I'm going to throw my opinion it for what its worth. Even though they both have the same overall length and rim diameter, the .204 Ruger has a slightly greater case capacity than the .223 Remington due to the slightly longer case length (1.85″ vs 1.76″) and steeper shoulder angle (30 degrees vs 23 degrees) of the .204 Ruger.

Add a little wind (very little wind) and the 22 250 was the superior cartridge. The 223 is a slower round the gun will last longer then that two aforementioned. 204 vs 223. Bill K Senior Member Posts: 1835 Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 5:00 pm.204 Ruger Guns: also now, a Savage switch bull barrel in 204R. Development. These shoot a bit flatter than does the .223 Rem., so no-brainer shooting ranges are a bit longer. Having run both for coyotes, I did have a few runners with a .204 and the .223 but for coyotes to 300 yards, a .223 and a 55 grain Vmax is a match made in heaven. Thanks for posting this as I have neither of these calibers but I have looked at the .204 Ruger. I've talked to a couple of coyote hunters who use the .204 and they seem to think of it as "super zappers". Additionally, grain for grain, 20-Caliber bullets have higher ballistic coefficients than .224 bullets.

It's more like the .223 at around 3,200 ft/sec vs the .204 around 4,000 ft/sec, give or take a bit. This higher velocity produces a flatter trajectory. I use the 22-250 and sometimes the 223 for predator hunting and the 22-250 wins hands down between the two. 23 inch SS Location: Lake Forest, Ca. Having shot mainly handgun (.357, .45) and rimfire rifles, I have little experience with centerfire rifles (the only exception is a .357 Marlin 1894c).

The same can be said about varmint hunting with the .204 Ruger or the .22-250 Rem. When you compare the two bullets of identical weight, The 204 will shoot faster, flatter, and with less wind deflection than a 223. When I was looking for a pdog upgrade gun for coffees shoot (that I never went on ) I compared the 204 to the 220 Swift to the 22-250 and decided on the 22-250 simply because of the newness of the 204, but all the 204 users offered good reviews. Reference Remington Arms Corporation Catalog 2,008 - page 88! My smallest calibers right now are a 22LR, 223, and 22-250. 204 Ruger 40 gr AccuTip 200 yard zero - 500 yard drop = 28.1" 223 Rem. I owned a 204 for a while and found that if there was no wind it was indeed an impressive performer. And more bullet choices. I like both and think they both have merit.
Ruger M77 Mkii VT .204 Jw-15e .22 Winchester Model 37a 12ga Beretta Silver pigeon pump action 12ga Howa 1500 .223 Howa 1500 .30-06 A .223 out to 300 yards just has a little more going for it in my experiences. The first year I had the rifle I was shooting some might hot 32 gr. Because of a pending resolution to warranty claim (long story), I have been offered a free rifle, either in .204 Ruger or .223 Remington.

Top #1714487 - 11/10/10 04:22 PM Re: .204 vs .223 [ Re: drakeky ] I haven't measured throat erosion lately, but the accuracy sure hasn't disappeared, so I'm happy with the .204 Ruger. Duh? I'm happy with my .223's performance on coyotes, but I've not had to try beyond 150 to 200 yards. The advertising for the 204 claims it will out perform the 22 250.

32 grains vs. 55? I think the 204 Ruger with 39 grain Sierras are awesome, but if you are shooting big Coyotes a 77 grain nosler or a 75 grain Hornady out of a 223 will anchor a dog quicker and penetrate better. 204 is a great little round but then so is 223, you could realistically shoot to a much longer range with 223, but you wouldn't really notice it untill about 4 … The Velocity Edge--A .204 Ruger drives a 40-grainer 600 fps faster than a .223 Rem can push the typical 22-Caliber 50gr bullet. Ballistics is ballistics.

The .204 Ruger is the most pleasant of these three cartridges to shoot and the most pleasant cartridge included in this article. My 223 …

V-Max loads--4,255 fps!! Can you buy .221 Fireball brass or do you have to resize another case to make them? Many AR-15 rifle manufacturers now offer the .204 Ruger as an alternative chambering alongside the usual 5.56×45mm/.223 Rem.
I did use the .204 Ruger a wee bit on prairie dogs last summer, but used my Pac-Nor barreled .17 Remington as my main PD rifle.