed to be more user friendly to adjust now. I adjusted my older 112fv but the liability and keep the barrel pointed in a safe direction increase 100 fold when doing so. The new triggers are supposed to be wonderful
and liability friendly. I can hit woodchucks reliably to 300yards(never tried farther just the confines of where I hunt). I can center punch a dime at 100 yards.(try it its not as easy as it seems)Have to know the ballistic tables to do it but the .22-250 rules

 

I know Savage rifles are good ones. I already have three of them(.223,.17HMR,.22Hornet). My uncle has a Remington model 700 22-250 that I'll try to get out this weekend and shoot to see how I like it. Thanks...*****

 

seems like you already got the lil guys,, why not try one of the wssm's??,, i have one in 243 and love it,, really good long range and a wide range of bullet weights available, i reload andd can get some really good velocities and love it for 'yotes. browning a-bolt varmint with 24 power scope, great for those long distances plus you have the lil bit heavier bullets that stabilize at those longer distances, haven't had much experience with the 204 but the 17 is hard on barrels, and not very good in just a lil bit of wind, drifts quite a bit, i too have a 17 hmr, and its good out to 150,, anything further, the super short comes out
cowboy

 

Federal 25-06 is showing 2130 fps at 500 yrds, but is about 700 fps slower than the 220 at the muzzle.

 

Ok, I think I found what you need.
Its kinda expensive, but its fast, flat, and still carries enough energy to kill a small cadillac.

http://www.barrettrifles.com/rifles/rifles_m9916.htm

400 grains, 3250 fps at the muzzle

 

Can't get the link to work, so what is it? I'm still open to any and all opinions, I'm just trying to make a good choice that I won't be dissapointed with.

 

I'm not a big fan of the teeny tiny calibers. Their ballistic coefficients are way too low. While the muzzle velocities are amazing, they drop off pretty quickly at range and the wind really pushes them around. If you want a short range laser, either caliber is a great choice but past 300 yds.......

My 7mm Mag with a 150 grain bullet starts out at a disadvantage to say a 22-250 but, past 300-400 yds, it has an advantage in both velocity, drop and drift.....and a whole bunch of energy. It does ugly things to groundhogs.

Of course, you wouldn't want to take on a prarie dog town with a 7mm - you'd turn your shoulder into pulp and whipe the barrel clean of rifling.

It's trade-offs like this that convince me that every gun guy needs a good solid arsenal - something for every occasion.