NEF: Ruger 204 Range Report

[MarkA]

NEF: Ruger 204 Range Report

1.   Received the 204 barrel on 12 October of 2004.  Good looking barrel.  VERY heavy, heavier even than was expecting from NEF.  Crowned muzzle which is very nice.  Very dirty, took two days of cleaning to get clean patch.
2.   First range day, 16 October.  Very positive first impressions.  Shooting 20 rounds of Hornady, 32 gr, V Max factory from bench w/ rest very near hinge point and barrel floated with washer.  Extractor was that, extractor NOT ejector.  It functioned flawlessly and moved spent case back and out for removal.  Accuracy was good for breakin at about 1 inch.  Heating in this big thick monster was not a problem.  Cleaning after action was not bad.

[quickdtoo]

Good news, Mark! Thanks.  I cleaned and polished the bore on mine yesterday, let WipeOut sit in the bore for a few hours first, then wiped it out and polished the bore with 50 strokes of non-embedding bore paste on a tight jag and patch. Hope the polishing will reduce the number of rounds to get good accuracy. Didn't polish the chamber yet, but since it's and extractor, may not be necessary. I cut the neck off a .223 case so I could place it in the chamber and dry fire to check the trigger, looks like I'll be doing a little honing, the trigger is smooth and crisp, but too heavy for the best accuracy. I ordered 2 boxes of hornady 32gr Vmax ammo from Midsouth. Also placed the 40gr Hornady and the 32gr & 40gr Remington Accutips on my wish list at Midway. I may end up handloading for this rifle, some of the .204 shooters at AR are shooting sub .3 moa groups with their handloads, although most are getting .5 moa with the factory fodder, albeit in Savage and Remington rifles. I checked the rate of twist in my .204, same 1-12 as the bolt guns.  More later,  Tim

[Longcruise]

Is the extractor as opposed to ejector going to become standard on the NEF?  An extractor seems like it woud be more positive and an improvement in reliability.  OTOH, when the ejector is reliable is sure is fast!

[quickdtoo]

when the ejector is reliable is sure is fast!

Yeah, too fast, sometimes. It's kinda embarrassing at the range when your spent case flies over your shoulder and lands at the feet of or worse yet, hits fellow shooters watching from behind as you try to catch the bugger and don't! :oops:

[MarkA]

Quick: May not have to polish!  That's what I was gonna do with mine and could not get a hex head screw that would grip in primer pocket so I could use the drill to polish it.  I figured I would get one on the way home from range, so I packed my trusty picks for digging out stuck cases.  WOWIEE, I love this extraction and not ejection.  I have to reload this brass and this is
1. Way more positive, not a single fail to extract.
2. As you say, no chasing errent brass flying everywhere.
3. No having another step to do to fix an brand new piece of equipment.

I need to remeber to email NEF on how well this works.  I did not polish my bore but did spend a bunch of hours cleaning and used Wipe Out twice.  Not sure how a new barrel could be that dirty!

[martyrd]

what is lenght of barrel on the new nef .204 cal ? thanks. M.D

[quickdtoo]

Mark, thanks for the feedback, looking forward to more. I think the reason for the filth in the bore is it is caused by the blueing process, the bore probably has blueing in it, in reality it is blued!

Martyrd, the barrel is 22" long with the same size and contour as my .45-70, only heavier cuz it's got a lot smaller hole in it! :-D

[Longcruise]

My TCR 83 had an extractor which was very conveniant for the reloader and was ideal at the range.  Never put an eye out in a spectator :grin:

OTOH, the extractor is not that fast when you have a scope jutting out over the chamber.  I think the ideal solution for field shooting is to have a shell carrier that straps across the back of your hand or wrist (right for righties and left for lefties).  That way you can pop the extracted empty out with your non trigger hand then raach to your wrist for the next cartridge.  All those moves take place within a few inches.

There's a lady that shows up at the local gunshows selling hand sewn cartridge holders for belt carry.  Wonder if she would sew something up?  Anybody interested if she will do it?