204 rifle

[ponydog]

After reading of the "runners" at the distances you stated....I guess I either am hunting "weaker coyotes" here in Missouri ....or I was holding my mouth
right when I squeezed the trigger. I have no idea what ?transferred enegry does or does not do. I do know this....last year , I took 6 coyotes in one large area I hunt about every three weeks......I shot them all with a .204 32 grain HMS ballistic tip ( red) pill. Yes they all ran a few yards....but all dropped stone dead. No futher kicking, squirming, or yelping. One was stepped off at about 230 yards....I have been to a few sites that praise the 17, and degrade the 204.
So I dont know what to think, I base it on what results I have when the hunt is over. So far, I like my results, and my 204. I guess to me, that is really the only important stat I have to compare....I just know the caliber works for me , and the area of the country I hunt. One mans trash is my treasure I guess....

[lyonch]

If its not broke dont fix it

[rhino]

I agree if it works for you stick with it.

[Tim Anderson]

.5 gr. increase does make a big difference in smaller cal. like 17, 20 and 22 cal. As the weight of the bullet goes up so does the strength of the bullet. Years ago i tried 20 gr. bullets in my 17 rem for coyotes, the 20 was to fragile and ended up splashing the coyote. Went back to 25 gr. but did'nt get enough penatration to kill them everytime. Switched to a 30 gr. and it is working very well with 30 coyotes taken with it this year and no runners..I did have one take a hit and kinda walked, flip and rolled down a small hill..

The 20 cal wouldbe great if they could make a lite and strong bullet for it..

I have a little project for you 20 cal shooters, keep track of what bullet you use, damage to the animal and the tempature and hopefully more than five kills......

[wizbang]

If I was staring down the barrel of a 204, I'm pretty sure it would look big enough. I wouldn't stand in front of it.

[barebackjack]

.5 gr. increase does make a big difference in smaller cal. like 17, 20 and 22 cal.

You make a good point here.

A 5-10 grain difference in bullet weight is much less noticeable when talking about >100 grain bullets. Heck, even when comparing bullets over 85 grains.
When comparing the <55 grain bullets, small changes can lead to serious differences in performance.

Theres still some out there that debate this.

[ponydog]

I will take the challenge of documenting kills with 204 32 grain v max bullet. ( Since that one is all I shoot) I just wish I would have taken photo's
of the coyotes I took last year with a small hole in one side, and the blow-out the size of a donut on the other. Yardage will be stepped off as well. I guess since mine have all gone down......I never really thought of justifying it before....good idea though......I am in Missouri .....so do we need to get an average estimated weight ? I just know the ones I take here, are alot larger than in south Texas......does it make a difference??

[Tim Anderson]

Last year some of the guys shot coyotes with a 243 and some days there where just small entrance holes with no exits and on other days they blew the heck out of them. I was starting to see a pattern to why this was happening and did some vel. tests on a couple rifles and found that when the temps get colder the vel will drop on what ever cartridge you are useing at the time. There canbe as much as 3-400 fps loss in vel...
When the temps dropped so did the fur damage.
Anyway some that shoot the 204 claim one hole and no blow ups and others the oppisite.
So the main thing to keep track of is the temp. and amount of hide damage... Thanks..T.A.

[Patterson]

For record, when I skun the two .204 hit coyotes they were both solid hits. One was center of the chest facing, the other was a middle shoulder broadside. The chest hit looked to only have superficial muscle damage but I dont know that id call it a "surface splash" as there was little pelt damage. The broadside hit had two small fragment holes through the one lung. The rest looked to be just superficial muscle damage and again, little pelt damage. The 250 hits were both behind the liver, and did severe damage to internal organs and the spine.

Sounds like a 500 yard shot or was he shooting a .17 HMR. "Superficial muscle damage" does not make any sense with the 204 except at ranges over what I would call "calling ranges". With what your saying you make it sound like it would just deflect off the skull if you took a head shot.

Tim, I will try to document as many as I can. I just switched to some 34 grain HP's because its all they have locally where I moved to. I used to shoot strictly the 40 grain Hornady factory rounds. I will try to document it.

I love the 204, although I have never owned a 250 or 220 (would love a 220). I used to shoot a 243 but for the last year and a month have been shooting the 204 and no complaints from me about it. You get run offs with a 243 or any gun for that matter if you cant make a good shot.

[Tim Anderson]

[quote][/ You get run offs with a 243 or any gun for that matter if you cant make a good shot.quote]

And i agree with that statement 100%.. Here i've seen alot of bad hits with all different cal.s and yes they do run off, some will go farther than others but still run off.. The nice thing about 17 cal.s is if you have to put another bullet in the coyote you still have min. pelt damage and can still sell the pelt..
Since the fur price is lower this year i have been keeping the ones i've shot seperate from the ones that the other guys get. When i take them in to the fur buyer i will have fewer hides compared to what the crew has but will make more money cause my hides are'nt damaged..

[barebackjack]

Sounds like a 500 yard shot or was he shooting a .17 HMR. "Superficial muscle damage" does not make any sense with the 204 except at ranges over what I would call "calling ranges". With what your saying you make it sound like it would just deflect off the skull if you took a head shot.

Just reporting what I saw. Solid .204 hits at average calling ranges.

And I whole heartedly agree with the "any caliber can have runners if hit wrong". Its true, theres days I wish I was packing more gun than a .22-250.

From what ive seen, the only thing I can give the .204 a thumbs up on is minimal fur damage.

[wizbang]

Anyone else ever shoot a steel plate with a 204 and had the same experience I had-- all the lead fused to the target?? (I think they were berger 35 gr. hot loads). I'm curious about this "splashing" phenomenon I hear people talk about. I find it hard to believe since I've seen the 204 fuse to a metal plate with my own eyes-- it didn't splash off steel so why would it splash off meat?

unless it hit bone, etc...??