.204

[Lewdan 17]

Thinking on doing a bit of target long range shooting,the 204 cal looks pretty usefull, anyone have experience with this cal, pros and cons availability of ammo etc

Cheers.

[celticrusader 78]

Why the .204 as there are many others?

[zx10mike 137]

just my opinion but not much cop for long range.this of course depends what you call long range? a fast twist 223 shooting heavy high bc bullets if your looking for a smaller cal target rifle all depends what distance and weather you need dual purpose.if your limited to a cal on your land ?if not up to 600yds 6mmbr or 308/7mm for 1000 maybe .more info needed.i have had a couple of .204's you need to be a wind reading god past 300 imo.

mike

[ianm 2,594]

The .204 is a superb foxing round and also long range crows etc, but i wouldn't class it as a target round.

[Alsone 789]

Again depends on what you consider longe range.

 

If long range is proper long range then .338 Lapua. Snipers choice!

 

Won't get it for anything other than target though this side of big game shooting and you need to mke sure your ground allows it.

 

Also, with any larger calibre, make sure you can afford the ammo!

Edited December 28, 2014 by Alsone

[Deker 3,450]

Thinking on doing a bit of target long range shooting,the 204 cal looks pretty usefull, anyone have experience with this cal, pros and cons availability of ammo etc

Cheers.

 

I think I'm pretty much following everyone else, what makes you say the 204 cal looks pretty usefull...?????

[Lewdan 17]

Sorry guys should have explained better. Long range to me is shooting out to a maximum of 500yds or so, been looking at the 204 on you tube and just thought it looked good. I except there are other calibres that will be just as good or better, don't really want to use a calibre with brass is hard to come by or expensive to reload. Also want it to double up asa foxing rifle.. still open to info... thanks.

[Skull Hooker 185]

I've got one. Use for dedicated NV foxing rifle. My Howa with 1 in 12 wouldn't stabilise the 40gr factory V Max, and the 32gr was OK but not amazing. Very fast devastating round now launching 39gr Sierra BK from Hornady cases at 3800fps above Re10x or Benchmark, in a 1/2" group. American bullets vary in their availability, so make sure that when they do become available, you can get a few. I've shot out to 300yds with no probs, very flat, but the wind affect a light bullet, whatever the calibre. Most of my shots are on foxes at 70-200yds, so im well happy with it.

[zx10mike 137]

run some ballistic programs and compare the wind deflection on a .204 at 500 .any one can spend all morning plinking at a know distance in the same wind then start filming in the afternoon and say first round hit lol. imo yes the 204 will shoot 500 but dont expect a great hit rate with the weather we get in this country.that is a long way for a first round hit with a 40 grn bullet.there are guys out there very familier with small cals who can but it takes some doing.go hevier i reckon.i used a 75 amax in a 223 that was handy but still hard work.

[Alsone 789]

TBH I'm not sure what's regarded as a great target round, but .243 is capable of shooting out to the kind of distances you've been talking about and is a superb fox round.

 

Drop is 31 inches at 500 yds with a 55gr Winchester Silver Tip bullet (randomly chosen rather than recommended), according to gun data.

 

There's also .22-250 with a 40gr with similar drop although I expect you to have more difficulty finding a target permissible round for that.

 

It might sound like a lot of drop, but just look at the other rounds and you'll find little better in a round capable of being granted good reason for fox under ordinary circumstances.

 

I would suggest some considerable expense on a good scope is in order for those kind of ranges.

[Lewdan 17]

Thanks for your replies, quite a lot more to this long range shooting than I thoughtwill do more research. Happy new year all.

[Alsone 789]

I'm sure Deker can give some useful advice on target shooting as he shoots regularly at Bisley.

 

However, from what little I know, it's really important to have a scope with turrets that track accurately (some scopes don't track the same time after time).

 

There's some very good advice from a guy who really knows his stuff on Youtube - TiborasaurusRex. He's an ex-US forces sniper, and really knows his stuff. There are videos of him hitting the target in wind from 1.2 miles with .338 and 1,553 yards with .243, 1st time!!! He has a video specifically on buying a sniper scope and what to look out for in which he also tests and rates around 20 scopes from the very cheap up to the seriously expensive. Might be worth taking a look. He has around 100 videos up so you'll have to sort through to find the right one.

 

This is the channel belonging to the guy you want:

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqymwlCbVwpMnSLrd-NAQJQ

 

I leave you to find the scope video.

 

I just couldn't resist adding this video though, a beer can, 1st time shot with .338 at 1,236 yards, that's one small target at that range!!!

 

Edited January 1, 2015 by Alsone

[danw 1,748]

I'm sure deker will correct me if I'm wrong but you can't use any gun with a mv of over 3280ft/s at bisley or any other mod range So it would surely rule out the 204

[Deker 3,450]

I appreciate the vote of confidence here but I don't pretend to be the Sage!

 

Just the same, the .204 was never developed as a target calibre.

 

The simple fact is any calibre can be used as a target tool, some are better at it at various distances for various reasons though.

 

As mentioned, Bisley has max velocity and energy limits, and the .204/factory will be above these on velocity, of course you could download it but that will somewhat defeat the whole object of the calibre.

 

Frankly, many commonly used calibres exceed Bisley 1000m/s (3280ft/sec) speed (22-250, .243, .223, etc., etc.,can easily exceed these speeds), although, with many of the heavier bullets you "can" stay within limits!

 

There are other ranges, (generally non MoD ranges, but some MoD Field Firing Areas), that can accommodate these calibres though.

 

ATB!

[Alsone 789]

This is one reason I'm not a fan of .204 myself.

 

The 2nd shot here - seen this before. There's no doubting the terminal damage, the fox has it's guts hanging out, so the round clearly fragmented. What's worrying though is how many foxes don't seem to die instantly despite the damage. Not seen this with larger calibers such as .223. It's almost as if you get the shock damage without the shock.You'd have tp say in this case the shot was a little far back. However, with that damage...

 

You can find quite a few videos like this and I've heard of shooters with experience of this as well:

 

Edited January 3, 2015 by Alsone