204Ruger

Rick in Oregon wrote:I guess one important question is: how much do you want to spend? There is Savage or NEF on the "low" end (not low in accuracy where Savage is concerned), all the way up to Cooper, Kimber and Sako on the high end, and a bunch of good rifles inbetween - CZ, Remington, etc.

All will launch .204 bullets, but it's like asking about a car; all will get you to the store, but do you want to drive a Yugo, or a BMW?

Make mine a Chevy, please...

I'm limiting myself to $500-$600, for the whole package. I'll probably ending up fudging on that a little, since I'm gonna need a nice scope to top 'er off with.

LowPro wrote:I'm limiting myself to $500-$600, for the whole package. I'll probably ending up fudging on that a little, since I'm gonna need a nice scope to top 'er off with.

Make sure to set aside an adequate amount for your scope. Won't do you much good to buy a tack-driver if you can't see what you're shooting at.

Mike wrote: Won't do you much good to buy a tack-driver if you can't see what you're shooting at.

I hear ya'...

If I have to, I'll sell a rifle to finance the scope purchase.

I got the CZ 527 varmint kevlar...let me tell you this is a sweet lil gun, very accurate out of the box, great trigger....I did nothing to this rifle and it put up great groups with factory ammo....

LowPro wrote:

Mike wrote: Won't do you much good to buy a tack-driver if you can't see what you're shooting at.

I hear ya'...

If I have to, I'll sell a rifle to finance the scope purchase.

Good luck in your search. Sounds like Savage and CZ both offer some fine guns that would fit your needs nicely.

Where in MO are you located? I just noticed that we were both from the same state.

Mike wrote:
Where in MO are you located? I just noticed that we were both from the same state.

12-13 miles West of Lincoln, off C Hwy.

I got my dad talked into getting a 204 barrel for his new G2 contender. Now if i could only figure out what rifle i want!

Lowpro,

I purchased a Savage Model 12 Varminter Low Profile with AccuTrigger in 204 Ruger a few weeks back and it is a real tack driver. To date all my handloads have grouped (5-shots) less than 1" @100 yds. 6 of the loads have produced less than .2's. All this from a factory rifle!

Although I have not done it people claim that it takes about 10 mins to change the barrel out.

The action is not as smooth as a Remington and others but it makes up for it in price, trigger, and out of the box accuracy.

Savages smooth up nicely with use, say, about 500 rounds in a PD patch The big bolt knob is a definite help here, though, more leverage is a GOOD thing.

Good to hear about the action. I have been a Win and Rem guy most of my life and this is my 1st Savage. Just had to see what all the talk about the great accuracy was out of the box. It's true.

Lowpro - forgot to mention that I put a pretty good scope on the Savage which I'm sure helped with the groups. I put a Burris Black Diamond 8X32 - 50mm side focus in fine plex on top of it with Warne Maxima bases and rings. Great scope, very clear optics, and does not move zero when changing power from 8 through 32. So good in fact that I bought another one for my Win M70 22-250.

glenn asher wrote:For your circumstances, Rick (LowPro), I'd say get the CZ Varmint, like the other Glen (One En) suggested. They aren't terribly pricey, set triggers are superb, and the rifle's not too heavy, either, only about 1 pound heavier than the sporter.

I ordered the CZ 527 Varmint Kevlar .204 today!

I was going back & forth between the Varmint Kevlar, and the American with the Spring Camo laminated stock. But when my dealer quoted me $680 for the Varmint Kevlar, I just couldn't pass it up...

Only bad thing is, it will be in on Friday afternoon. Just so happens that I'm leaving town on Friday afternoon, and won't be back until late Saturday night. And he's not open on Sunday's...

It'll be in my hands, in less than a week...five days and counting.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... hasJS=true

I'm also thinking of just reloading my own, but then again, I'd have to buy the dies, brass, bullets & powder.

What say you?!

Reloading is great fun and relaxation, and I highly recommend it for those reasons, but a lot will depend on how much shooting you plan to do with it. It might be wiser to hold off on a bulk ammo buy just yet, and see which ammo your rifle likes. Most all CZs seem to like the 32 grain loads pretty well, some, like mine, don't care too much for the heavier bullets. Until you find out which loads your rifle prefers, I'd hold off on the Cabela's buy. Just get one box each of the three Hornady loads, and that should let you know what it's going to like, or NOT like. My rifle barely tolerates the 45 grain load, doesn't do too badly with handloads using Sierra's 39 grain bullet, and likes both 32 grain bullets a LOT. It doesn't like the 40s at all. Your rifle may be different, but the odds are against it.

glenn asher wrote:Your rifle may be different, but the odds are against it.

I understand, completely. I'm just so wound-up right now, I want to shoot it as soon as I bring it home.

I think I'll do just as you said...buy a box of each, and go from there.

I'm not going to be able to sleep, tonight...or the next night, or the next night...etc.

I've been racking my brain daily, ever since I decided to get a .204 Ruger, with the questions "What make, what model, what finish, what stock???".

But now that I've chosen what I have, and ordered it, that's quite a load off the brain.

Whew...

Now all I have to do is, choose a scope.

Here we go again!

I was so exhausted from last weekend, I didn't make it to the gunshop on Monday. I did call Monday afternoon though, to see if it was in...it wasn't. So I decided to wait until today.

I was high on anticipation today, when I called this morning. Yep ~ it's in! I couldn't get there fast enough. Just so happens that the wife wanted to ride along, and waiting for her was torture.

Anyways...she's home! GAWD, she's beautiful...

The scope arrived today too, and was on my deck waiting for me, when I came home with the CZ...perfect timing. But, I'm still waiting on the scope rings to be delivered.

No pictures yet, though. I want to wait until I have it all set up, before posting pictures.

Oh...forgot to mention: I'm mounting a Nikon Monarch UCC 6-20x44 AO on top.