talk me into / out of a .204 Ruger build

M

Magnum Wheel Man

New member
have that thread about the Remy 700 in 22-250, that may have the barrel shot out, that's not shooting well right now, & I'll likely have to rebarrel...

got me thinking, I'm really not into those over bore rifles, that shoot out barrels quickly, but this rifle was my FIL's, so I'd like to keep it if I can, & my current shooting style is pretty easy on barrels... but I got to thinking, this group of rifles currently has 3 - 22 caliber rifles, a 22 Hornet ( fast twist that shoots 55 grain bullets ) a heavy barrel 223, & this 22-250... I have a 17 Fireball that I love, under the 22's & a 243 over the 22's... been thinking lately, that .204 Ruger would fall nicely between the 17 & the 22 Hornet

how's barrel life been on the .204's, if any of you have put 1,000's of rounds down the barrel??? I'm thinking it wouldn't be a good fit in the 22-250 gun, as the bolt face would be too big... not sure what it would take to switch the bolt face to suite the 204 ??? magazine would probably need lots of work, as the 22-250 cases are bigger diameter... I don't currently have a reamer, dies, or any 20 caliber bullets... I'm not looking to buy a new rifle, so if it was unpractical to switch the 22-250 over, the 20 may not be for me at this time

thoughts???
 
Go to Pacific Tool & Gage web site and look for a new bolt body, it will be cheaper in the ling run. You'll need a new magazine and follower as well unless you're going to run it as a single shot with a magazine adapter. Might as well get a David Tubbs speed lock kit while you're at it. By this time you'll be close to the price of a new M700 SPS VT, depending on the barrel used. However, since you probably pay little to nothing in gunsmith costs with you're buddy I say go for it.

I haven't shot thousands of rounds yet out of my two .204 rifle as they are both single shots. They are fun enough to make them worthwhile projects. If I may suggest a cartridge look at the 6X47 Rem or 6mm-204 Ruger as an option as well.
 
I have a Ruger M77 MkII in .204. I love it. Near zero recoil, flat shooting, very accurate. By far the most accurate gun I've owned. I've got about 800 rounds through it and it's every bit as accurate as it's ever been, which is 1/3-1/2 MOA at 100.
 
right now my 17 Fireball or the heavy barrel 223 would want to shoot it out for that title at my house... but there is always room for another competitor :)
 
sc928porsche said:
If you are not happy with the barrel life on the 22-250, then don't got to the Ruger 204.
Click to expand...

I'm curious as to what data might be out there in regards to .204 barrel life. Everything I've read always said it had better barrel life than the 22-250?

My .204 is probably approaching 7-800 rounds now and is by far my favorite caliber. No recoil, shoots like a laser, however it is one noisy gun.
 
I'm curious as to what data might be out there in regards to .204 barrel life. Everything I've read always said it had better barrel life than the 22-250?
Click to expand...

A little better, but not much. At 7-800 rounds you're still nowhere near "shooting it out" if you're cleaning properly and not getting the barrel too hot
 
The .204 should certainly have better barrel life than a .22-250.

The .204 is SAAMI max at 58,000psi while the .22-250 is 65,000. Barrel erosion just happens to go exponentially higher above 58,000.

Also, while both cartridges are "over-bore", the .22-250 is much more so. The .22-250 uses about 50% more powder than it's bore capacity while the .204 is about 29% over.
 
thanks... you guys have offered a lot of good info...

my buddy just built a single shot 6mm PPC, so he has a reamer... I'm guessing the case heads are close ( 22-250 is probably still bigger than the PPC ??? )

but so far, IMO, the 6 mm PPC may be the best suggestion, for what to do with the 22-250... ( BTW... I still have another custom rifle in 22-250, so the cases, dies, etc. wouldn't go to waste anyway... but the custom rifles get shot a lot less than I'm hoping to shoot this group of rifles...
 
OK... 2nd post... I'll bite... I think I remember you mentioning this cartridge before, but there were case forming issues or ???

... so BRIAN... just what is the .243 Pfleuger ???
 
I don't see where anyone suggested the 6mm PPC. Don't get it confused with the 6mm BR as they are different cartridges. The PPC's parent case is the .220 Russian so it has a smaller diameter and won't work with your current bolt without modification, and the PPC also won't feed in your magazine. It is meant for single shot actions only because the steep 30 degree shoulder angle and short stubby case make it nearly impossible to get it to feed.
 
The .243 Pfleuger is a .243AI shortened to match the bore's powder capacity. All the barrel maker needs to do is run a .243AI reamer 0.667" short. Brass would be formed from 6mm BR.

There's a picture of the prototype in your Wildcat thread.;)
 
yep... sorry, meant the BR... actually I'm not sure if the gun my buddy built was a PPC or a BR ??? I think it was a PPC

I was just on the phone with my retired builder buddy, & he mentioned the .308, & I don't have a bolt action .308, & don't shoot my m-14 much... I do have a 30-06 in this group, but, while I'm prepared to shoot it, it is as yet unfired, as it's a 100th anniversary of the 30-06 Remy 700... never had a scope mounted on it... so I could be nice to my 30-06, & pull it out of the "everyday" target shooter group, & build the 22-250 into a .308... I know Remy just does short, long & magnum on the actions, but the 22-250 seems so much smaller than the .308

I also mentioned the 6 BR, & he was concerned about the magazine & or being able to get parts to get it to feed reliably... these are available through aftermarket sources I'd assume, & possibly from Remington ( I think the spring & follower for my 17 Fireball came from a company that sourced old stock Remy parts ??? but I don't remember where I got them right now )...
 
You might need a different follower for the 6 BR but they will feed. Not the best cartridge design for reliable feeding with the steep shoulder angle but they will work. The .308 would be a lot simpler choice. I was under the assumption that you wanted a smaller caliber than that or I would've suggested it. Anything in the .308 family (such as .243 win, .260 rem, 7mm-08) is gonna be just a barrel swap. The .22-250's parent case, the .250 Savage, is very similar to the .308 case. The main difference is a little shorter OAL, but not much. Also consider the 6.5 creedmoor. With that .473 bolt face you have a lot of options as long as it will fit it the short action magazine.
 
STEVEN... I guess I was originally thinking smaller, but my end goal is to have a group of rifles in a "good variety" or range of calibers to use just for relaxing / recreational target shooting...

right now those calibers / rifles, I'm choosing from include... ( I already have these )

( edited... this is how I'm thinking about splitting this group... (T) for target (H) for hunting )

17 Fireball (T)
22 Hornet ( fast twist ) (H)
223 (T)
22-250... rechamber to .308 ??? (T)
243 (H)
25-06 (T)
270 ( actually need a rifle yet, to replace one I traded off... have all the cartridges & loading gear for it yet ) (H)
7 X 57 Mauser (H)
7 mm Rem Mag (T)
30-06 (H)
338 Win Mag (T)
35 Whelen (T)
375 H&H (H)
416 Rigby (H)

... of these, I'm trying to get a range of light to heavy... I'm trying to get modern scopes with resettable turrets on at least the ones I'm going to use for target use, so I can better learn to adjust for wind & distance with a large variety of cartridges... at least one of these ( while I'm developing loads, & testing out new mid range scopes ) but after that, 2-3 of these will go out to my range at least once a week, summer, winter, rain, or shine... basically be everyday shooters... hopefully in a couple years I'll have effective dope books put together for each target rifle... some are higher grades than others, & some composite or laminate, but most are walnut stocked guns ( a lot of them are Remington 700's )... the prettier ones will likely get some slack as to the weather they are shot in, & in reality, I'll be splitting this group down like I did above, they occupy 2 rifle racks now, so I'll have to do some rearranging... if I do split them up to dedicated target & dedicated hunters, replacing just the scopes on the target guns is a big task for my wallet, but I'd like a good variety of each, so the 308 is not out of reason, with 3 rifles in 22 caliber, I could re-chamber the 22-250, I like the 7-08 & it would normally be a good option, however I already have 2 calibers I like in 7mm

guns like the 338 Win Mag I'm still wrestling with ( a Browning Stainless Stalker, with BOSS ) which would make a great long range target caliber & rifle, but has been set up for years, as a heavy hunting rifle, wearing a 4 - 16 Burris Posi-lock scope... which would have to go to another rifle if the 338 is to be used for real target use... added to this, I bought 5 gallon bucket of new Federal cases that didn't have flash holes... ( I've since added those flash holes ) but anyway, I'm now set up for a lot of shooting with this rifle... I'm thinking it need more versatile glass

also note, I have a custom dedicated l o n g range rifle I'm doing a longer term build on, that has a full length, full weight match barrel in 6.5 X 284 ( hoping to get a good long range scope for it & or the 338 listed above this year with my end of year bonus
 
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