Tiny & Fast :: Guns.com

All About The .204 Ruger Round

The .204 Ruger is actually the result of a partnership between Hornady other Ruger. Launched in 2004, it earned the title of the first commercially-produced, factory-production .20-caliber cartridge. There’s little doubt the round has achieved its goal of being fast, flat, accurate, and terminally devastating on critters in its class.

Here you can see (from left to right) .204 Ruger, .223 Remington, and .22-250. (Photo: Kristin Alberts/Guns.com)

The .220 Swift achieved smoking velocities in its day – and don’t get us wrong, we still greatly admire the round. However, despite its ballistic stardom, it failed to hold mainstream attention and continuous factory production of firearms. With its small .20-caliber bullets, the .204 Ruger is a modern mover and shaker with velocities over 4,200 fps, making it capable on vermin, varmints, and even winged creatures out to 400 yards.

Where did this mainstream .20 caliber come from anyway? The casing was actually based on Remington’s .222 Magnum, something of an obsolete oddity today and not to be confused with the standard .222 Remington. The casing is slightly longer even than the gold standard .223 Remington. Hornady necked down the case for its .20-caliber projectiles, as well as altering the shoulder design and expanding the case. That meant more powder and increased performance.

Vermin & Varmint Hunter’s Dream

These small but zippy bullets have very powerful effects down range. (Photo: Kristin Alberts/Guns.com)

Almost every hunting trip we take out West seems to include a .204 Ruger because there’s almost always a chance for varmints and prairie dogs. That incredibly low recoil means the shooter sees everything in the scope, never coming off the target. Let’s face it – seeing the terminal reaction is part of the reason for hunting, in addition to protecting the terrain and cattle populations, of course.

At the same time, the round is ballistically impressive, especially with projectiles and loads that show impressively flat trails. For collectors and sellers, however, the .204 Ruger holds even greater appeal. It does considerably less damage to pelts than related rounds, yet it harvests cleanly.

Plenty of Ammo & Bullets

Over the course of the last decade, we’ve fired many hundreds of .204 Ruger rounds. Suffice it to say there are plenty of rounds to choose from. Naturally with Hornady as a co-conspirator, many production rounds and bullets come from that company. However, almost every manufacturer has jumped on board over the course of 18 years, including Winchester, Federal, Fiocchi, Sierra, HSM, Nosler, Remington, and Sellier & Bellot.

There is no real shortage of bullet options and rounds for the .204 Ruger. (Photo: Kristin Alberts/Guns.com)

The diminutive .20-caliber pill is tiny to behold and reload. However, there are three mainstream bullet weights at this time – 24 grain, 32 grain, and 40 grain. We’ve also seen 34-grain bullets from Winchester, 36-grain options from Sierra, and 35-grain Bergers loaded by HSM.

Though there have been 45-, 50-, and 55-grain options for handloaders, most .204 Ruger barrel twists fail to stabilize anything longer or heavier than 40 grain. We’ve done most of our hunting with 32- to 36-grain options and found stellar results.

Lots of Rifle Options

Chamberings like the .204 Ruger are often considered specialty rounds with a limited market. But its performance, low recoil, and downrange effects on game have kept it a hunter’s darling. That means that not only have many firearms manufacturers gotten – and remained – on board with factory-production guns, but the .204 Ruger has proven itself useful across a gamut of platforms.

Here’s one of our favorites, the Rugel No. 1. (Photo: Kristin Alberts/Guns.com)

Bolt actions are certainly the most common, with premium offerings from savages, Browning, Kimber, CZ, and naturally Ruger. One of our favorites, however, is not a bolt at all. Rather, it’s Ruger’s timeless single shot falling block no. 1. Thomson Center also created a welcome home with its switch barrel Encorealong with H&R Handi Rifles.

If that’s not enough to tickle your fancy, the .204 has found a home on numerous modern sporting arms rifles and AR-15 uppers, including Wilson Combat, Rock River Armsand CMMG.

RELATED: Mossberg MVP Varmint .204 Ruger Rifle (VIDEO)

Benefits for You & Your Gun

One of the main concerns with super-speedy rounds like the .220 Swift has been a relatively short barrel life. Anytime a larger powder charge is partnered with a smaller bullet diameter, there’s a potential for barrel burners. It’s not only an issue for small calibers but affects biggies like the 7mm Remington Ultra Mag (RUM).

Another benefit is the .204 Ruger gives your barrel a longer life. (Photo: Kristin Alberts/Guns.com)

While creating their round, Ruger and Hornady brainstormed to mitigate the issue. They found that using a .20-caliber bullet allowed maximum performance from the case size but also increased barrel life. Though the numbers differ depending on the source, quotables from both Ruger and Hornady sources have put barrel life – in terms of maximum accuracy – well in excess of 3,000 rounds, while we’re quite sure serviceable life extends much further.

If that wasn’t enough, the cartridge is so mild and low recoiling that many shooters report that they can watch the bullet impact. This is an important factor for long-range vermin and varmint shooters, where any amount of muzzle rise can take the small target out of view. That lack of “kick” also makes it a friendly round for young and recoil-sensitive shooters, whether plinking targets or pursuing small game.

So, load up a .204 Ruger and be ready for the action.