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What is the barrel life on a .204 ruger? Is the 204 Ruger accurate enough and energetic enough to reliably kill a PD at 500yards?
Barrel life is a relative thing, and others are better qualified to speak specifically to the 204 than I on that. But, as far as accuracy goes, the caliber is very much up to minute of PD at 500 and well beyond that, depending on the shooter and conditions at the time. It is the balistic twin of my pet 220 Swift load, and I've used the Swift reliably to just under 700 yards on PDs with 55 V-max pills. Energy wise, the 204 Ruger w/ 40 grain pills trails the Swift and 55 gn V-Max by approximately 100 yards; that is to say the Swift will have approximately the same energy as the 204 at 100 yards farther out than the 204 for any given distance. And, I can tell ya the 220 Swift is very rude way past 500 yards, and from what I've seen, the 204 ain't no slouch!!What is the barrel life on a .204 ruger? Is the 204 Ruger accurate enough and energetic enough to reliably kill a PD at 500yards?
It appears the 204 (and 20 TAC??) will shoot with the 220 Swift or 22-250AIs, trajectory wise. Course there will be more "splat factor" with the heavier bullets, I suppose. But, for fast and furious shooting, the .223 has a LOT going for it in terms of being kind to the wallet AND barrels. (I'm hoping Danzac will extend that barrel life thingy even furtherI was agonizing over the line-up for my next PD hunt. Obvious choice is to have a battery of 223's for when them varmints charge the benchs but I'm thinking a pair of 204's would also fit in the line-up.
I have heard that the barrel life is around 1,200 to 1,500 rounds, and that makes sense considering the velocity.What is the barrel life on a .204 ruger? Is the 204 Ruger accurate enough and energetic enough to reliably kill a PD at 500yards?
Long range separates the plinkers from the riflemen, to be sure. Hitting consistantly at 500 yards does require some good equipment and favorable conditions. One-shot kill ratio goes down dramatically with range, as distance magnifies errors beyond minute of PD. However, I can report that it can be done fairly consistantly to the ranges discussed when it all comes together.Having done a lot on P.D and coyote hunting with all kinds of calibers I can tell you that in all my time I have never consistently hit them at 500 yards and 700 yards almost never. I have hit a few coyotes at 500 plus but that too is extremely rare.
What's you hold over at 500-700 yards? You'd be surprised if you looked it up. I would like to witness someone consistently hitting prairie dogs at 500-700 yards. What kind of optics are you using? Let's get realistic maybe a few times the moon and the stars lined up and you hit a couple.
I like the sounds of the 204's but a 32-40 grain bullets hitting p.d's at 500 and beyond is doubtful. A 10 mile wind would significantly push a bullet of that size.
What's next ground squirrels at 1000?
I agree. The trajectory of a bullet is like the stream of water out of a garden hose. After 500 or 600 yds, the bullet is falling on the target as much as hitting it in the way we picture a bullet hitting a target. If you raise the nozzle of a garden hose an inch, up close the stream rises an inch, but out where the stream is striking the ground the stream moves out away from you more than an inch.Having done a lot on P.D and coyote hunting with all kinds of calibers I can tell you that in all my time I have never consistently hit them at 500 yards and 700 yards almost never. I have hit a few coyotes at 500 plus but that too is extremely rare.
What's you hold over at 500-700 yards? You'd be surprised if you looked it up. I would like to witness someone consistently hitting prairie dogs at 500-700 yards. What kind of optics are you using? Let's get realistic maybe a few times the moon and the stars lined up and you hit a couple.
I like the sounds of the 204's but a 32-40 grain bullets hitting p.d's at 500 and beyond is doubtful. A 10 mile wind would significantly push a bullet of that size.
What's next ground squirrels at 1000?
Yep!! I used to live on a ranch in CO where I went out a couple days a week for at least a couple hours or more each time. I built a blind with almost 300 degrees of shooting as far as I could hit anything with a 220 Swift, and got into the habbit of shooting from that blind, almost exclusively.My personal passion is ground squirrels, PD's, and rock chucks at 'extended range'. Rick