WHAT'S NEW
.204 Ruger--a Varmint Vaporizer
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Almost two full years into the development and marketing of the .204 Ruger, Federal finally introduced the 39-grain Sierra BlitzKing in a headstamped Federal .204 Ruger cartridge. I hauled it out on coyote hunts, prairie dog forays and even some animal-control hunts for local ranchers who needed a hand in that area. The bullet was a good design, retained its velocity well and stayed together when making contact with badgers,large 'yotes and even a wild hog or two.
Now Federal has made a second move and introduced a .204 Ruger cartridge with a 32-grain Nosler varmint bullet.
After a phone call from Federal's Jason Nash and a short discussion regarding external rifle ballistics, I soon found several boxes of the new fodder at the doorstep and also an invitation to join Federal on a hunt for ground squirrels, prairie dogs and rockchucks. It was the rockchuck event that interested me most in that here was a fat rodent that made for a formidable test subject when applied to a fast new varmint bullet.
Within a few weeks I found myself rolling up to Rod Herrett's home in Twin Falls, Idaho. Rod builds and designs Herrett handgun stocks and also spends a good deal of time guiding writers across Idaho and Nevada. We were heading for Nevada and the rugged mountains along its northeastern border. This was rockchuck country, with its massive outcroppings of rimrock ledges.
As each shooter was requested to bring along whatever he wanted to shoot, I elected to pack my H.S. Precision Pro Series 2000 turnbolt. This rifle was in fact a barreled and chambered .204 Ruger built on a high-grade military/police sniper platform. The rifle was a special-order weapons system used by the FBI and had established itself as an almost single-hole tackdriver at 100 yards. Mounted with a Leupold VX III, this setup was a class act, and it showed once the bullets started to fly.
Because Federal's parent company, Shooter's Ridge, had brought along a multitude of benches, rests, bags and even new magazine designs for Ruger autoloading-type receivers, we started our event shooting small ground squirrels with rimfires--magnum and Long Rifle. This was not work for a .204 Ruger in any bullet configuration, but it was a good time to get the feel for Shooter's Ridge products and match them to my H.S. rifle.
Rod Herrett had hauled along about 10 different firesticks that ranged from custom XP 100s in an assortment of chamberings to a couple of Low Wall handmade rifles in .22 Hornet and .223 Remington. What this did was give me an on- site reference as to just how effective the new Federal/Nosler 32-grain Ballistic Tip loads would be compared to other calibers.
| CARTRIDGE | BULLET MFG. | BULLET WT. (grs.) | BULLET TYPE | MUZZLE VELOCITY | 100 YD. VELOCITY | 200 YD. VELOCITY | 300 YD. VELOCITY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .204 Ruger | (F) | 39 | Sierra Blitz | 3,750 | 3,363 | 3,008 | 2,682 |
| .204 Ruger | (F) | 32 | Nosler BT | 4,030 | 3,465 | 2,968 | 2,523 |
