Any experiance with a 16" .204 Ruger?

[MHWASH]

My suppressor has been in jail now for about 9 months. One of its intended purposes is a short barreled coyote rifle. I’m thinking 16” barreled bolt action. I currently have a RAR in 204. Before I cut the barrel down, would I be better off using a 223 instead? This suppressed rifle will also be used as a truck gun, so shots on coyotes are likely to be 200-400 yards.

 

[Skerhunter]

You lose the best asset of a .204 when you chop the barrel down that far, speed. I think you would really struggle with longer shots with any wind. I googled up some data for you on velocity and barrel length in .204.

204 Ruger Velocity Data | Bullberry Barrel Works, Ltd. | United States

Using the same method as our 17 HMR testing — read through our results, inch by inch.

www.bullberrylegacy.com

I hunt with someone who shoots a short barreled .204 AR. I can't tell the difference between that or a .223 AR, but I've never seen him shoot more than 75/100 yards.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

All of my .204s over the years have been minimum 24” barrel to take advantage of the .204s potential velocities.

 

[AKG]

Hi I haven't cut a 204 down to that length. I did put a clamp on muzzle thread onto my stock Tikka 204; suppressed it still emits a decent little fireball though it did quiet down quite a bit. I also have a cz 527 suppressor ready in 223 with 16"
barrel. I haven't done a lot of load development for the 223, but when I tried accurate 2200 powder and 40 grain zmax bullets I ended up with velocities in the high 2900-low 3000 range. Just a couple data points that may help you in your decision.

 

[Whiskey_Fish]

I would really appreciate it if you would try this out. I have a RAR 204 and I really want a shorter barrel on it just for portability's sake but I am also wary to mess with a good thing. It's a great shooting rifle.

For me in the wind I don't find I'm shooting more than about 300 yards anyway.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MHWASH]

You lose the best asset of a .204 when you chop the barrel down that far, speed. I think you would really struggle with longer shots with any wind. I googled up some data for you on velocity and barrel length in .204.

204 Ruger Velocity Data | Bullberry Barrel Works, Ltd. | United States

Using the same method as our 17 HMR testing — read through our results, inch by inch.

www.bullberrylegacy.com

I hunt with someone who shoots a short barreled .204 AR. I can't tell the difference between that or a .223 AR, but I've never seen him shoot more than 75/100 yards.

I did some googling on short .223 barrels and it looks like the 223 loses and average of 25fps/inch, where according to the data Skerhunter shared, it appears the 204 loses closer to 50fps. I’ve decided to leave the 204 as is and find a RAR Ranch in 5.56.