Getting out the 204's for 2022

[Rick in Oregon]

Get em out !!! Skippy is out on the top of the snow looking for girls!! Off I go!!!!!

Rats up with snow on the ground? Great.....time for "snow painting"!

Be sure to post pics of the spring adventure teaching Skippy to fly. You know how we love pics.......

[Bill K]

Even with snow, many can show up for lessons.

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[dirtcd]

Friday was a blast , skippy took flying lessons

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[Rick in Oregon]

Yup, those squirrels are dead alrighty.

Got any pics of the rifles, shootin' setups, shooters or anything from the trip besides blown up squirrels? We like pics.....

Here's some of our crew having their way with Skippy from a nice elevated hillside overlooking a rat-rich alfalfa field, giving individual flying lessons.....



And as it appears many seem to relish pics of blown-up critters, here's a local rock chuck that met a 40gr Varmageddon out of my Cooper 221FB last season....right in the kisser. Restorative dental surgery will be required.



Varmint season is almost upon us......

[jpx2rk]

@ RIO;

Do you suggest/recommend a portable shade popup like is shown in your picture?? Are they necessary, needed, a personal choice/preference?? Weights recommended/needed to hold it in place??

[Rick in Oregon]

@ RIO;

Do you suggest/recommend a portable shade popup like is shown in your picture?? Are they necessary, needed, a personal choice/preference?? Weights recommended/needed to hold it in place??

Well jpx2rk, purely a personal decision. During the early spring season, no shade really needed, but in mid to late May when the temps start to rise upwards towards the 80's+, they make all the difference. No one likes sweat pouring down their face onto their rifle, and no one wants a brutal sunburn either.

Normally we spike down the corners to prevent wind events. Once my buddy Matt did not spike his shade down, and a robust 30 mph gust blew his shade canopy right into the lake, all twisted up...useless. Lesson learned for the lad. Once the 'breeze' turns into a wind, we take them down, as usually by that time it's too windy to make any decent shots past 100 yards anyway. Then it's time to clean that barrel and think about that cold beverage back at camp.

Do I recomend them? Yes if it's "sweat-hot". Also good to have just to prevent a bad sunburn. No one wants to return home looking like a fried lobster.

This was my setup the day Matt's shade canopy blew into the lake seen in the background. It blew about 50 yards! (My Sako 75 Varmint 204R on the bags.)



These neat rigs come with corner spikes, but you've gotta use them!

[jpx2rk]

Thanks for the info RIO, appreciate it a lot.

Jim

[Rick in Oregon]

So now April is here, along with all the rodent varmints waking up from their winter sleep.

I don't see much posting about upcoming rat shoots, PD's, chucks, squirrels. Is it only me and my crew getting ready for fun in the field, or are others busy getting rifles and loads ready for the upcoming flurry of varmint shooting?

So tell us what you've got planned, and what rifle and load you plan on using. Inquiring minds want to know!

[Jim White]

So tell us what you've got planned, and what rifle and load you plan on using. Inquiring minds want to know!

Well bud, they're either in the fields shootin' rats or [hopefully not like me---] working.

[jpx2rk]

I've got a shoot planned for early May in the Burns area, have all the rifles sighted in, preferred ammo loaded/boxed up and starting to pile up in the corner of the DR. Wife not happy about me messing up the DR (again). Some of the ammo is leftover from my '18 trip out to SD for pdogs, so I only had to load ammo for the 20P which is a new addition to the family. Plan on bringing the 204R, R700 in 223, the 20P , a 17HMR, and a slightly modified 10/22.

The 10/22 is very accurate out to 50yds, the 17HMR out to 125 or so, and everything else is good beyond that. The 204R will have mostly 32g vmax & CFE, but some 39g/Varget will probably get shot as well. The R700 is strictly on a 50g/Varget diet, and the 20P will spit the 34g DT HP's with AA2520. It will interesting to see how the 34g DT's do teaching skippy how to fly.

I wish gas would come back down, but it's not going to stop me. I'm somewhat afraid prices won't be coming back down anytime soon, if any, so I'm gonna do the trip come heck or high prices. LOL

[Bill K]

Well Rick: I held off until I knew for certain I could get out today. Daughter came up and cared for the wife, while I went playing. Checked out a couple of my rock/sage areas and did find some ring neck squirrels along the way, here and there, so they were taken out as the showed. ( 8 of them)
Then in the areas ( photos will show rock out croppings, anywhere from around 200- 370 yrds) that I took out three large rock chucks. Did see about seven more, but they looked small and/or females, so they got a pass, this time.
All in all it was a nice sunny morning, a little wind, but not bad.
Took the 204R and the 20 Tac, both with 32 Lead free Noslers over CFE223 powder. No photos of the chucks, as this old guy, being out alone and no one around for 40 miles plus, is not going to walk/climb those rocks to recover and photo. Just getting too old to do that sort of thing anymore, safely. As the weather warms, winds stops, and youngins come out, it should just get better. One photo shows a lone sage hen walking across the road, believe she had a nest close by.

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[Guy M]

Rick - good to see that you're getting the rifles out!

Yesterday I took my 204 / CZ 527 for a walk in the hills. Popped a rockchuck at 135 yards from standing, using the bog-bod tripod as a rest. Chucky was quite a bit below me, down in a big ravine. The 35 grain Berger FBHP did what it always does. One very dead rockchuck rolling down the ravine.

Looking forward to getting out some more with it. Interesting trying to keep rifles fed these days. Out of my usual powders so trying some alternatives.

Regards, Guy

[Rick in Oregon]

Bill, glad to see you were able to get out again after Chuck and friends. And I hear ya in regard to climbing and crawling about sharp and nasty lava rock too. Too old for that stuff any more, and with two titanium hips and femurs, it's a no-go for sure. Gone are those frisky times throwing caution to the wind now that we're into "Geezerhood".

Nice pics of your chuck haunts too, thanks for posting. Looks a lot like here too. A pic from last week near home on a friends ranch property:



That place is not 204R friendly, so my Cooper M38 Phoenix in 221FB (Furball) gets used there most often. Very effective for the ranges there with the Nosler 40gr VG or BT, usually the Varmageddon flat base with a dose of RL-7 and the 7-1/2 in Lapua cases. It only zips along at 3,100 fps, but is plenty good inside of 300 yards for rock chucks, and shoots in the .2's. The synthetic stock is also less to deal with instead of fretting about gooning up a nice stick of Claro walnut on my other Coopers. Rockchucks, my favorite time of year.

Guy: Good to see you back here on the forum, and nice to see you getting out after one of our favorite varmints. Your comment about favorite powders missing in the inventory rings true also. If there was ever a time to lay in significant amounts of our favorite powders, it has past. Prices now are just plain stupid, and availability is spotty at best. Good thing there are many suitable powders in the same relative burn rate as our pet powder in order to keep our rifles fed properly.

And hey, next time remember your camera or phone buddy! You know how we're 'visually oriented', right?

[Bill K]

Know what you mean about going up into those rocks to retrieve a chuck. Not me anymore, especially when I am out in those areas 95% of the time alone. Just too old to being climbing them like I used.
When Varmint Shooter was here and out with me, he often would go up and get them, for photo's. But he moved to Colorado.
For every 10 I get, maybe one is in a position where I can go get it and then I will take a photo, til then I just show the rock pile, ridge and the flora of the area.

[Guy M]

Guy: Good to see you back here on the forum, and nice to see you getting out after one of our favorite varmints. Your comment about favorite powders missing in the inventory rings true also. If there was ever a time to lay in significant amounts of our favorite powders, it has past. Prices now are just plain stupid, and availability is spotty at best. Good thing there are many suitable powders in the same relative burn rate as our pet powder in order to keep our rifles fed properly.

And hey, next time remember your camera or phone buddy! You know how we're 'visually oriented', right?

Rick, I did better than that, I hauled a cameraman along with me:

Link goes to both an article I wrote and a video as well: https://ultimatereloader.com/2022/05/15 ... 204-ruger/

Still think the little 204 is one of the most fun varmint cartridges.

Regards, Guy