223 Ar15 or 204 bolt action Varmint setup?

Which one for varmint hunting?

  • AR15

    Votes: 12 48.0%

  • 204 ruger

    Votes: 13 52.0%
  • Total voters
    25
L

ltmcleoed

New member
I have a AR15 varmint setup but I've been wanting a 204 some kind of bad. I dont want a 204 AR setup because i dont want a long heavy gun. I cant have both so which ever gets the most votes I'll go with! Thanks for you input!
 
Most of my more accurate guns are heavy. For varmit shooting I like having ultra quick follow up shots(semi auto), for more or the same varmit. But my real precision gun is a heavy bolt gun (it is not for varmits 308).
 
I own one of each, AR I pieced together and a Browning A Bolt in 204, and the 204 is a superior cartridge in my opinion for varmints.
 
I've yet to hear or read any negative comments about the .204. Folks are pretty much happy with its results.

If by "varmints" you mean coyotes and such, a light sporter will work just fine. If you're going to do lengthy shooting on prairie dogs, with lots of shots in a relatively short period, a heavy barrel would probably be better. However, I've had no problems with a light sporter on prairie dogs; I just gave it a rest after every few shots.
 
That is a really hard choice. The .204 is a great cartridge, fast as all get out. The AR platform is also real fun stuff.

In the end I choose the .204, tomorrow I'll pick the AR.
 
Well, to me,there is no doubt that a bolt gun most of the time is more accurate than a semi-auto. Having said that, I guess it just depends on in what application you are hunting. If you are set up at a table in the middle of a field waitin for ground hogs/prarie dogs, I would say the .204. If you are out in search of Coyotes on foot, I would definately say the AR. Fast follow up shots and decent accuracy on an animal that is big enough to still kill if you throw a round 3 or 4 inches off the boiler house.
 
I just got done getting rid of a handful of 'chucks today with my Model 700 ADL .22-250. Once we figured out the scope was off a bit, the 'chucks didn't stand a chance.
 
Waxing philosophical for a moment, if ol' Phil doesn't get mad: I've been messing with centerfires for almost sixty years. I like to think I've figured ot a few things.

I'm gonna operate on the assumption that I'm not gonna hunt anything bigger than Bambi, and not beyond some 300 yards, okay?

So: I want the lightest rifle that balances well, and I don't see the point of a cartridge with more thump than a 7mm08. For the money, I figure that the Rem 700 Ti is a Really Neat Thing. Wish they'd had those critters available forty yers ago.

Coyotes and such? A .223 is good to around 200 yards, IMO. A .204, from what I'm hearing, is good to around 300 yards. For all practical purposes, about like a Swift or .22-250. To reach out farther is a skill argument, not a gun argument.

On coyotes, you generally get just one shot. A coyote can go from zero to not-here just really, really quick. And the devil will go into the ice-selling business before I worry about personal jeopardy from a 35-pound dog. But a coyote has one fatal flaw: He sees you; he heads away; but then just before he goes out of sight, he stops and looks back. That, Dear Heart, is when you explain to him the error of his ways.

Prairie dog sized critters? Most any splatter-bullet rifle will do. Google for "red mist", if you really want the gory details.

Nuff fer now...
 
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