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Posted: 12/15/2009 3:01:17 PM EDT
[#1]
I don't own one on an AR platform but I do have one. It shoots well but isn't as good balistically as the 17rem.
Mine shoots 40gr Vmaxs into little groups with 24gr of Benchmark. Knocks the hell out of varmints too... 
I have a box of 35gr Bergers I want to test, I hope to flatten out the trajectory some.... Ask away if you have any other questions.... |
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Posted: 12/15/2009 3:29:14 PM EDT
[#2]
Here's my 20 Tactical. It's the 20 caliber wildcat that eventually spawned the .204 Ruger. One of mine was on the cover of Small Caliber News many years ago.
This was before most guys had ever heard of a .20 caliber. Tony Rumore Tromix Corp 
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Posted: 12/15/2009 4:17:42 PM EDT
[#3]
I'm interested in doing a 204 build. It seems like a really fun round.
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Posted: 12/15/2009 6:53:18 PM EDT
[#4]
I love the .204 Ruger. I do not own one as I am not an active hunter, but it is also the cartridge I use on my one and only big game hunt. My thread about that hunt can be found here.
I have now built three 204 Ruger rifles. Two are AR15s and one is a Sako L461. The first was an AR15, the same one I used for my Pronghorn. I just built the second AR15 upper and Sako L461 this month. The new upper I built was for an other member of my hunting party who was so impressed with the one I used, he also took a coyote with it, he had me immediately order the barrel blank to put the upper together for him. |
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Posted: 12/16/2009 7:12:10 AM EDT
[#5]
I have 2 ars, one Noveske and one built by GA Precision. The GA has a shilen select match and the Noveske has a pac-nor. I also have a rem 700 stainless thumbhole and a new cooper model 21 Montana varminter. I love the 204. Got rid of my 22-250 and my 223s are just for for looks. Converted all of my prairie dog buddies into 204 nuts also. Less noise, powder, recoil with the same type of terminal effect.
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Posted: 12/16/2009 8:56:43 AM EDT
[#6]
Thanks for the replies, what length barrel does the 204 shine at? Would 18" be ok or is best to go longer?
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Posted: 12/16/2009 12:42:34 PM EDT
[#7]
Quoted:
Thanks for the replies, what length barrel does the 204 shine at? Would 18" be ok or is best to go longer? I think 22" is optimal, based on this link. The first AR is built has very heavy(too heavy) a 26" barrel. The Sako and AR I just built both are 22" tubes. The 22" AR upper is much better handling then the 26" but the contour is also lighter. . |
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Posted: 12/16/2009 12:51:38 PM EDT
[#8]
My ARs are both 22".
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Posted: 12/17/2009 3:44:56 PM EDT
[#9]
I built this 204 about 2 years ago. Its on a Stag LH upper. Barrel is a Douglas Premium at 22" with an SPR profile. Handguard is a Troy 13.5" Scope is the IOR 6-24(35mm) thats been replaced like 5 times.
This gun is sick accurate and shoots great in wind out on the dogtowns. I've made a ton of first round 600 yard hits.And plenty of kills at 800. I've killed a few yotes out on the sod farm at about 3-400 yards on a dead run in the dark using the laser. Pretty sick little round. I also just acquired a 24" Sabre Defence Heavy Bench Target. Its listed at a great price here |
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Posted: 12/17/2009 8:15:11 PM EDT
[#10]
I own a Browning A-Bolt 204 Rugar, put a Nikon Bushmaster 6-18 power with BDC on it, the barrel is heavy at 24". That round is a fun one, its a tack driver. I'm paying about $1 a round so reloading is my next step. Great caliber to play with.
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Posted: 12/17/2009 8:15:56 PM EDT
[#11]
I own a Browning A-Bolt 204 Rugar, put a Nikon Bushmaster 6-18 power with BDC on it, the barrel is heavy at 24". That round is a fun one, its a tack driver. I'm paying about $1 a round so reloading is my next step. Great caliber to play with.
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Posted: 12/18/2009 10:56:52 AM EDT
[#12]
I put together a 204 AR this past spring. Sadly I've only had it to the range once! I was piercing CCI primers so I had to find some Rem 7.5 primers to use. It was shooting 32 gr bullets quite well.
DPMS 24" fluted stainless barrel RRA two stage trigger DPMS Lo-Pro upper Badger rifle length handguard Magpul MIAD Choate E2 stock Warne ultra high rings Bushnell Elite Tactical 3200 5-15x40 with mil dot and target turrets I actually went for the heaviest build I could to reduce recoil down to almost nothing. With all the mass, the crosshairs do move when I shoot, but not much. I have a plan in the back of my head to cast a lead weight to go in the E2 stock. 
Some day it'll go out west for a prairie dog shoot. |
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Posted: 12/21/2009 1:18:55 PM EDT
[#13]
I built a 24" SS upper for AR15 based on the .204 Ruger cartridge, I love it, it is my favorite by far. My 17 is second.
I love going to the rock quarry and shooting the rocks off the walls at 200yds, they seem to vaporize with it, I have not shot any paper yet but I am guessing it will be very good. Factory cartridges are fairly pricey at about $17/20 so handloading will make a huge difference. besides then you can squeeze out more accuracy. I cannot however duplicate the factory speed. Although I can get over 4000 fps. My next purchase will be a chronograph so I can be certain of speed and consistency. Oh and electronic scales for reloading. I don't think I can tell any difference sound wise compared to the .223 but the cross hairs don't move much, followups are very quick. 
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Posted: 12/21/2009 7:35:21 PM EDT
[#14]
Anyone know where I could get a 204 barrel like the ones used on the R-15's? I have enough bull barrels, and want the weight savings.
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Posted: 12/30/2009 10:08:03 AM EDT
[#15]
I absolutely love my .204 Ruger that I built on a DPMS upper/lower. 24" Shilen bull bbl, RRA 2 stage, Clark CF handguard, PRS stock.
Here's a pic before I mounted the Mueller Tactical 6-18x44 scope on it. 
Here's a 100 yard group from October with 39gr Sierra BK handloads doing around 3600fps. "Flier" was the cold shot out of a clean barrel on the point of aim, and the next 4 shots formed the group to the left. It holds 1/2 MOA all day as long as you clean it every 20 shots or so. 
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Posted: 12/31/2009 9:23:44 PM EDT
[#16]
Quoted:
I absolutely love my .204 Ruger that I built on a DPMS upper/lower. 24" Shilen bull bbl, RRA 2 stage, Clark CF handguard, PRS stock. Here's a pic before I mounted the Mueller Tactical 6-18x44 scope on it. http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s276/rsvetlik/204AR2small.jpg Here's a 100 yard group from October with 39gr Sierra BK handloads doing around 3600fps. "Flier" was the cold shot out of a clean barrel on the point of aim, and the next 4 shots formed the group to the left. It holds 1/2 MOA all day as long as you clean it every 20 shots or so. http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s276/rsvetlik/204Group11-01-09.jpg I have been spending some time looking at the barrel choices for an AR in .204 Ruger and I think that the best value is the Shilen at Midway for $373.99 Can any of the members who have this barrel give me a detailed analysis of how it shoots and how it went together in you AR rifle? I just want a little first hand information on this barrel as opposed to the DPMS which is significantly less expensive. I am leaning towards the Shilen but I am open to suggestion. Thanks. |
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Posted: 1/1/2010 5:18:32 AM EDT
[#17]
I picked up one of Tony's Tromixs in .204 Ruger several years ago. Great shootiing gun on pd's and coyotes. Favorite load is using the 39 gr. BK's.
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Posted: 1/1/2010 7:45:28 AM EDT
[#18]
Quoted:
Quoted:
I absolutely love my .204 Ruger that I built on a DPMS upper/lower. 24" Shilen bull bbl, RRA 2 stage, Clark CF handguard, PRS stock. I have been spending some time looking at the barrel choices for an AR in .204 Ruger and I think that the best value is the [url=http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=163884]Shilen at Midway for $373.99[/url] Can any of the members who have this barrel give me a detailed analysis of how it shoots and how it went together in you AR rifle? I just want a little first hand information on this barrel as opposed to the DPMS which is significantly less expensive. I am leaning towards the Shilen but I am open to suggestion. Thanks. This! I have a Shilen BBl on one of my .204's and it is the most accuarte gun I own. 5 shots covered with a dime is common, and i'm shooting the cheep dogtown bullets from midway. When I got my first .204 i didn't touch my .220 swift or 22-250 ( I did keep my old rem 788 in .223) for so long that I finally sold them both and built the AR platform .204 with the .204 Shilen BBL. It's all I shoot at Coyote's on down. I have a couple buddies with .17 rem's and I wouldn't trade. 
Ricky |
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Posted: 1/1/2010 8:10:17 AM EDT
[#19]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I absolutely love my .204 Ruger that I built on a DPMS upper/lower. 24" Shilen bull bbl, RRA 2 stage, Clark CF handguard, PRS stock. I have been spending some time looking at the barrel choices for an AR in .204 Ruger and I think that the best value is the Shilen at Midway for $373.99 Can any of the members who have this barrel give me a detailed analysis of how it shoots and how it went together in you AR rifle? I just want a little first hand information on this barrel as opposed to the DPMS which is significantly less expensive. I am leaning towards the Shilen but I am open to suggestion. Thanks. This! I have a Shilen BBl on one of my .204's and it is the most accuarte gun I own. 5 shots covered with a dime is common, and i'm shooting the cheep dogtown bullets from midway. When I got my first .204 i didn't touch my .220 swift or 22-250 ( I did keep my old rem 788 in .223) for so long that I finally sold them both and built the AR platform .204 with the .204 Shilen BBL. It's all I shoot at Coyote's on down. I have a couple buddies with .17 rem's and I wouldn't trade.
Ricky I'm pissed at Midway! After this posting there must have been some traffic hitting the Shilen page and at 11PM last night the price jumped from $373.99 to $399. Now I know that there is not someone at midway at 11pm on New Years Eve doing price adjustments. It must be a bot that recognizes traffic and adjusts prices accordingly. I will call tomorrow or Monday to see what is going on!  I want the Shilen barrel but I don't want to be put over a barrel!
I was also curious as to the twist rate. The Shilen is 1:9 and most others are 1:12. Does the 1:9 stabilize the heavier bullets better? I want to shoot the lighter grains as well as the heavier ones. Is it a good "all around" barrel for the available off the shelf loadings from Hornady and the others? What are the velocities from an AR in this caliber? They must be lower than the same caliber in a bolt rifle because some of the gas is bled off to cycle the bolt. Right? Any ideas? Also: Does Midway do dealer pricing to FFL holders? Anyone with knowledge of this please let me know. Thanks. |
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Posted: 1/1/2010 4:51:03 PM EDT
[#20]
IIRC, Midway always ups prices for the new year.
They have dealer pricing for FFL's, including C&R's. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I absolutely love my .204 Ruger that I built on a DPMS upper/lower. 24" Shilen bull bbl, RRA 2 stage, Clark CF handguard, PRS stock. I have been spending some time looking at the barrel choices for an AR in .204 Ruger and I think that the best value is the Shilen at Midway for $373.99 Can any of the members who have this barrel give me a detailed analysis of how it shoots and how it went together in you AR rifle? I just want a little first hand information on this barrel as opposed to the DPMS which is significantly less expensive. I am leaning towards the Shilen but I am open to suggestion. Thanks. This! I have a Shilen BBl on one of my .204's and it is the most accuarte gun I own. 5 shots covered with a dime is common, and i'm shooting the cheep dogtown bullets from midway. When I got my first .204 i didn't touch my .220 swift or 22-250 ( I did keep my old rem 788 in .223) for so long that I finally sold them both and built the AR platform .204 with the .204 Shilen BBL. It's all I shoot at Coyote's on down. I have a couple buddies with .17 rem's and I wouldn't trade.
Ricky I'm pissed at Midway! After this posting there must have been some traffic hitting the Shilen page and at 11PM last night the price jumped from $373.99 to $399. Now I know that there is not someone at midway at 11pm on New Years Eve doing price adjustments. It must be a bot that recognizes traffic and adjusts prices accordingly. I will call tomorrow or Monday to see what is going on! I want the Shilen barrel but I don't want to be put over a barrel!
I was also curious as to the twist rate. The Shilen is 1:9 and most others are 1:12. Does the 1:9 stabilize the heavier bullets better? I want to shoot the lighter grains as well as the heavier ones. Is it a good "all around" barrel for the available off the shelf loadings from Hornady and the others? What are the velocities from an AR in this caliber? They must be lower than the same caliber in a bolt rifle because some of the gas is bled off to cycle the bolt. Right? Any ideas? Also: Does Midway do dealer pricing to FFL holders? Anyone with knowledge of this please let me know. Thanks. |
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Posted: 1/1/2010 8:06:29 PM EDT
[#21]
The 1:9 will stabilze bullets up to and over 40 grains. I don't have personal experience shooting the 32 gr loads, but it should work fine. I plan to develop a load with a 32gr Sierra BK soon for my Shilen.
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Posted: 1/2/2010 2:15:27 PM EDT
[#22]
Here is a group I shot today with my .204 shilen BBl with cheap 34gr dogtown bullets. 5 shots fired in about 20 seconds from a bench at 100 yrds. It was The only group I shot (to verify zero) but I took a pic with this thread in mind.
Ricky |
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Posted: 1/2/2010 8:31:32 PM EDT
[#23]
I have a 204 upper on order with Carey Custom Rifles- 22" H Fluted barrel- 1:10 twist... Very nice ppl, 4-6 week turn-around(woa was going to be 6-8 months)–– Priced right also! I cant wait for it to come in!!!
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Posted: 1/2/2010 9:05:06 PM EDT
[#24]
Quoted:
I have a 204 upper on order with Carey Custom Rifles- 22" H Fluted barrel- 1:10 twist... Very nice ppl, 4-6 week turn-around(woa was going to be 6-8 months)–– Priced right also! I cant wait for it to come in!!! What was the price for the barrel you ordered from Carey Custom? |
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Posted: 1/3/2010 5:22:59 AM EDT
[#25]
I looked at a bunch of manufacturers before I decided to build my own. Carey and WOA were at the top of the list, as was John Bates at Dayton Sports in NV. He has .204 uppers listed on Gunbroker from time to time under username Dayton Sports. He makes some nice stuff, and they just plain shoot from the feedback he receives.
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Posted: 1/3/2010 10:01:42 AM EDT
[#26]
Quoted:
Quoted:
I have a 204 upper on order with Carey Custom Rifles- 22" H Fluted barrel- 1:10 twist... Very nice ppl, 4-6 week turn-around(woa was going to be 6-8 months)–– Priced right also! I cant wait for it to come in!!! What was the price for the barrel you ordered from Carey Custom? i ordered the complete upper-22" H Fluted barrel- 1:10 twist- vented rail, bolt group etc. 825.00$–– they are 695.00 without fluting and vented rail. http://www.careycustomrifleco.com/pricing.html –– u chose length pf barrel- no ex |
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Posted: 1/4/2010 10:36:54 AM EDT
[#27]
I built this one a couple of years ago. Lauer lower, Jewell trigger, Magpul PRS stock, DPMS barrel and Upper receiver, Armalite FF handguard, Young Bolt & Carrier, Burris 4.5 x 14 tactical scope.
It shoots pretty well too. 
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Posted: 1/8/2010 7:13:16 PM EDT
[#28]
Bump for the .204 fans. Any more posts??
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Posted: 1/26/2010 7:08:22 AM EDT
[#29]
any one?
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Posted: 1/27/2010 5:40:53 AM EDT
[#30]
There is a new company out there called SAOD. ANd no! I have no idea what it stands for.
He bought a 28" 204 Ruger with a custom , long length gas system that was like glass. It slowed down the action s there was no jerking or any felt recoil. I will post a pic once I figure out how. |
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Posted: 1/27/2010 12:54:40 PM EDT
[#31]
Quoted:
There is a new company out there called SAOD. ANd no! I have no idea what it stands for. He bought a 28" 204 Ruger with a custom , long length gas system that was like glass. It slowed down the action s there was no jerking or any felt recoil. I will post a pic once I figure out how. Personally, I can't see the need for the 28 inch BBL. My 2 .204's have 23 and 24 inch bbls and the .204 is inherantly light on recoil, ie no loss of sight picture . I wouldnt pack 5 extra inches of bbl around for that purpose. By my research 23 inches was ideal for .204 BBL length. Just me though. Ricky |
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Posted: 2/5/2010 7:24:52 AM EDT
[#32]
i was curious after looking at these .204 Ar's, do they use a standard .223 magazine? I am looking to put together a varmint rifle with my spare lower/upper and was just curious since this sounds like an awesome little round. Thanks in advance!
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Posted: 2/5/2010 9:34:25 AM EDT
[#33]
Yes, they use the standard 223 mags.
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Posted: 2/22/2010 3:35:07 PM EDT
[#34]
Got my Carey Custom Rifles .204 upper in today... It took about 8 weeks.. 22"H-Barrel- Fluted, Vented Rail, 1:10 Twist.... Mounted on one of my other lowers–– will get a dedicated lower for it later..... Go sight in in this weekend- then go call in some coyotes and see how she performs!! Cant WAIT!!!!!
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Posted: 2/23/2010 3:54:20 AM EDT
[#35]
I'm confused.
Who's "he"? A gas system that was like glass? Eventually I'm just going to add some weight to my stock to try to reduce the recoil to almost zero. The Choate E2 stock has a lot of space in it for lead. And I agree with the other guy on barrel length. Someone tested it and 23" was optimal. Might be losing velocity with a 28". Quoted:
There is a new company out there called SAOD. ANd no! I have no idea what it stands for. He bought a 28" 204 Ruger with a custom , long length gas system that was like glass. It slowed down the action s there was no jerking or any felt recoil. I will post a pic once I figure out how. |
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Posted: 2/23/2010 7:45:20 PM EDT
[#36]
Does the 204 use standard 556 AR mags?
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Posted: 2/23/2010 8:25:50 PM EDT
[#37]
Yes, standard magazines for the 5.56 work perfect.
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Posted: 2/26/2010 8:30:37 PM EDT
[#38]
Here is some info on barrel length and velocity. I pulled this info from my Quickload program and from chronographing my loads.
Quickload info using H322 powder and 40 grain VMAX and 32 grain VMAX bullets Hornady 40 gr. VMAX 22 inch bbl = 3608 fps 24 inch bbl = 3678 fps 26 inch bbl = 3740 fps 28 inch bbl = 3796 fps Hornady 32 gr. VMAX 22 inch bbl = 3938 fps 24 inch bbl = 4017 fps 26 inch bbl = 4088 fps 28 inch bbl = 4151 fps Chronographed info on same Hornady 32 gr. VMAX using H322 powder 204 Ruger DPMS AR with 24 inch bbl = 4072 fps 204 Ruger Remington 700 with 24 inch bbl = 4038 fps |
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Posted: 4/3/2010 11:09:38 PM EDT
[#39]
Just ordered an Upper from Carey Custom, can't wait
.204 23" H-Bar 1/12 Twist Vented Handguard This will go with it: LMT Lower Larue QT-104 Mount Leupold 6-20x40mm VX-3 Still searching for a Trigger 
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Posted: 4/4/2010 1:21:21 PM EDT
[#40]
Quoted:
Just ordered an Upper from Carey Custom, can't wait
.204 23" H-Bar 1/12 Twist Vented Handguard This will go with it: LMT Lower Larue QT-104 Mount Leupold 6-20x40mm VX-3 Still searching for a Trigger JP for single-stage Jewell for 2-stage |
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Posted: 4/6/2010 5:30:17 PM EDT
[#41]
I have one armalite and 3 RRA 2 stage match units and really like them, but I don't like really light triggers, a friend just put a 1.25oz jewel br on his bolt gun and it scares me. I won't shoot it I don't think. A strong breeze would set it off.
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Posted: 4/6/2010 7:27:50 PM EDT
[#42]
My .204 finally got to eat back in February on a hog hunt. Not the target species, but they were educated ones that needed to be culled from the herd. Teamed up to climbed INSIDE the varmint cage to steal corn. Earholed the first one at 100 yards and the 2nd one was mortally wounded in the torso. Finished him off with a challenging shot from my Kimber 10mm.
Here's the pic of the vermin with my rifle in its current configuration. 
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