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204 ruger

Not sure if you mean bbl and stock profile, but if you don’t hike far something along the lines of a Sendero profile, and the farther you hike with it the more it turns into a walking varmint/predator style.
 
what would you build for a groundhog un on this case.

I'm guessing you're asking about what to neck this case up to for a groundhog rifle?

Personally, the .204 Ruger is a superb cartridge to use for your adventures. However, if the distances get longer and the wind starts to pick up a little, I'd switch to the .22-250 or the .22 Creedmoor. If some of your situations are consistently longer and windier, the 6mm Creedmoor is excellent and consistent. Be sure to use properly constructed bullets.
 
Go 4 or 5 contour light fluted and threaded. 11 or even 10 twist 25" minimum unless you shoot suppressed. Shoot the 39 gr Sierra or one of the boat tailed 40's. Savage,Remington, Howa or go full custom put it in a HS precision. Keep a running score, see what kind of run you can go on.
 
Go 4 or 5 contour light fluted and threaded. 11 or even 10 twist 25" minimum unless you shoot suppressed. Shoot the 39 gr Sierra or one of the boat tailed 40's. Savage,Remington, Howa or go full custom put it in a HS precision. Keep a running score, see what kind of run you can go on.
Criterion Barrels offer a 204R sammi chamber and a match chamber. The sammi chamber has .100 freebore and the match has .035 freebore with a no turn neck diameter. I have a 204 Ruger MATCH on order for my Savage LRPV rifle, I'm patiently waiting for it to arrive.
 
I think the 204 is one of the best rounds for groundhogs.I had a Savage 12 with the heavy fluted barrel and laminated stock and it was the most efficient groundhog killer I've ever used.I shot 40 grain Bergers in it at around 3900 FPS and it was just plain wicked.I traded it for a 35 Whelen a few years ago when groundhogs went on the endangered species list.I used to kill about 100 a year on the farm but since the bald eagle and coyote populations have exploded,it's been 3 years since I've shot one.The last good hunt I took that 204 on was in 2009.I went to a field of hay that I mowed that morning and I shot 4 with 4 rounds,ranges from 350 to 450 yards in half an hour.I don't think there's much out there that will work better on game up to coyote size.With the powders we have now,it's easy to load it to very high velocity,yet still very accurate.If the whistle pigs ever come back I'll build me a nice one.
 
Wife claimed ownership of my Kimber Varmint (204R). For our use, it doesn’t do much that a 223 wouldn’t handle, but it’s a fun cartridge to mess around with and a shooter for a factory rifle.
 

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I burned a couple of them out when the cartridge was relatively new.

For any spot and stalk type varmint or predator rifle, I like a 22-24” #5 Krieger.

If you’re sitting on a bench, there’s not really any limitations.

If you meant what to build off of the case, I don’t think there’s much of anything under 45 grains of capacity that isn’t made better or it’s best by making it a 6mm. 6-204 is a riot with 70 grain varmageddons.
 
I've been shooting prairie dogs with .223 (handloaded) rounds in 3 - AR15 platforms I've built for about 10 years now. 2 years ago I decided to build another AR15 in 204 Ruger. That Ruger is a hammer on P. dogs! The only downside to this cartridge (thus far) is the barrel copper fowls very quickly.
 
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I shoot ground squirrels mostly and I have a couple .204s, really enjoy this cartridge. I have a custom bolt gun and an Ar.
bolt gun is defiance action, Lilja barrel (rem varmint @26”) in a bell and Carlson target style stock. Ar has one of the few defiance made matched upper lower, and a WOA barrel. Both setups shoot incredibly well.
Can truly watch the impacts through the scope. Low recoil, flat shooting and incredibly accurate. What’s not to like!
 
Once in a while I would shoot 32 grain bullets in mine.It had a straight 24X scope and it was interesting to watch those tiny bullets hit a standing groundhog.Hard hitting but little chance of a ricochet.I think the one I had weighed around 13 pounds.It barely moved when it went off.Even with the 40 grainers I could see bullet impacts at longer ranges,because I wasn't out of the scope when it went off.You can spot for yourself.
 

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