Author Topic: 204 Varmint Shoot!!!! (Read 518 times)

204Ruger · « **on:** April 03, 2005, 05:28:43 PM »

Friday April 1st me my brother and four of my buddies went Groundhog hunting in the big fields of Broadford VA. I carried my Handi 204 bull barrel. My brother carried his favorite Remington 788 .22-250. My buddies carried two marlin 17 HMR's and the other two had a savage 204 and a ruger m77 204 both heavy 26' barrells compared to my 22' barrel.
The first two groundhog's went on the laser rangefiner(bushnell) at 145 and 123 yards. We let the 17 HMR boys pop them. One was a one shot to the head kill. the other was a crawl off. The next hog was 238 yards away. My brother shot and missed. So i shot him in the neck when he came back up from his hole. The other guys did not get to shoot at hog's so we went back to the 100 field we have setup for sighting our rifles. The Nef 204 shot .75 and for record shot .63 inch groups with hornady 32 gr. v-max. THe ruger would shot 1.25 inch groups at 100 yards with the same bullet. The savage m12 single shot produced .82 and 1.12 inch groups. Gotta Love them Handi's. I have less than $300 in my whole setup. The savage guy sayed he had $780 in his setup and the ruger guy had $820 in his. This comes to show you that cost does not always buy you the most accurate gun. NEF 204 Rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

quickdtoo · « **Reply #1 on:** April 03, 2005, 05:35:05 PM »

That's for sure, higher cost doesn't always equate to better accuracy. :grin:

http://www.gun-tests.com/performance/feb97money.html

204Ruger · « **Reply #2 on:** April 03, 2005, 05:42:40 PM »

I really enjoy shooting my NEF 204 Ruger. The 32gr. shoots good but I wonder how the 40Gr. will shoot. 204 Ammo in Saltville VA is real hard to find right now. My dad's gun shop can not get any right now. I am down to 20 rounds. 204 Ruger Handi is worth every buck you pay for it.

quickdtoo · « **Reply #3 on:** April 03, 2005, 06:09:57 PM »

I've shot the 40gr Hornady Vmax, 32gr Rem Accutips, Winchester 34gr Super-X HP and the 34gr HMS, none shot anywhere near as good as the 32gr Hornady Vmax which shot .6"-.8" at 100yds and less than 2" at 200yds, even with a 10-15mph wind. I'll probably have to handload the .204 to get it shooting as good as my .223 Ultra Varmint, though....

mitchell · « **Reply #4 on:** April 04, 2005, 03:43:34 AM »

well i think i have about 90 40's left but after that i'm going to play with the 32's , maybe the sierra's. i have a big feeling that the 32's will fly better then the 40's .

good shooting by the way!!! i haven't got to shoot any groundhogs this year

. but just waiting for the hay to get cut going to be a fun june and july this year.

aulrich · « **Reply #5 on:** April 04, 2005, 04:46:42 AM »

Everything I have read to date says that no one is getting the 40 grain Hornadys to fly as good as the 32's. But the Sierras 39 have been getting good reviews can't wait to try them out.

How have peoples handloads been doing compared with the Hornady factory stuff?

nfmMike · « **Reply #6 on:** April 04, 2005, 07:52:33 AM »

Quote from: quickdtoo

That's for sure, higher cost doesn't always equate to better accuracy. :grin:

http://www.gun-tests.com/performance/feb97money.html

That is a great article, and I am glad to see that the Handi Hornet that I bought last year is second to none (though I never thought so).

Nuttinbutchunks · « **Reply #7 on:** April 04, 2005, 03:10:52 PM »

That's what I like about the NEF-H&R rifles the best. They shoot as well if not better than higher priced rifles. I haven't shot my Ruger M77 for quite a while now, although I think I should. It's just that the Handis seem to have more appeal to me now.