# 204 vs 223



## yote caller

hey guys just wonderin what do you recomend a 204 or a 223 i shoot a 243super short on my yotes but my friend got a 204 for christmas and says he thinks its to small but i disagree its a fast gun i realy would not mind to have one. i have heard good and bad things about the 223 i think that it sounds like a good gun i have shot on only a couple of times iv shot the 204 alot at rabbits and i was impressed but my friend says he thinks of it as an preire dog gun i think of it as a coyote gun well what do you think and just wondering has anyone ever shot a coyote with a 17 i have ov shot 4 this summer droped them in ther tracks my dad shot a jack rabbit at 320 we looked through the range finder 17 are a sweet gun :sniper:


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## Savage Rookie

In a recent predator and prey article they compared the two, sorry i don't have the link but i'm sure others will.

One of the intersting portions of the article was where they did side by side comparisons with both ballistics gell and ballistic bullet tubes. both bullets shot through the ordinace gell (11+ inches of penetration) and in the ballistics tube created 100 ml wound cavities. (both 40 gr. bullets 3600 fps). The .223 had a penetration of 6.87 while the .204 had a comperable pentration of 6.80".

The conclusion of the article was that the .204 has a flatter trajectory but the .223 has a larger bullet selection, so if you are primarily going to shoot varmints and predators than the .204 is the gun for you. If you want to hunt smaller big game (deer) than the .223 should be your gun. I don't recommend the .223 for deer at all, but thats an argument that goes on and on.

when i last purshased a rifle i went in hopes of getting a .223 but thankfully the gun man talked me into the .204. I wanted to get the .223 because of the cheaper and wider selection of shells, but was finally persauded by the fact of the .204 is a bit faster and flatter.

Most of my shots for the upcoming coyote season wil prolly run into the 275-300 yard range, as this is what i feel confident in. according to hornady's ballistic chart (40 gr hornady are alli shoot) the .204 40 g has am energy of 764 fllbs at 275 yards, dropping to 674 ft/lbs at 300 yards.

at 275 yards the .223 40g vamax only has an energy of 578 ft/lbs dropping to 479 ft/lbs at 300.

So IMO, though you are shooting a smaller diameter bullet with the .204 you have more of a range than with the .223. So tell your friend that he'll be fine with the .204 as a coyote gun, and remember that bullet placement is key to all shots regardless of caliber.

hope this helps,

paige


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## cya_coyote

i switched to the 204 from a 223. love the trajectory, and it does seem to shoot more accurately. the only down side os that i am practicing with the 223, then hunting with the 204. can't afford a lot of practicing with the 204 with the higher priced shells. the 223 i can get a lot better deals than with the 204.

needless to say, yes the 204 is DEFINATELY a coyote caliber. have heard of guys shooting out to 600 yrds and getting clean kills. i am not that good, but at 300 i have complete confidence in the shot, and the rifle i use is very accurate. savage 16fss, 26" stainless with a BSA 4-16x50 illuminated mil-dot... very nice set up.

good luck

cya

:sniper:


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## jerry hunsley

yote caller said:


> hey guys just wonderin what do you recomend a 204 or a 223 i shoot a 243super short on my yotes but my friend got a 204 for christmas and says he thinks its to small but i disagree its a fast gun i realy would not mind to have one. i have heard good and bad things about the 223 i think that it sounds like a good gun i have shot on only a couple of times iv shot the 204 alot at rabbits and i was impressed but my friend says he thinks of it as an preire dog gun i think of it as a coyote gun well what do you think and just wondering has anyone ever shot a coyote with a 17 i have ov shot 4 this summer droped them in ther tracks my dad shot a jack rabbit at 320 we looked through the range finder 17 are a sweet gun :sniper:


 The .204 flat drops em. I am impressed with it. I had a .223 browning and had it chambered to .204 with heavy barrel. Shoots excellent with H-4895 powder and 32gr. v-max bullets. A buddy shoots 39gr. bullets in his and I have never seen a coyote get away.


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## Varmonter

I shoot 45 gr hornady sps in my 204 bangflop/twitch/twitch....
223 has better bullet selection if you don't reload .if you do reload you can get 30 32,33,34,35,39 40,45,50 gr bullets for the 204.should be good for whatever you hunt (well not cape buffalo). so it is really personal preference
both rounds will do the job nicely.


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## bobcatrapper

yep im his friend with tehe 204 i like it alot and im moving to a heaver bullet for yotes im thinkin a 40 grain but idk yet i hope to find a bigger hollow point but cant find one.


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## Varmonter

Berger has a 50 gr hp bullet i have heared it is difficult to get to stabilize in the 1:12 twist of most 204 rifles.midway sells them.
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.e ... mid=811043


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## SDHandgunner

While I do not have a .204 (guess I am too cheap I still shoot a .223 & .243) but a neighbor across the street does. He is shooting HSM Ammo he buys at Cabelas. HSM (The Hunting Shack) Ammo can be viewed and or ordered at http://www.thehuntingshack.com/ http://www.thehuntingshack.com/catalog/retail/rifle.pdf (mail order price list).

They offer ammo with the following bullets:

32gr. Sierra Blitzking
33gr. Calhoon Silver Double Hollow Point
32gr. Hornady V-MAX
39gr. Sierra Blitzking
40gr. Hornady V-MAX
40gr. Berger Hollow Point

This ammo is offered in 50 round boxes and the muzzle velocities are published at the second link (as are the prices).

Now to the point. My neighbor is shooting HSM Ammo with the 39gr. Sierra Blitzking. Gordy says "it has killed everything I have hit with it". Gordy also never ceases to brag about the accuracy of his T/C Encore in .204 Ruger.

I guess if it were me and I was going to shoot Coyotes with the .204 Ruger I'd probably stick with the 39gr. or 40gr. Bullets. In terms of sectional density a 40gr. .204 Ruger bullet will have a sectional density of .143 while a 40gr. .224 Caliber Bullet will have a sectional density of .114, a 50gr. .224 Caliber Bullet with have a sectional density of .142 (or about the same as a 40gr. .204 Bullet). Sectional density is a bullets ratio of weight vs caliber.

As for me, I guess I'll just keep shooting my .223 & .243, but then I'm old and set in my ways.

Larry


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## Varmonter

The 223 and 243 are excsllent choices.bothe are good coyote rounds
and the 243 will take larger game like deer and hogs.if i had those i would
probably not have bought my 204.. but than again :jammin:


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