.204 Ruger pick up, effective range questions

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Armored farmer said:
I like my .204, but all my friends tell me the .17 is just the berries on small game. Flatline from 0 to 125 yds.
I think ill own one someday.
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When I was getting ready to go on my first prairie dog hunt out in South Dakota, I was looking at what rifles to take. One option was to minimize the amount of sight adjustment as I could only verify them by calculation and not actual shooting at the various ranges.

I looked at the 17 Remington since I already had a couple rifles chambered in it. It would be explosive out to a two or three hundred yards but would poop out by 450-500 yards. This was with 25 grain bullets. Berger makes some 30 grain bullets, or used to, but I never found some and have not tried them.

223 Remington was another option, but I found that 204 Ruger was a bit better resistant to the wind with the 40 grain class bullets and a bit flatter out to 600-650 yards than the 223 Remington. While 223 Remington is accurate with heavy bullets are very accurate but one needs to have figured out the necessary sight settings to account for the trajectory.

So, one needs to choose their rifle for the ranges they plan to use them at. A 17 caliber rifle would be quite explosive at short ranges.
 
TheClasonater said:
So, when I can find bullets and powder...... gonna try h4895, h335, and maybe varget when it comes back. Haven't found any negative thoughts across the internet on those powders for this cartridge. All I got left at the moment is 4064, and I ain't touching it.
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By all means try H4895 but it flows with difficulty into the small 204 Ruger neck. An extended clear drop tube on your powder measure helps make sure all the powder gets into the case.

I settled on CFE223 powder for my 204 Ruger. It meters well and gives me the performance I wanted. I load my 204 Ruger on an RCBS Pro2000. Cases are prepped and primed ahead of time then I charge the case and seat the bullet on the Pro2000. I use an RCBS Gold Medal seating die which has a window in it for placing the bullet before raising the case into the die.
 
I use Benchmark for my .204. But, am trying out some Vihtavouri N530, which has worked exceptionally well for .223. Am trying it based on another THR recommendation and it worked very well. The VV company provides good load data. The metering quality of this powder is exceptional. After reading this thread, I may buy the RCBS Gold Medal die.
 
Thanks for the recommendations, I have never ventured into VV. I also drop by hand out of chargemaster, which will be it's own challenge. These little tips about what meters well is going in the bank. I learned some about metering the hard way with flake powders in shotshell bushings. Wasteful... messy....o_O

I'm willing to give anything a try. I think I kinda tunnel visioned myself when I first started because everything I was doing was about the popular standbys like varget, 4064, and 4350.

Interesting about the mach2, I wonder why the jamoke at the shop told her that's whats recommended. Probably trying to sell a rifle. I've never seen that ammo in the store either, which makes me wonder about local availability.
 
I would hope the “jamoke” said MachIV and not “Mach2” - the MachIV is a prairie dog hunting dream. A very different thing than the 17HM2.

Pictured here:

17HMR
17 WSM
17 MachIV

4E35DE2B-7FF3-49C0-B250-A461E99D39C2.jpeg
 
I also use the RCBS Chargemaster. It is precise and has remained reliable through 1,000s of reloads for the past 10 years
 
I'm pretty sure, she said 17hm2, but ill check again. Thanks for the pic. I do know that I do not have the want to, at the moment, to be manufacturing wildcat ammo. That's over my head at this point. ;) I've been reading into the world of 17s and their history, interesting stuff. Seems like a very niche deal and the guys that have it figured out really love it. Tried the 204 in the field today, and man, it was a good time
 
TheClasonater said:
I'm pretty sure, she said 17hm2, but ill check again. Thanks for the pic. I do know that I do not have the want to, at the moment, to be manufacturing wildcat ammo. That's over my head at this point. ;) I've been reading into the world of 17s and their history, interesting stuff. Seems like a very niche deal and the guys that have it figured out really love it. Tried the 204 in the field today, and man, it was a good time
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Good time you say? Excellent news!!! I'm sure that will lead to more good times! Welcome to the ability to spot your own hits!
 
It was a great time, ill probably get some more time in today. I called the farmer yesterday just to talk and he said "I only got one rule, don't miss." I was really impressed with the authority of the cartridge.

The other LGS I use said he was expecting a shipment of shooters world powder "soon." I might give it a try.
 
TheClasonater said:
It was a great time, ill probably get some more time in today. I called the farmer yesterday just to talk and he said "I only got one rule, don't miss." I was really impressed with the authority of the cartridge.

The other LGS I use said he was expecting a shipment of shooters world powder "soon." I might give it a try.
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Shooter's world has 4 powders that should work for the .204 so that might be a good solution.
 
The .204 basically has the performance of a .22-250 but probably less muzzle blast than a .223. Important when Prairie doggin

I tried to use a .22-250. After one or two shots, they went down.
 
redneck2 said:
The .204 basically has the performance of a .22-250 but probably less muzzle blast than a .223. Important when Prairie doggin

I tried to use a .22-250. After one or two shots, they went down.
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This one of the main reasons I try to stretch out the distance I shoot with my 17HMR. In the open prairie where I shoot, the 17HMR is relatively quiet and the sound doesn't disturb the dogs much.
 
Broke the cellular device this weekend, just got back up and running. A few updates: about 100 dogs down, and I'm out of factory ammo that came with the rifle. Got a bunch of brass now though. Had a few eagles in the field this morning eating up the scraps

The local gun shop actually had one box of nosler bt 40gn on the shelf. Couldn't believe it when I walked in.
 
I loaded some test rounds with 40gr Hornady V-Max using Vihtavouri powder. I've always used 32gr and 39gr Sierra Blitzkings with Benchmark powder in the past, but wanted to give VV powder a try. Happened to have the 40 gr bullets on hand so let's see what happens Wednesday when I hit the range. BTW, congrats on feeding the eagles.
 
So, I told myself I'm not gonna pay 150$ for a pound of powder. I got a half pound of 4064 on hand. I said I wasn't gonna touch it, but I just loaded up about 20 rnds. My question is, why is varget on all the data tables but not 4064? Is this because of ease of use, or do need to be concerned about something else?? Excessive fouling? I scooped data off the imr website and forums. Pressures look low.

Yes, I know this is not ideal, but this is an exercise in utility. If I can be around 1" at 100yds I'd be happy, just don't wanna screw anything up. What do yall think?
 
Well, I took the 40gr loads to the range....they were just OK, not great, so I'm ditching the Hornady 40gr bullets. I'll have to try some of my Sierra 39gr BKs.
 
26.5gn of 4064 got me to 1" steady at 100 yards. Good enough for pds until I get some more time to work up a proper load
 
TheClasonater said:
26.5gn of 4064 got me to 1" steady at 100 yards. Good enough for pds until I get some more time to work up a proper load
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https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/797

I mean........ Just saying.......
Eta double check twist rate.....
At the other end of the spectrum:
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/27507
Midway has free shipping on $49+ and 20, 26, and 34 gr bullets in stock....
How far away from the nebraska panhandle are you?
 
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Ha far away, I lived in sterling for a couple years of my life but not anymore. Probably 12-13 hrs from Sidney now instead of 30 min :(. I miss it up there sometimes, especially hunting the south Platte bottoms. I'll check those out, didn't even comprehend anything above 40gn to be honest. Thanks for taking the time to throw the links in
 
TheClasonater said:
Ha far away, I lived in sterling for a couple years of my life but not anymore. Probably 12-13 hrs from Sidney now instead of 30 min :(. I miss it up there sometimes, especially hunting the south Platte bottoms. I'll check those out, didn't even comprehend anything above 40gn to be honest. Thanks for taking the time to throw the links in
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Ahhh... Can't help with primers but one of my lgs can still get a few powders in here and there, if you wind up heading this way, lemme know!
 
I just picked up a couple pounds of blc2. Gonna try it soon. Seems like very view people have bad things to say about it
 
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