Question For Coyote Hunters with 204's

[darkker]

OK, I do love my 22-250 on Coyotes, but as it is a long action gun....
I got a chance to get another Accu-trigger 204 for slightly more than nothing. This time I will try some bergers I still have, and slow them down, to see if I can get some satisfaction. If not, I will hock the 204 tube and bring over my 22-250. The Coyote derby is the first weekend in Feb, so Hopefully the 204 will work.
I'll keep you guys posted, maybe I had a fluke barrel???
Stay tuned.

[stiff neck]

I'd guess that MOST people who complain about a certain centerfire caliber not being enough gun to kill coyotes are either gut shooting them or selecting poor performing bullets for the job, or both. Just about any centerfire bullet will get the job done if you place it where it counts.

That said, based on what hunters have told me in person, MOST aim WAY too far back. That results in gut shots or clipping the back of the lungs if you're lucky.

If you've shot several coyotes with the 204 and they all run off, the blame can ONLY be placed on you the shooter. You're not hitting the vitals either becaus you're missing or aiming at the wrong spot, or you're using a highly explosive bullet. Do 5 minutes of basic research and figure out which bullets are not recommended, then do 5 more minutes of research and figure out where the vitals are.

Me? I use a 223 with a 40gr Vmax and almost every single one is dead before it hits the ground. I credit careful shot placement and marksmanship. Couldn't ask for a more efficient caliber or bullet.

[Ia caller]

I wasn't lucky enough to be the one who shot these, but I copied this from another website. These were all shot with 35gr Bergers in a 204 Ruger.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d21/Yotecallr/204Ruger35grBerger-1.jpg

[1Shot]

...Yup...The bullet of choice is the 35gr. Bergers with 27.2grs of Benchmark....I just don't like the plastic tips for that kind of work...

[river grant]

*Warning, long post*

Wow, this post hits close to home for me. I have had my vlp 204 for a bit over a year now and have shot 38 dogs with it. Now, my western dogs sometimes don't go over 30 lbs and usually anything over 30 lbs is going to be a "large" male. With that being said, I have shot 4 ranged 400+ yard yotes that have both dropped in their tracks and run a 100 yards or so and fall dead. I have never had one drop and get back up though. I exclusively load 39 gr sierra blitzkings with bl-c2. I made a shot about 2 months ago on a dog that was 675 yards out. The dog was far enough away that I had to range a cow at 570 and then guesstimate the rest. I guessed the dog to be at about 600 yards. I took the scope up 6 minutes which is my 500 yard zero (from a 200 yard zero) and held about an inch over the fur....poof, I missed. The dog ran off some more yardage and stopped broadside. I now held approximately 10 inches over the fur and let one go. The dog went into a dead sprint and I figured another miss. The dog ran about 100 yards and stopped and laid down. Now this dog is out in the middle of a huge span of pasture/meadow and it seemed like a weird place to hide after being shot at twice. I watched him in the scope as he looked around and then just put his head down. I actually got up and started whistling at him to see if he'd get back up, but he didn't. I had to build a rock cairn where I shot from to be able to range the portion of the cliff that I was laying on. Prone shot with a sandbag. When I found where he was standing when I hit him, I ranged the rock that I had shot from. I actually dissected that dog looking for the bullet, all I found was a tiny wound channel (20 cal?) that went through part of the lower shoulder muscle, missed the bone, and went right through the bottom of the heart. No exit wound but I could not find the bullet, the whole chest cavity was filled with blood and I couldn't find a thing. My next closest shot (with the 204) to this one is 412 yards. The great thing about yote hunting is that after making this shot I have missed dogs at 100, 150, 200 or whatever else. All I can do is shake my head and wonder what the hell I did wrong.

Sorry for the long post, but I am a 204 believer. Shot placement is everything with the smaller calibers.

[MZ5]

Although I like to torment Darkker by saying that he can't hit the broad side of a barn from the inside, he's actually a pretty darn good shot. Thus, the bold remark below appears to me to be the most pertinent of the whole post:



I'd guess that MOST people who complain about a certain centerfire caliber...

Darkker, do you think you'll get improved results slowing the bullets down a bit? Have you even had time to try that yet?
BTW, you're welcome for me selling you such a fast-shooting tube! :)

[darkker]

Well, after the Warden Coyote derby and doing some chrony testing, I can tell you factory ammo is WAY slower than advertised. In any case, Going less than 3800fps the 40gr V-max gave better results than the 35gr Berger hp's. I agree, the "people who can't hit them, can't shoot" comment need to come hunting with me.
Due to the results of the Derby, I am going to finish shooting the ammo in stock then trash it. The 22-250 Barrel with go on this 16, and that will become a 25-06. This 204 will be my prettiest tomato stick in the garden.

[Aim4gold]

Well, after the Warden Coyote derby and doing some chrony testing, I can tell you factory ammo is WAY slower than advertised. In any case, Going less than 3800fps the 40gr V-max gave better results than the 35gr Berger hp's.


Strange - I had found that the factory ammo was faster than hand loads, even hot ones??

[darkker]

So far I've shot 4 different boxes of Hornady through the chrono, and all weights shoot quite a bit slower than advertised.
All the reloads I've done(with BL-C(2)) have been substantially faster than published velocities, with the same specs.... I don't know why, 32, 40gr V-max's, 34gr dogtowns and 35gr Bergers all fly faster than supposed to, but not if the box is factory packed.

[skb2706]

These dogs all dropped at the shot .....last thing they saw was the glint of the scope and the puff of smoke.

All shot with 32 gr. Vmax....one shot each.

My 'working chrony' tells me I get about 4100 fps ...nowhere near the 4400 'internet speed' fps. Max load. Makes little difference if you can shoot.

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/PIC000021.JPG

The original poster tipped his hand when he states "have shot them in the face, big middle and anywhere in between", since when is "in the face" a kill shot...or for that matter "anywhere in between".

[darkker]

Head shots aren't considered kill shots?? Silly snipers have it all wrong...
The point is, and has always been, my distaste for penetration abilities. I have been looking for feed back to see if anyone has seen similar issues with this caliber. The standard answer(if you are a lover) is: Well you probably can't shoot.
The answer otherwise(hater of caliber) seems to be: yes I've had a similar result.
I have been looking for feed back to see how many of each answer, is the most common.
As with all things, there will be mixed results both good and bad.

It seems odd to me how defensive people get about a caliber that they like. If you do like this particular cartridge, why MUST it be the person who doesn't, can't shoot??

In any case, thanks for the feedback folks!

[skb2706]

I notice shooters get even more defensive when they must defend their poor shooting skills.

You said "in the face" and not in the head. Face shots are not considered kill shots where I live.

I have not had the same issues and quite the contrary continue to use, with great satisfaction the .204 Ruger to shoot coyotes.

[viper9696]

All I can add is

I've had groundhogs run back to their holes with the 32gr vmax's,so I tried 39blitz's and that stops them, so far,I have also lost groundhogs with the 308 168gr matchkings (punches a 30cal hole sraight through) and 168 gr amaxs anchor them.

I have also noticed that Les Anderson from Predatorquest as switched from his Howa 204 to a Howa 22-250 with 52gr Hornady bthp Match bullets, Makes you wonder why?

the only Coyote I evershoot was at 275 yrds using a 223 and 40gr bal tip went bang flop and I started to the 4 wheeler when I see the coyote crawling to the fence row never to be seen again,followed the MASSIVE blood trail to a den.

[MZ5]

You said "in the face" and not in the head. Face shots are not considered kill shots where I live.

The face is part of the head, so if head shots are 'considered' kill shots where you live, then so are face shots.

Darkker, I know I already asked, but have you had a chance yet to slow your loads down a bit and see what happens?

[J.Baker]

Skimming through this post I didn't see this mentioned yet, but it may have already been covered.

I think the biggest issue for those having problems dropping yotes with the 204 is choosing the right bullet. Ballistic Tip varmint bullets aren't going to cut the mustard here, you need a bullet that isn't going to explode on contact and essentially do nothing more than inflict a flesh wound. You need a bullet that's designed to hold together for proper penetration. This is exactly why Hornady came up with the .20cal 45gr SP bullet.

As noted already, the 35gr and 40gr Bergers work well, as does the 39gr Sierra Blitzking.

[skb2706]

You said "in the face" and not in the head. Face shots are not considered kill shots where I live.

The face is part of the head, so if head shots are 'considered' kill shots where you live, then so are face shots.

Darkker, I know I already asked, but have you had a chance yet to slow your loads down a bit and see what happens?

I guess we don't like seeing coyotes running around with their jaws shot half way off. I know, its a kill shot, assuming you want to wait a few daysto see it. I honestly cannot wrap my mind around how you can justify this........theres areason I have a limited number of people I would hunt with. This post just reminds me of this.

[Dennis]

Every caliper was mentioned buy the 243. Any comments on this gun?

[trappst]

243 is a good one but 6mm bullets tend to be hard on pelts. Especially bad if you hit bone.

[darkker]

Mr. Furious,
I thought about the 45's, but didn't think I could get stabilization out of the 1:14 twist.
Thoughts??

[skb2706]

Standard twist for a .204 Ruger is 1-12, some custom jobs are 1-9. I don't shoot them but others who do say the 45 gr. Hornadys will shoot well in the 1-12 twist. Its all about the length not the weight.