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17 rem vs 204ruger

matthias

matthias

Gold $$ Contributor
I have a nice interarms mini in 223 going to rebuild it. What would you build either 17rem or 204 and why ? Thanks
 
Both have for all practical purposes the same ballistics. The 204 has a little more splat factor on small critters and has a bit more performance on coyotes. The 17 Rem has a little more 'novelty" factor and if you really want to see all your hits through the scope it will definitely do that even with a light barrel. The 17 bullets are a little harder to handle when hand loading ammo. If you keep the 17 just behind the shoulder and off the heavy bones of a coyote 99% of the time it's bang flop DRT but hit heavy bone and you better get second shot off fast they'll be up in 5-20 seconds running. Currently I'm out of 20's and shooting a 17 Rem and 17 Mach 4. With the cheap and unlimited availability of 223 brass the Tac 20 would also be a great choice. If coyotes are the primary target the 20's might be a better choice but for the sheer joy of shooting I think the 17 is more fun.
 
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I've sold my bolt 223's, sold the 204, all since I started using a 17 Remington. If building or rebarreling I'd do a Lilja 1-9 twist an use the Kindler gold 30gr BTHP bullets. Definitely not the splat factor of the Swift, but they do the job with equal results. The 17 has ended the crawl off's for me. :) WD
 
vlcakc said:
Hmmm... Can't decide? How 'bout a 17/204? Mine was featured in the "New For 2015 Varmint Build" thread. Shoots real good and brass is easier to find than 17 Rem. Vic
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Now THAT would split the difference!
 
TAC 20 .223 brass everywhere. Duplicates what the .204 will do with almost 2 less grains of powder. Less powder in the TAC equates to less throat erosion. Out performs the .17 Remington hands down.
 
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For those of you that have a 204 can you spot your own shots? If I shoot golf balls at 200 can I see them leave orbit? Or is the 17 the way to go for that?
 
matthias said:
For those of you that have a 204 can you spot your own shots?
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All three of My .204 Rugers have heavy barrels and I use rifle scopes set between 20x and 24x and I can spot my own shots on prairie dogs well beyond 200 yards. I've never shot golf balls, but I think I could spot shots on those at 200 yards as well.

All three of my my .17 Remingtons have heavy barrels as well and they have slightly less recoil than the .204 Ruger, but not by much.

About 2 years ago I purchased a suppressor and use that on my varmint/predator rifles. That adds a little weight to the shooting rig and in my opinion helps to tame down what little recoil the .204s and the .17s have. I also shoot a suppressed Tikka Master Sporter in .22-250 and can spot my hits with that rifle as well.

Like 1raggedhole stated, the 39 gr. Sierra BlitzKing and the 40 gr. V-Max bullets will fight wind deflection because they have a fairly high BC compared to some of the .172 caliber projectiles and might hold a slight advantage over the .172 caliber bullets when it comes to wind deflection. However, there might be one or two .172 caliber bullets that have pretty high BCs as well--the 30 gr. Kindler Gold comes to mind.

I'm just glad I don't have to chose between the .204 Ruger and the .17 Remington. You can't go wrong with either caliber, but if wind is your enemy, you might want to go with the .204 Ruger.

I also have a .17 Tactical and I could spot shots with that caliber as well. However, I went from a Remington Varmint contour barrel to a new #4 contour Pac-Nor and haven't got it back from my gunsmith yet, but that barrel is not nearly has heavy as the Remington Varmint contour barrel, but I will have a suppressor hanging off the muzzle so that should help tame down the muzzle jump.
 
Another vote for 17-204, I have 2 of them and with quality 30 grain bullets from Chan Nagel or Blaine at black hole bullets, I aim for the shoulder on broadside shots on coyotes.
Bang flop with no fur damage.
 
Silverfox said:
All three of My .204 Rugers have heavy barrels and I use rifle scopes set between 20x and 24x and I can spot my own shots on prairie dogs well beyond 200 yards. I've never shot golf balls, but I think I could spot shots on those at 200 yards as well.

All three of my my .17 Remingtons have heavy barrels as well and they have slightly less recoil than the .204 Ruger, but not by much.

About 2 years ago I purchased a suppressor and use that on my varmint/predator rifles. That adds a little weight to the shooting rig and in my opinion helps to tame down what little recoil the .204s and the .17s have. I also shoot a suppressed Tikka Master Sporter in .22-250 and can spot my hits with that rifle as well.

Like 1raggedhole stated, the 39 gr. Sierra BlitzKing and the 40 gr. V-Max bullets will fight wind deflection because they have a fairly high BC compared to some of the .172 caliber projectiles and might hold a slight advantage over the .172 caliber bullets when it comes to wind deflection. However, there might be one or two .172 caliber bullets that have pretty high BCs as well--the 30 gr. Kindler Gold comes to mind.

I'm just glad I don't have to chose between the .204 Ruger and the .17 Remington. You can't go wrong with either caliber, but if wind is your enemy, you might want to go with the .204 Ruger.

I also have a .17 Tactical and I could spot shots with that caliber as well. However, I went from a Remington Varmint contour barrel to a new #4 contour Pac-Nor and haven't got it back from my gunsmith yet, but that barrel is not nearly has heavy as the Remington Varmint contour barrel, but I will have a suppressor hanging off the muzzle so that should help tame down the muzzle jump.
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17-223 is my choice. 223 brass is everywhere and cheap. 204 brass is not something i have ever found at the public range. difference in ballistics from 17-223 to 17-204 is minimal.
 
spencerhenry said:
17-223 is my choice. 223 brass is everywhere and cheap. 204 brass is not something i have ever found at the public range. difference in ballistics from 17-223 to 17-204 is minimal.
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Probably a VERY good idea/thought/suggestion. 17 Rem brass isn't always easy to find and 223 brass will be around for a good while.;) And I bet the OP has some 223 brass laying around.:) WD
 
Thank you all for your imput. I am going with a 204 ruger this time. Mainly because I have three wild cats I am sorting right now and every once and a while plain vanilla works . I will post some pictures in a month or so when I get done pitting it together.
 
Been there and done both or more - 17 Rem, .204 R, & .20 P.

Have made hits on rodents at 400 yards with .20's and never did this with the .17. Paper ballistics give some indications of this. A research of component availability will show much more .204 R and especially buckets of .223 brass that can be made into .20 Practical than for the peculiar and esoteric .17 Rem.

Special deal of the year for .17 Rem fans - a slightly used Lilja 1-10 twist, #2, stainless, 22 inch long, chambered for .17 Rem, threaded for Ruger M77 MKII, barrel - work done by JK Cloward.

If interested send me a PM and I will verify the above specs and come up with a good deal price that will make everybody happy.

This rifle is now a .20 Practical, 1-11 twist, and the performance of the .20 P is decisively superior to the .17 Rem. If I had to shoot some small furry beast to obtain it's hide I might go for the .17 Rem but for rodents the .20's are superior.
 
Tommie said:
As a big fan of .17 calibers, I'm telling you that the 204 Ruger is the ballistically superior round.
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Similar velocity, but the 20 cal is hands down superior
in any wind to the 17. 20 Tac or 20 Practical would be my route.
They do more on less. LDS
 
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