Is the 204 becoming obsolete?

I had no idea people bought anything besides 6.5 Kardashian. 22-250, 223, 243 and 25-06 all work for me. The 204 is a cool little cartridge though.
 
Well, I hope it doesn't go the way of Remington's 5mm rim fire.
However, there are similar mistakes. Hornady and Ruger seemed to
think that they just HAD to come up with their own case. I make
the argument that they should have used the .223 Rem case as
the parent case. Are there reloaders who would have been much
more accepting of a round such as Practical 20 or .204AI using
the .223 case? Hornady could just as easily made brass for
those rounds as well as Ruger making production rifles for
either.

The ballistics of .204 bullets with the .223 as parent cases
are amazing, and AI'd, can out do the .204R. Even my Tac20 can
match my .204R Predator. I'm much more enthused with the
former.
 
Everyone likes something new. Look at all the new cartridges out today. So many are similar to something old but just a little bit different. New sells and thats what keeps the doors open. If that weren't the case we'd all still be driving 55 Chevy's. But that wouldn't bother me to much. LOL
 
I have about 600 pieces of brass for it but I will likely shop for some more in the future just to help build up in case it does go away. Last time we shot prairie dogs it was hands down my favorite gun to shoot. I hope it sticks around for sure!
 
Originally Posted By: spotstalkshootCabelas has the M12 for 369 again. Tough to find a better shooting 204r at that price.

I looked on cabelas and they do not list it but not sure if it is just going off my closest location. Can you send me a link if you have one? That is originally what he wanted to buy after shooting mine but they discontinued it for a while. If he can get one of those I know he will go that route. Thanks!
 
The market gets saturated, everyone who could use one has one. Now it is just new shooters that are potential buyers. It is kind of a knitch cartridge only appealing to varmint and predator hunters and it is not a common caliber, the selection of 20 cal bullets is much smaller than lets say 224. It lacks the accuracy/support for precision games or the darling of everyone right now Long Range shooting. Under 300 yards preds and varmints are in mortal danger. Also pelt hunting seams to be on the decline and one of the advantages of the .204 was it's ability to take preds with little pelt damage.

The 204 case is really a pretty nice design and it wasn't Hornady's invention, they improved the 222 Rem Mag case and will do everything and then some compared to the 223 AI and is much easier to get to feed smoothly. At the time it came out AR's weren't a big deal and most short actions didn't have a 2.26 length restriction.

I started wildcatting the 204 case the year after became available and am shooting a 22-204(223 AI on steroids and feeds from everything), 6mm-206(Improved 6x47mm Rem Benchrest round that doesn't need custom dies) and the 25-204( a clone of the 257 Kimber again no custom dies needed) that matches the original factory ballistics of the 250-3000 Sav. and 257 Roberts. All of these are run it through a FL die, load and shoot, no fireforming needed.

Now we have a proliferation of AR's with their restrictive mag lengths and cartridges like the 20 Practical and other cartridges that are based on cases that operate comfortably in the AR platform are becoming popular.

 
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When the 204 Ruger first came out, the big thing that Ruger and Hornady supposedly wanted was to produce the fastest commercial cartridge which meant convincingly besting the 17 Remington velocity.

The 223 based 20 caliber off-springs that they initially tried did not safely give the necessary velocity, so the 204 Ruger was created from the longer .222 Remington Magnum case which allowed a bit more case volume over the 223 Remington. In addition, Hornady had produced a 33 grain 20 caliber bullet for quite a few years to meet the needs of Tactical 20 shooters and others who shot a few other 20 caliber wildcat cartridges long before the 204 Ruger was "invented". In order to get the needed velocity in a safe manner for the 204 Ruger, the bullet weight was reduced from 33 to 32 grains. (I still have a small stache of the 33 grain Hornady bullets that I had stockpiled for my Tactical 20 that I had built in @2000.)

Those two things, coupled with a standard chamber with a bit of extra free bore ala Roy Weatherby, made the 32 grain Hornady 204 Ruger loading the commercial velocity king.

Now that the world had suddenly "discovered" a new bore diameter with the introduction of the 204 Ruger, it wasn't long before some 223 based 20 caliber wildcats were created, one of which the internet told us was the "brand spanking new" 20 Practical - a simple neck down of the 223 Rem case. In fact, 20 caliber shooters had been loading and shooting the cartridge since the early 1980's. The just called it the 5mm-223. In addition 20 caliber wildcatter had shot a cartridge for years based on the 222 Rem Mag, which for other than a couple of very minor dimensional difference, looked amazing like the "new and totally innovative" 204 Ruger cartridge.
 
Shelton573, ad for J23-feb12 says 223,22-250,6.5,308. But a friend was in store asked about 204 they said same price, but sale had not started. So not sure now.
 
Originally Posted By: Winny FanWhen the 204 Ruger first came out, the big thing that Ruger and Hornady supposedly wanted was to produce the fastest commercial cartridge which meant convincingly besting the 17 Remington velocity.

The 223 based 20 caliber off-springs that they initially tried did not safely give the necessary velocity, so the 204 Ruger was created from the longer .222 Remington Magnum case which allowed a bit more case volume over the 223 Remington. In addition, Hornady had produced a 33 grain 20 caliber bullet for quite a few years to meet the needs of Tactical 20 shooters and others who shot a few other 20 caliber wildcat cartridges long before the 204 Ruger was "invented". In order to get the needed velocity in a safe manner for the 204 Ruger, the bullet weight was reduced from 33 to 32 grains. (I still have a small stache of the 33 grain Hornady bullets that I had stockpiled for my Tactical 20 that I had built in @2000.)

Those two things, coupled with a standard chamber with a bit of extra free bore ala Roy Weatherby, made the 32 grain Hornady 204 Ruger loading the commercial velocity king.

Now that the world had suddenly "discovered" a new bore diameter with the introduction of the 204 Ruger, it wasn't long before some 223 based 20 caliber wildcats were created, one of which the internet told us was the "brand spanking new" 20 Practical - a simple neck down of the 223 Rem case. In fact, 20 caliber shooters had been loading and shooting the cartridge since the early 1980's. The just called it the 5mm-223. In addition 20 caliber wildcatter had shot a cartridge for years based on the 222 Rem Mag, which for other than a couple of very minor dimensional difference, looked amazing like the "new and totally innovative" 204 Ruger cartridge.

And that is how I remember it.
While searching for an ultra light Predator rifle in a 17 Rem. I found the Kimber Montana in 204 which of course met all of my needs. Winny is right in saying it doesn't take to long researching loading manuals and observing chronograph display readings to notice that other 20 cal. or 24 cal. has to be pushed a lot to match the 204 velocities. The same holds true for the 17 Rem. vs the 17-223. Not a thing wrong with the other 20 and 17 calibers, but it's hard to overcome case volume. Similar to the old saying of cubic inch eventually takes over.
So to end my rambling, I am a big fan of the 204 and hope it stays.
 
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I think AWS hit the nail on the head about the support.
17HMR and 17WSM, offer it and they will come. What soured me on the HMR was there was a pile of guns and no ammo when the first came out. Neither 17 has what one would call outstanding ammo available.

The 204 with the questionable factory twist on some didn’t help. Then guys wanted a bit more performance at longer range and went to heavier bullets with good results. Only for that supplier to drop them the last year or so.

Dunno, maybe that’s just marketing.
 
Originally Posted By: jshI think AWS hit the nail on the head about the support.
17HMR and 17WSM, offer it and they will come. What soured me on the HMR was there was a pile of guns and no ammo when the first came out. Neither 17 has what one would call outstanding ammo available.

The 204 with the questionable factory twist on some didn’t help. Then guys wanted a bit more performance at longer range and went to heavier bullets with good results. Only for that supplier to drop them the last year or so.

Dunno, maybe that’s just marketing.

Its demand far more than marketing. Both the 17 caliber and the 20 caliber bore diameters are not what most people want, so as someone stated earlier, the market is a niche market with a definitely limited number of potential buyers.

It would be nice if we had unlimited choices available to us, but neither the manufacturers nor their vendors like a huge inventory of items sitting around that don't readily sell because the consumer market is limited and small. If it doesn't sell, it doesn't get produced. Basic economics.
 
I hope it's not going obsolete. The case is the be all you can be case for the .378 bolt face and a dandy for wildcatting.

I've never had one though. So, probably about right, if it becomes obsolete, then I'll have to have one.

When Hornady started making the 33 gr. I put together my first .20 caliber, a .20BR, and have always had at least a couple .20's in the stable since. Have three different ones now, .20BR, .20-250 and .20 Dasher. Wouldn't mind getting a little slowpoke .204 Ruger one of these days either though, for squirrels and such
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- DAA
 
Originally Posted By: DAAI hope it's not going obsolete. The case is the be all you can be case for the .378 bolt face and a dandy for wildcatting.

I've never had one though. So, probably about right, if it becomes obsolete, then I'll have to have one.

When Hornady started making the 33 gr. I put together my first .20 caliber, a .20BR, and have always had at least a couple .20's in the stable since. Have three different ones now, .20BR, .20-250 and .20 Dasher. Wouldn't mind getting a little slowpoke .204 Ruger one of these days either though, for squirrels and such
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- DAA


Point taken.
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DAA, I have three wildcats on the 204 case and have never owned a 204. I do have a 20 Practical AR and have a 20 P bolt gun in the works, just waiting for the barrel to get here.
 
There is another case that is even longer than the 204 Ruger/222 Rem Mag which is 47mm long and uses the .378 case head. Heym developed the 5.6x50 Mag which is 3mm longer. RWS brass is a available from Huntingtons. It comes in both rimless and rimmed for break open firearms. They developed it to bring the 222 Rem up to power levels required by Germany to hunt certain animals. I shoot the rimmed version in a combo gun and it makes a very nice coyote hunting cartridge that takes commonly available .224 bullets.

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Originally Posted By: DAAI hope it's not going obsolete. The case is the be all you can be case for the .378 bolt face and a dandy for wildcatting.

I've never had one though. So, probably about right, if it becomes obsolete, then I'll have to have one.

When Hornady started making the 33 gr. I put together my first .20 caliber, a .20BR, and have always had at least a couple .20's in the stable since. Have three different ones now, .20BR, .20-250 and .20 Dasher. Wouldn't mind getting a little slowpoke .204 Ruger one of these days either though, for squirrels and such
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- DAA

Good post, DAA.............. That pretty well "splains" where the 204 Ruger fits into the 20 caliber wildcat world.
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Some people like something "just a bit better" while others like to make one trip to Walmart for everything. It all keeps the world spinning.
 
I tracked down the howa in 204 that I wanted after hunting for awhile in the used rack at the local cabelas.
Got luck the rifle really likes the first fiocchi 32gr load I picked up and now I buy it as I see it or can to stock up and start a brass supply from that.
 
To me it really doesn’t matter much if it becomes obsolete. I have plenty of brass, bullets, and dies to shoot it the rest of my lifetime. I have been shooting the slowpoke (204 Ruger) since it first came out 15 years ago and love it for called Coyotes. Probably killed closed to 400 Coyotes with it. Have had 3 different guns chambered in this Cartridge. With my latest one being my favorite a CZ 527..... Have had great luck with 35 grain Bergers, 32 grain Nosler Ballistic tips, and the 45 grain Hornady softpoints. My latest bullet I’m testing is the 33 grain Calhoon double hollowpoints to soon to make a judgment on them..... But I can say that 0-300 yards as a fur gun at a Velocity of around 3900 fps the 204 Ruger is tough to beat. And that’s coming from somebody that loves the 17 Tactical too.....
 
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