223/556 vs 204 for varmints

J

jlsbassman

New member
I have 2 different savage rifles, one is a model 16 in 204 the other is a model 10 in 223. Looking to turn one of these into a 243. I also have a mossberg mvp in 223/556 that I can use. Do you all think I should keep the 204 and turn the other into the 243. I'm already set up to load for 223 but not fir 204. Just trying to get some opinions on this.
 
Better turn the 223, its not big enough to kill coyotes anyway.
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I would think .243 would be overkill for those distances on that size game. I guess you'll be certain to put them down with the first shot.

a fast flat shooting .223 or .204 round should be sufficient but... a 22-250 is faster and flatter for longer distances than the .223

just my opinion. maybe an expert will chime in.
 
243 is going to be wife's deer rifle. She shot mine the other day and want one of hot own now. I'll probably have to give her mine and build my own.
 
I prefer the 204 with the 45gr Hornady over any load through my 223's. I would keep it and get a 243 to replace the 223. I almost never use any of my 223's now since I got an AR upper in 204. I have 1 in 10 and 1 in 9 twist barrels on my 204's that do well with the heavy bullets. I am not sure I'd like the 204 so much if I hadn't tried that bullet, not impressed with the 40gr V max I also tried.

My 223 AR pushes 55gr V max or SP bullets at 2960fps with a 20" barrel. It just doesn't seem to hit as hard as I'd like on longer shots if I don't get the perfect broadside angle. It's picky and doesn't like anything I tried except Black HIlls 55gr SP or RAM 55gr V max loads. Ultramax 55gr BT ammo was only 2750fps through it. My 20" 204 gets 3325fps with the 45gr Hornady that's a tough little bullet and just seems to hit harder to me. A different faster bullet might make me like the 223 better but I never found one that would shoot well.
 
Don't have much experience with the 204, just traded for it a few weeks and only shot a few rds thru it. Have several guns in 223 so I know how it shots and have pretty good confidence in what it will do. Probably get a few more rds thru the 204 and get some confidence in it also. Is there anything special with reloading the 204 or is it pretty well the same as 223.
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogPowder, primer,bullets! Load and shoot!!

yup. 204 is pretty simple to load for


one thing to watch for in autoloaders is that you can use standard pmags with them - the shoulder difference on the 204 is just enough to cause problems in a standard pmag due to the rib.

otherwise enjoy playing around with 4000 FPS + thin jacketed bullets.

its spectacular when a vmax hit bags of flesh and bone at those speeds
 
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