204 w/ sporter barrel - heat question

[BoilerUP]

I have a Ruger M77 sporter in 204 Ruger that was given by my brother as a gift. Its NIB, still in the wrapping actually.

Despite his unrequested generosity, I haven't previously had a real desire to own or shoot at 204. Recently I starting thinking about getting a 17 HMR due to its lower recoil, report and cost compared to 22-250, and then I remembered the box in the basement...

Anybody have a reasonable idea how many rounds you could fire through a sporter barrel with a 204 (or 223, for that matter) in a 10-15 minute session before heat build-up starts causing issues? How long would you wait for it to cool before firing again?

Sounds like a newbie question and it kinda is...living around DC for a while got me out of the hobby and I'm diving back in head-first!

 

[rangerruck]

actually a 204 is not much hotter than a 223, and I've allways gone on the fact , that since heat is your primary enemy, if you would fire 1 bullet, wait 30 seconds, and fire another, etc., you will never run into a heat problem. The 204 is a very mellow centerfire round, and has only about twice the recoil of the 17hmr. But then again, you should wait , because the new 5mm mag rimfires are about to come out, which will be a 204 rimfire, and will be less recoil than a 204, even less than a 22 hornet, but with about twice the distance and energy of the 17hmr. It will change everything.

 

[cmidkiff]

I've put 50 rounds downrange about as fast as I could cycle the bolt, load a round, and get back on target with my single shot, varmint barreled .204. 50 rounds in what, perhaps 15 minutes? Never really timed it. Yeah, the tube gets a little warm, but I've not noticed a change in point of impact.

ymmv.

The .204 is a great cartridge. High speed, low recoil, nearly ideal as a varmint gun in low wind conditions. If it's really blowing, it's a major challenge with such a light bullet. Enjoy!