Gonna be back in the 204 AR business...

arlaunch said:
What is your favorite powder & brass for that caliber?
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No real favorite brass, most of what I have used is Winchester, but the necks need annealed or they only last a few loads. The pockets open up quickly too iirc. I have a stockpile of Win and some Dogtown I bought on sale, which is Nosler I think.

Powders, I've used H335 with great accuracy but moved on to imr 8208 which is great also, and I think I'll try my jug of VV N133 if the manual says it's appropriate.
 
204 AR, I'm interested and following along to see your build. That looks like a nice barrel you ordered. I'm also currently putting a 204 AR together for a prairie dog trip next year and some local coyotes too. I'll hopefully have all of my parts in and together in a few weeks. A couple weeks ago, I ordered a barrel similar to yours but it's a 23", fluted, 1/2" threaded, 1-11 twist. It's my first 204 so I'm curious to see your build and load recommendations.
 
The barrel came today, looks fantastic. I got it all put together with parts I had except for a new yhm gas block I drilled and tapped for a set screw to make it adjustable. Put a Meopta 6.5-20x scope on it and got it zeroed with ammo I had for my Ruger Predator, 32 zmax and 8208.

I was lazy and just shot from the seat of my sxs using sticks under the float tube and my elbow in the steering wheel. It's pretty solid but definitely no bench rest. The first group was under an inch so I went over to the neighbors and shot 7 pigeons off their grain bins with it (kind of messy lol). I missed the last one so went back home and the fouled group wasn't too great so I cleaned it up and went back out and shot great groups again. There wasn't any copper to speak of after those 25 or 30 rounds, just a decent amount of carbon that Eliminator and a brass brush took care of.

32 zmax were well under an inch at about 140 yds off sticks and shot 4 35 gr bergers which were almost touching, probably would be off a bench. Not bad for ammo I grabbed off the shelf.
 
The rifling looks great in the borescope also. I'm really thinking of ordering another to keep for a future build. These kinds of bargains on odd calibers don't come along every day.
 
I'm strongly considering a 20P build myself but I just can't hardly leave my 243s in the safe! If I use something else I feel like I'm slumming!!!
 
Love my 243's also, but the fast 20s and 17s are very addictive how they barely nudge your shoulder and make small fuzzy stuff come apart at the seams at impact!
 
I still haven't tested loads or shot for groups from a bench in good conditions, but it's accounted for 25 pigeons so far and I'm needing to pop some more. Actually 25 pigeons with 25 shots, I missed twice but got a 3 for 1 on top of a bin. Two lined up facing opposite directions and I thought if I clipped the back of one it might go through the second one. That worked, but what I didn't figure was the third one was further back and to the side, and some shrapnel got it also. I'm sure I'll never do that again!
 
204 AR said:
I just ordered a ER Shaw barrel from Midway, 22" fluted and threaded 1/2". 1-12 twist is the only bummer but it should still shoot 40 gr Bergers and will definitely shoot the 35s. Should be a fun build.
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I bought my 1st 204R for prairie dogs and have been hooked on the cartridge ever since. Never done an AR build in one but sure had the fever more than once. Have fun with your build!
 
204 AR said:
The barrel came today, looks fantastic. I got it all put together with parts I had except for a new yhm gas block I drilled and tapped for a set screw to make it adjustable. Put a Meopta 6.5-20x scope on it and got it zeroed with ammo I had for my Ruger Predator, 32 zmax and 8208.

I was lazy and just shot from the seat of my sxs using sticks under the float tube and my elbow in the steering wheel. It's pretty solid but definitely no bench rest. The first group was under an inch so I went over to the neighbors and shot 7 pigeons off their grain bins with it (kind of messy lol). I missed the last one so went back home and the fouled group wasn't too great so I cleaned it up and went back out and shot great groups again. There wasn't any copper to speak of after those 25 or 30 rounds, just a decent amount of carbon that Eliminator and a brass brush took care of.

32 zmax were well under an inch at about 140 yds off sticks and shot 4 35 gr bergers which were almost touching, probably would be off a bench. Not bad for ammo I grabbed off the shelf.
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curious how much did the 204 weigh weigh that barrel?
 
My heavy bbl ar 204 weighs over 13 lbs so itā€™s turning into a pd gun. Just had a med bbl made which will be my thermal gun, much lighter. Cousin gave me some 24 grn 204,s that are listed at 4400 fps. Smokin
 
Heymartay said:
My heavy bbl ar 204 weighs over 13 lbs so itā€™s turning into a pd gun. Just had a med bbl made which will be my thermal gun, much lighter. Cousin gave me some 24 grn 204,s that are listed at 4400 fps. Smokin
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I was curious about the weight. Last year I built an Aero Precision 6.5 Cr with a 22" heavy barrel and it turned into a 13 lb rifle, to heavy to tote around in the field for my liking. If a guy could build a 20-22" barrel, lighten the weight, it could be fun. I'm sure the 24gr are smokin hot. :)
 
It's not too heavy imo, this is a fairly light barrel as far as 22" ar barrels go.

I finally got some groups this evening in calm winds. But was shooting towards the sun getting lower in the sky and shot the second two groups with a warm barrel so it's still not a perfect test.

These are 200 yd groups. I shot the 32s first and it's 1 5/16" with 4 just over an inch. Not bad considering it's a load for another rifle. The 35 bergers are disappointing and the 40 vmax look like the holes might be wobbling a bit.

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