HuntingNut
HuntingNut
   Login or Register
HomeCommunity ForumsPhoto AlbumsRegister
     
 

User Info

Welcome Anonymous


Membership:
Latest: ipigiepos
New Today: 0
New Yesterday: 0
Overall: 13125

People Online:
Members: 0
Visitors: 56
BOT: 1
Total: 57
Who Is Where:
 Visitors:
01: News
02: Home
03: Photo Albums
04: Forums
05: Your Account
06: Your Account
07: Forums
08: Forums
09: Home
10: Home
11: Forums
12: News
13: Home
14: Forums
15: Forums
16: Home
17: Forums
18: Home
19: Forums
20: Forums
21: Home
22: Home
23: Home
24: Forums
25: Home
26: Forums
27: Home
28: Forums
29: Forums
30: Home
31: Home
32: Forums
33: Home
34: Home
35: Home
36: Forums
37: Home
38: Home
39: Home
40: Home
41: Your Account
42: Photo Albums
43: Home
44: Home
45: Home
46: Forums
47: Home
48: Forums
49: Forums
50: Home
51: Home
52: Home
53: Home
54: Photo Albums
55: Tell a Friend
56: Home
  BOT:
01: Forums

Staff Online:

No staff members are online!
 

Coppermine Stats
Photo Albums
 Albums: 308
 Pictures: 2451
  · Views: 820622
  · Votes: 1316
  · Comments: 86
 

A varmint gun for Christmas
By Popular Demand: Discussions related to Varmint Hunting
Post new topic   Reply to topic   Printer Friendly Page    Forum Index » Varmint Hunting

View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
dakota1
Member
Member


Joined: Aug 09, 2007
Posts: 37
Location: Mesa, Arizona

PostPosted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:34 pm    Post subject: A varmint gun for Christmas Reply with quote

I have a dilemma. I really like the .204, .223, and the .22-250. I have recently purchased the .22-250. I have also just received a Christmas bonus. The choice is between the .204 and .223. I have read comparisons, and if bullets are kept the same, the .204 seems to have the edge. Not ever owning either, I am looking for pros and cons of either.

Thanks
Back to top
View user's profile AIM Address
codybrown
Super Member
Super Member


Joined: Feb 10, 2007
Posts: 379
Location: Michigan

PostPosted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 3:30 pm    Post subject: Re: A varmint gun for Christmas Reply with quote

Got them both a couple of guns each. You can't go wrong with the .223, ammo is plentiful, and comes in numerous options. .204 is a little harder to find some places, but it is a hell of a shooter!

_________________
I make mistakes like the next man. In fact, rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly larger.
Back to top
View user's profile
FALPhil
Super Member
Super Member


Joined: Aug 18, 2007
Posts: 377
Location: Dixie

PostPosted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 5:11 pm    Post subject: Re: A varmint gun for Christmas Reply with quote

Buy a Savage in 223, then get an extra barrel and bolt head in 204.

_________________
The Wicked Witch of the West is alive and well and serving as the Speaker of the House.
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
Pumpkinslinger
Super Member
Super Member


Joined: Sep 22, 2007
Posts: 5000
Location: NC foothills

PostPosted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 11:41 pm    Post subject: Re: A varmint gun for Christmas Reply with quote

An Encore with both barrels?? Laughing

_________________
Mike

"I ain't no better than anybody else, and there ain't nobody better than me!" Ma Kettle
Back to top
View user's profile AIM Address Yahoo Messenger Photo Gallery
madedry
Rookie Member
Rookie Member


Joined: Feb 23, 2007
Posts: 21
Location: Hilltown, Pennsylvania

PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2007 5:19 am    Post subject: Re: A varmint gun for Christmas Reply with quote

220 Swift beats them all.

_________________
Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house
Back to top
View user's profile Visit poster's website
dakota1
Member
Member


Joined: Aug 09, 2007
Posts: 37
Location: Mesa, Arizona

PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2007 6:58 pm    Post subject: Re: A varmint gun for Christmas Reply with quote

FALPhil - Can barrels be changed on the Savage Model 12, by the owner? How is it done, and what is the cost of the parts vs an new gun?
Back to top
View user's profile AIM Address
FALPhil
Super Member
Super Member


Joined: Aug 18, 2007
Posts: 377
Location: Dixie

PostPosted: Mon Dec 24, 2007 9:41 am    Post subject: Re: A varmint gun for Christmas Reply with quote

dakota1 wrote:
FALPhil - Can barrels be changed on the Savage Model 12, by the owner? How is it done, and what is the cost of the parts vs an new gun?

You need a couple of tools to be able to do this. I use the Wheeler action wrench (also works on Remington 700s), a barrel nut wrench from Sharp Shooters Supply, and headspace gages for your chosen cartridge.

Now, you can perform the operation without a bench vise, but a bench vise makes it a little easier.

You remove the stock and bolt and clamp the action wrench on the forward part of the receiver.

Then you clamp the action wrench into the bench vise.

Next, you slide barrel nut wrench over the barrel and onto the barrel nut and loosen the barrel nut.

When it is at the top of the barrel threads, you grab the barrel with both hands and unscrew it.

Then you unscrew and remove the barrel nut. You have to be sure I catch the recoil lug between the barrel nut and the receiver.

You screw the barrel nut on to the new barrel.

Next, you put the recoil lug on the barrel shank and screw the new barrel about half way into the receiver.

You take the bolt (assuming you have change the bolt head out (I will cover that below), put it in the action, insert the GO gage like it was ammo, and run it up into the barrel.

Then, you screw the barrel down tight on the GO gage, lining up the recoil lug (there is a dimple to make it easy).

Now you have the basic barrel position, so you back out the bolt and retrieve the GO gage. I like to give the barrel another 1/4 turn, because on my rifle, it translates into about 0.2 moa tighter groups. Run the barrel nut all the way down to the receiver, and tighten it with the barrel nut wrench.

Put the stock back on and check with the NO GO gage.

It took me 3x longer to type this up than it does to perform the operation. If you can change a tire, you can do this. It is actually easier to do this than to change a tire.

To swap out the bolt head:

1. Remove the striker assembly (allen wrench or screwdriver, depending on model)

2. Drift out the bolt head retaining pin

3. Swap out bolt heads (I recommend a complete bolt head with extractor and ejector, otherwise, you must swap out those parts too.)

4. Insert the bolt head retaining pin.

5. Install the striker assembly.

You can do both operations in well under 10 minutes. I have been getting my barrels from ER Shaw for $168 delivered. They are button rifled, and when I fire lap them, they seem to be as accurate as the Shilen barrels that cost $75 more. Bolt heads can be obtained from Sharp Shooters Supplyor Midway. SSS charges $55, but if you order the parts individually from Midway, its a little cheaper. So, for less than $225 plus tools, you can turn your Savage into a switch barrel rifle. The more barrels you have, the better you amortize your tool costs.

In my 110 action, I can shoot 25-06, 270 Win, 30-06, 7mm Rem Mag, 300 Win Mag, and 338 Win Mag. I could do others, but I see no point. Next, I am going to find a Model 10 short action and get barrels for 308 Win, 260 Rem, 22-250 and 7mm-08. I use Weaver rings so I can swap out scopes, too.
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
Rick65Cat
Member
Member


Joined: Nov 03, 2007
Posts: 31
Location: Alberta Canada

PostPosted: Tue Dec 25, 2007 10:04 pm    Post subject: Re: A varmint gun for Christmas Reply with quote

I bought a Ruger M77 MKII *Target* in .204 last summer. Put a versapod bi-pod on it with a Bushnell Elite 3200 4-12x40 for optics. What a sweet shooter. Here I am totally unfamiliar with the gun and after a dozen shots to get it sighted, head out to gopher shoot. Exploding gophers out at 200 to 250 yrds was childs play. And explode is no exageration using the Hornady 32 grain Vmax polymer tip bullets at 4225 f/sec. Very Happy
You won't regret getting one if you do.

s162.photobucket.com/a...edited.jpg
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
roklok
Super Member
Super Member


Joined: Aug 11, 2005
Posts: 608
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska

PostPosted: Tue Dec 25, 2007 11:16 pm    Post subject: Re: A varmint gun for Christmas Reply with quote

.223 Remington and .204 Ruger should use the same bolt head, just need to switch the barrel.
Back to top
View user's profile
204Shooter
Member
Member


Joined: Jan 28, 2007
Posts: 68
Location: Diana, TX

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 10:43 am    Post subject: Re: A varmint gun for Christmas Reply with quote

I have a model Savage 12FV in 204 Ruger that I am trying to trade for a 22-250. However, if I can't find a trade, I may buy another barrel and bolt and try the barrel swap. The thing I don't like about swapping between the 204 and the 22-250 is the magazine well. The model 12 has a fixed inline magazine well built into the stock. The 204 and 22-250 cases are considerably different. They are different enough that the 204 magazine will not hold the 22-250. So, if I change out the barrel and bolt head to 22-250, I will be stuck with a single shot bolt action gun. A single shot is fine for bench work but does not do as well when hunting.

_________________
Life is a series of choices. It is how we manage those choices that counts.
Back to top
View user's profile Visit poster's website
KYGunner
Member
Member


Joined: Dec 08, 2007
Posts: 99
Location: Elizabethtown, KY

PostPosted: Mon Dec 31, 2007 11:22 am    Post subject: Re: A varmint gun for Christmas Reply with quote

Back to your question. You have the better of the two .22 caliber firearms. Get the .204 and have no regrets. It is a great cartridge. I don't have one yet, but it is on its way.

_________________
KYGunner
"You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence"
-Abe Lincoln
Back to top
View user's profile Send e-mail
Crackshot
Super Member
Super Member


Joined: Oct 23, 2005
Posts: 1693
Location: Mich

PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 6:11 pm    Post subject: Re: A varmint gun for Christmas Reply with quote

Buy an AR in 204. Then buy another complete Upper reciever with a 223 bull barrel. You will have both and they switch out with the pull of 2 pins. Very Happy

_________________
The human mind is the weapon, the gun is just one of its tools.
Back to top
View user's profile ICQ Number AIM Address MSN Messenger Yahoo Messenger Photo Gallery
Arizona Hunter
Member
Member


Joined: Jul 22, 2006
Posts: 275

PostPosted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 2:01 pm    Post subject: Re: A varmint gun for Christmas Reply with quote

I love my .204! Very Happy After shooting a 223 then a 204, it was a no-brainer for me.

Also, you could just get another 22-250, so if you are out shooting p-dogs you could let the one cool while using the other and only have to bring one type of cartridges.
Back to top
View user's profile
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic   Printer Friendly Page    Forum Index » Varmint Hunting
Page 1 of 1
All times are GMT - 7 Hours



Jump to:  


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum


Valid CSS! Valid HTML 4.01!
Click to check if this page is realy HTML 4.01 compliant for speed :)

All logos and trademarks in this site are property of HuntingNut.com.
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest © 2011 by HuntingNut.com
Interactive software released under GNU GPL, Code Credits, Privacy Policy

.: Upgraded to DragonFly 9.2 by *Dizfunkshunal* :.