I'm in the market for a mid-range varmint rifle. Have narrowed down my choices to a .223 or .204 ruger. Most of my shooting will be at squirrels, rockchucks, and coyotes in the 100-300 yard range, but I'd like to be able to "play" out to 500 yds with confidence. I feel I can get what I want out of a .223 if I go with a 9" twist, but am wondering about the .204... What is the range capability of the .204 (assume handloads) with a standard 12" twist barrel? If I was to go with a custom barrel, what rate of twist would you recommend? I'm not interested in going with anything larger than a .223 (been there, done that) as I'd like to minimize muzzle jump, muzzle blast, ... Thoughts?

Great forum by the way...

Welcome Maverick,

Anyone here is welcome to add to this, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd say the only bullet you could be very "confident" in at 500 out of a 12 twist 204 may be the 39 grain Sierra Blitzking, and I think "confident" may be a stretch. 500-600 is right around max usable range for that bullet. The 12 twist barrel you end up with may shoot 40 grain bullets, but most won't.

I'd like to see Rick test the 50 grain Berger in his 11 twist. You never know until you try. They work in my 10 twist, but were supposed to require a 9 twist.

There's a ton of info and experiences posted here all about rate of twist and shooting different bullets at different distances. Try some searches and let us know if you still have questions. At least let us know which way you decide to go...

I agree!! The 39 grain sierra is a top shelf bullet! Has servered me VERY well out to 500 yards for now anyway! Have not had a really long shot yet this winter....still waiting.

Thanks for the info. I think I'll probably go with the .204. My rifle of choice on this one will be the Ruger #1, so I probably can't go very wrong. (Would be easy to change calibers or rate-of-twist with a barrel change if it falls short of what I'm looking for.)

maverick: You'll love your No.1....I hope you're considering the Varmint model for the extra accuracy it offers. Once you get her home, consider either having the trigger worked on, or just replace it with a good aftermarket unit. You'll also want to bed and float the forearm hanger, as without doing those two items, the rifle will never shoot to it's true potential. I think every No.1 owner here will agree.

Once you take care of factory issues, you'll have a sweet shooting 204 and will be glad you chose that caliber. Below is my No.1 Varmint in the rat patch between strings:



Warning: Once you experience the 204, you'll want another one.

First of all welcome to the forum! Now, what Rick said on the No. 1 is spot on, I just put a Kepplinger Set Trigger in mine and now she is sweet! I also have a Hicks Accurizer that I'm going to install before my first trip in a few weeks so I'll post how it works soon. Gary

I think I've got a 1V stainless model with a 26" barrel located at a pretty good price, so will probably go that route. Based on the reading I've done, am already planning on some trigger work right off the bat and need to decide if I want to turn it over to a gunsmith for the forearm work, or if I can set aside enough time to do it myself. Am also planning on mounting a Bushnell Elite 6500 scope in the 2.5-16 x 42. Looking forward to playing around with it and figuring out what it will and won't do.

Ruger doesn't list the 204 in the #1 varmit model,and the Stainless is no longer available,via an Email I received back from customer service.I don't understand why they would co-produce a dedicated varmit cartridge,and not chamber it in their varmit gun models.I also told them they need to bring out the SS V1 in .204.We'll see.I found one on Gunbroker a few days ago,but couldn't find it the next day.If you find one,grab it.

It's hard to keep up with Ruger and how often they change which calibers are available in the various models (at least in the #1). I've got two located in the SS #1V right now, one of which I'll grab.

maverick: There's a number of No.1 users here on the forum. After you get your rifle, some of them may be able to offer up what they did to theirs to make them shoot to full potential. Here's a few of the No.1 users I'm familiar with here on the 204um: Critter, Guy M, Captqc, Ruger No.1, RIO (that's me!).

Here's a shot of mine in the field just to keep your enthusiasm up (this was a very good day indeed....Skippy took flying lessons!):



Critter has the exact model of rifle you're considering, SS/Lam, Varmint in .204, and his is really shooting now. HTH a tad.

Maverick, If you want to fine tune your Ruger No.1 go to www.eabco.com and check out the Kepplinger set trigger and the Hicks Accurizer. I just put both on mine and will try it out in a few weeks. I'll post how she did when I get back. Gary

CDNN Investments is currently running a Ruger #1 with a slim 22" barrel in 204 Ruger for $699. The barrel looks to be considerably thinner and shorter than the Standard 1-B, but the price looks good.

I own several Ruger #1 rifles ranging from 218 Bee clear up to 458 Win Mag. All shoot extremely well (after a little bit of tinkering on a couple of them) and they are all a joy to shoot.

Edited to reflect reality....

$649 for the 22" thin barrel and $699 for the 26" standard 1-B barrel.

JMO - BCB

Maveric,where is the location (url) of the other SS V1,you mentioned?

Gentlemen;

Thanks for the feedback -- ordered the rifle this morning. Will pick your collective brains on "tuning" when I get the rifle in hand. Will be very interested to see how it shoots out of the box, and then what it does after tinkering.

Joe -- sent you a PM with the info.