204 ruger cats n foxes 24 grain proj

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204 ruger cats n foxes 24 grain proj

Post by Blr243 » 10 Feb 2020, 7:46 pm

I saw this caliber I n use in the paddocks in a Sako 85 couple of weeks back but it was somebody else useing 40 grain head shooting small pigs. Did some sums and looked at some charts and tables when I got back to the big smoke. I was impressed with the trajectory possibilities and with a bullet 24 grain bullet at something like 4400 fps from memory It seemed to be bloody flat out to 250 yards. I have never used anything smaller than 55 grain in a centefire rifle .... to anyone who has ever tried the little 24 grain projectiles do they instantly stop small game with a good chest shot ..... I have no idea. The bullet seems very small ..... what’s the go ?
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Re: 204 ruger cats n foxes 24 grain proj

Post by AZZA'S HJ47 » 10 Feb 2020, 8:02 pm

Speed is king. I have pulled off some epic shots with the 17hmr but must say the 204 flat no recoil put that bullet exactly where you want it and at that speed nothing much is going to walk it off.
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Re: 204 ruger cats n foxes 24 grain proj

Post by Blr243 » 10 Feb 2020, 8:14 pm

Just had a look at some yank YouTube and the 40 gn certainly sorts out the coyotes
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Re: 204 ruger cats n foxes 24 grain proj

Post by MalleeFarmer » 10 Feb 2020, 8:25 pm

I really like the 32gr in the .204 still pumping out in excess of 4000fps holds together a bit better nice and accurate. I loaded up the 32zmax over 28gr of BM2. Great fox medicine fast enough to shoot them on the run and they don’t go anywhere after they’re hit even with a less than perfect hit the terminal performance is great.
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Re: 204 ruger cats n foxes 24 grain proj

Post by bladeracer » 10 Feb 2020, 8:52 pm

The 24gn NTX at 4400fps is my load for longer ranges, and it drops foxes reliably. The 40gn VMax though has significantly flatter trajectory due to its much higher BC. I use the 24gn simply because I bought the .204 for its velocity. If I want to shoot heavier bullets I can use the .223 or .243.
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Re: 204 ruger cats n foxes 24 grain proj

Post by brinny » 10 Feb 2020, 8:53 pm

24 grn projectiles is a new one on me for the 204.....didnt know they even made a pill that small....Im running 25 grn in my 17 rem and they are small so no idea how such a small pill even fits in the neck of the bullet....
I have been running 40 grn V-Maxs for foxes in my 204 for a lot of years getting pushed along by 25.7 grns BM 2 with great success....No idea how fast they are going...All i know is when something gets hit with it, it dies......cant ask for much more than that....
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Re: 204 ruger cats n foxes 24 grain proj

Post by bladeracer » 10 Feb 2020, 9:30 pm

brinny wrote:24 grn projectiles is a new one on me for the 204.....didnt know they even made a pill that small....Im running 25 grn in my 17 rem and they are small so no idea how such a small pill even fits in the neck of the bullet....
I have been running 40 grn V-Maxs for foxes in my 204 for a lot of years getting pushed along by 25.7 grns BM 2 with great success....No idea how fast they are going...All i know is when something gets hit with it, it dies......cant ask for much more than that....


The 24gn NTX is not lead, it's a jacketed compressed copper dust so it's as big as a 32gn jacketed lead bullet. The 35gn VMax is pretty tiny in the .223 as well.
I run the 24gn on 30gn of AR2206H, basically just fill the case to overflowing and jam the bullet on top. My most used .204 load though is a 32gn ZMax at 2400fps, basically a .22 Hornet load.
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Re: 204 ruger cats n foxes 24 grain proj

Post by SCJ429 » 11 Feb 2020, 6:52 am

I have only used 32 grain projectiles which have speeds over 4,000 fps, which is faster than my chrono can read. They were devestating on foxes and rabbits but could not find decent accuracy. I went back to 39 grain Blitzkings which are awesome.
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Re: 204 ruger cats n foxes 24 grain proj

Post by Stix » 17 Apr 2020, 10:48 am

SCJ429 wrote:I have only used 32 grain projectiles which have speeds over 4,000 fps, which is faster than my chrono can read. They were devestating on foxes and rabbits but could not find decent accuracy. I went back to 39 grain Blitzkings which are awesome.


What do you call decent accuracy SCJ...?
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Re: 204 ruger cats n foxes 24 grain proj

Post by bladeracer » 17 Apr 2020, 12:33 pm

SCJ429 wrote:I have only used 32 grain projectiles which have speeds over 4,000 fps, which is faster than my chrono can read. They were devestating on foxes and rabbits but could not find decent accuracy. I went back to 39 grain Blitzkings which are awesome.


Which chrono stops at 4000fps?
That's one to avoid.
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Re: 204 ruger cats n foxes 24 grain proj

Post by Harrynsw » 21 Apr 2020, 7:34 pm

At 4400 fps, does that eat the barrel up?
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Re: 204 ruger cats n foxes 24 grain proj

Post by bladeracer » 21 Apr 2020, 7:41 pm

Harrynsw wrote:At 4400 fps, does that eat the barrel up?


No idea, I only have about 1000rds down it, and most of them have been 2400fps loads, partly because they're easier on the rifle.
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Re: 204 ruger cats n foxes 24 grain proj

Post by Stix » 22 Apr 2020, 12:28 am

Harrynsw wrote:At 4400 fps, does that eat the barrel up?

Funny you should ask...
I was going to do a thread on that tonight as im thinking of upping my mild 204 load to a sizzling one for better accuracy out further...

I obviously have no idea either... :) but id imaging the throat would be the worry...
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Re: 204 ruger cats n foxes 24 grain proj

Post by animalpest » 02 May 2020, 11:34 pm

I have no idea why anyone would buy and shoot a .204 if you are not going to use it for what it does best - very mild recoil, super fast and flat shooting.
As a pro roo shooters rifle, it outshines both the .223 and 22/250 without any question. If you need to shoot out to 200m . And I have both of those.
It will do the same as a fox rifle.
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Re: 204 ruger cats n foxes 24 grain proj

Post by Stix » 03 May 2020, 12:37 am

animalpest wrote:I have no idea why anyone would buy and shoot a .204 if you are not going to use it for what it does best - very mild recoil, super fast and flat shooting.
As a pro roo shooters rifle, it outshines both the .223 and 22/250 without any question. If you need to shoot out to 200m . And I have both of those.
It will do the same as a fox rifle.


Maybe some people stumble on an effective mild load & are happy using it.

Its also fun with reduced loads--just like a hornet.

Id also imagine, that if cost per shot is a factor for a pro roo shooter, that you'd struggle to get reload costs down to that of a 223...
Not to mentiin, if you're harvesting the roos on tags, a 20 cal is not legal brain medicine for them...need min 22 cal for that... :thumbsup:
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Re: 204 ruger cats n foxes 24 grain proj

Post by SCJ429 » 05 May 2020, 9:15 pm

I didn't read your question before Stix, I was struggling to keep groups under an inch. The same Sako shoots the Blitzkings in the .200 with a best group of .180.

My chronograph is a Labradar which I am very happy with. The 204 and a 243 are the only things I have which I load to exceed 4000 fps.
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