204 Ruger - Bobcat Gun

[7RemMag]

The .204 Ruger is a neat, fun round. I don’t know in terms of bobcats, but I know it performed well on coyotes when I had one in that it killed them well. I would expect some pelt/internal damage on bobcats. The couple of foxes I shot with that rifle were messy. No holes in the pelt necessarily, but enough jelly-o underneath that they were a nuisance to skin.

Mine was a Ruger American Predator and would shoot very well if kept incredibly clean and the shooter was conscious of how he held the rifle. It was definitely a pretty “needy” rifle to keep accurate and I sold it to buy a .22-250 during covid when ammo got a little bit scarce. I don’t regret doing so at all.

I don’t think you would be dissatisfied with the .204, but in my opinion there’s better cartridges for bobcats, and there are definitely better rounds for coyotes.

 

[M44]

I've seen several bobcats run off after being shot with 17 hmr. If you are going to use it, 17 grain bullet. Shots limited to 75 yards and under. Aim for the neck .

The 17 fireball is my favorite when running it around 4000 fps .100 yards or less. No fur damage unless hit thin. You have to shake them to find entrance. However, not to be considered for coyotes .

 

[B23]

The 17WSM is about halfway between the hummer and the hornet....

That's a pretty accurate assessment.

I have all three 17's the HMR WSM and Hornet as well as a 204. The HMR works great for ground squirrels but starts running out of steam much sooner then the other two 17's. The WSM and Hornady Hornet both shoot the same 20gr Vmax bullet but the HH shoots it a solid 600+ fps faster and it's certainly a noticeable difference especially when you start reaching out there 200yds and beyond.

All three will easily kill a bobcat and do relatively minimal damage but I think you'll want to keep your distance appropriately matched to which of the three 17's you'd be using.

Obviously the 204 is going to trump any of the mentioned 17's. The Berger 35gr in 204's are pretty good medicine for putting yotes to sleep and they aren't real hard on pelts so if using a 204 that'd be my first choice but aren't most shots on bobcats usually well inside of 200yds so unless that was all I had to use I'd probably look at the WSM but like the 17HH there are so few options available in 17 WSM which brings us back to the 204 as probably being the better choice.

Wonder if the lead free 24gr NTX ammo would maybe be more pelt friendly in a 204...

 

[colegeiser51]

You won't be disappointed with a 204 Ruger. The 20 caliber is just so inherently accurate. The 40 grain bullets are great for the larger game like coyotes with minimal or no pelt damage. I just wouldn't take many frontal shots unless the larger game was close. Broadside boiler room/rib cage shots are definitely your friend with the smaller lighter bullets.