204Ruger

I just recently learned about a couple pretty cool wildcats. They are both based off of the FN 5.7x28mm cartridge. First is the 5mm Shrike which is a sweet little .20 cal round. The other is the 4.4x28, just necked down to .17. (The third round is an unrelated .17 skeeter)



Does anyone have any experience with these? Any idea on velocities out of a longer rifle barrel?

-ben

Awww, what a cute baby buwet!

I know, they're a couple of cuties. I think they'd be good fox/cat cartridges but there's not a lot of data out there for them

Why? Is the first question that comes to mind. With the introduction of the .17 Hornet by Hornady, what advantage do these cartridges offer? The .20 caliber numbers appear to fit the same niche as the .17 and .221 Remington Fireball. They are interesting, especially for those who must have something no one else has.

Years ago I recall a fellow shooter I knew, we called him Captain Strange, that had to have a .22 - 30-30 Ackley Improved. This was as impractical a cartridge as possible, exceeding the .220 Swift in capacity at a time when there were few powders that could take advantage of the capacity within pressure limits. Last time I saw him his face was pocked marked with little scabs where he was sandblasted with brass fragments and powder kernels. He had blown up his wildcat rifle.

I too tinkered with wildcats and improved cartridges, some for revolvers, others for pistols and still others for rifles. Today there are factory cartridges that offer the same ballistics without all the work. So, for the experimenter, the individual that wants to explore new horizons, these cartridges offer a opportunity. They just aren't practical for those that just want to load some brass and go.

A friend of my son has a pistol that shoots the FN 5.7x28mm cartridge. That is one vicious little round.

Certainly the 17 Hornady Hornet is a sweet little .17 caliber that should be easy to get brass for now that it is a "factory" round. But what about a year ago when the 17 hornet was still a "wildcat?" It was still every bit as cool, but there is definitely something to having a cool little round that nobody else has. (and most people wouldn't even want)

Even with factory rounds there's a similar debate. I remember arguing with a co-worker back in 2004 who told me I'd be crazy to buy a .204 because if I went on a prairie dog trip and I ran out of ammo I couldn't just go to the local hardware store and buy more ammo. I told him that I didn't want to buy a rifle chambered in something that everybody-and-his-ugly-brother already has. (He was trying to sell me on a .22-250 (no offense to the proven .22-250))

I guess there's just something fun about reloading and having something most people don't have, and if you're going to do both of those, you might as well have something that takes a little extra work with resizing brass. Maybe like a lot of things, once you get older and wiser you don't feel compelled to do that anymore.. Anyway, thanks for the input guys!

In case you haven't noticed. Gun "nuts" like to pour time and money into meaningless tasks and projects with little real benefits.