I can second Elkbow that the .17 Rem is a great little gun. I shoot 25 grain Hoirnady or 30 Bergers at around 4000 fps. Theren is a whole bunch of coyotes and bobcats that wish I never owned it. Mine is a stock REM Model 7. Problem they discontinued the .17 in the MDL 7 a few years ago but still chamber it in the 700. I do not know much about the .204 but can attest to the .17 Rem center fire.

 

Great gun the model 7. Did you see that Remington is now producing a lightweight varmint that has the heavy barrel, but is fluted, not not near the weight of the VSSF or VS....

Steve,
My gun is a Remington 700, used to be a BDL, but threw away (in closet) the wood stock. Main part about the stock 700's is a good accuracy job. I've seen factory guns as configured shoot under 1/2" with no problems. I also pillar and glass bed mine. I actually am using steel bed on all my guns now. Don't have to mess with torque so much on the action screws when you have pillars. Score High Gunsmithing that has some great adjustable pillars (prior to bedding them), which sells through Brownells and also their website, is located here in Albuquerque. They are adjustable, so you can set them to the right length, then bed them in.

People laugh when they see I have my .17 with a Muzzle brake,,,,its also by Score High....custom made, one of his guys threaded my barrel and installed the brake, its a perfect flush fit. I get awesome accuracy with the 20 grain Hornady, the bergers shot well also.

You're right, the coyotes, fox, etc. don't stand a chance with the .17. I've shot over 50 dogs with my .17, only one ran which I still haven't figured out. All the rest dropped in their tracks. Never an exit wound. I have two favorite shots....the main one of course is right behind the shoulder broadside, but I like the front of the chest also.

dave

 

Just picked up a Remington 204 and love it. No kickback, insane velocity and pretty light too.

 

Ever heard of a 22-243 middlestead? It can spit out 50 gr pills at over 4250 fps and rumor has it some of the really light 22 cal bullets at over 5000 fps! I know this would be detrimental to barrel life and accuracy but could you imagine the prairie dog dust that would fly?
Just a thought.
Chris

 

There are a number of hot rod .22 calibers around. One of the oldest, and still amongst the fastest, is the 220 Swift which has been around since the 1930's if memory serves me correctly.

I really prefer the hot 6MM rounds due to their ability to buck the wind quite a bit better than the 22's. Have one 6 wildcat that will throw an 85 grain bullet at over 4200 FPS with very good accuracy. Hard on the BBL at that speed so usually keep it around 4000 FPS. Excellent long range varment rifle. Very hard on coyotes.

 

you don't want to go above 4200 fps on anything....the bullets unstabilize when they start coming apart, which they do....I've done it with most rifles that are capable of speeds over 4200....not to mention barrel life if you shoot alot....

I'll stick with my .17 remington, the advantage to little explosive bullets is pelt damage...very little, tiny hole going in and no exit wound....the .22 customs are okay if you have the right barrel twist for running lighter bullets, somewhere around 1:12 or 1:14 twist rate....I used to use a .243 Ackley Improved, but would ruin everything you shot, same with one of my most accurate rifiles, a Remington VSSF in .22-250...shooting it with 52 grain match hollowpoints was deadly, but would blow a 5 inch hole coming out of dogs...

 

Elkbow makes a good point about bullets, the hot 6MMs do a lot of damage. Will nearly destroy a coyote if shot thru lengthwise. If you are going after pelts they would be a poor choice.

At around 4100 FPS many factory bullets will start to come apart from centrifical force. If going above these velocities the use of special bullets is required. The one 6MM bullet that i have found which is commonly available and will hold togeter up to around 4500 FPS is the Hornady 85 grain HPBT. Accuracy with this bullet is best served at these velocities with a 1/10 twist in my experiance.

Most folks never consider the remarkable rotational speed of a high velocity bullet. Consider that a 50 grain pill out of a 220 Swift with a 1/12 twist barrel at 4000 FPS is rotating at 240,000 RPM! There is a massive amount of energy stored in the bullet just in this rotational speed. No wonder these high velocity bullets blow up with such force when they hit something and start to bend or mushroom. The energy stored in a larger diameter and heavier bullet increases dramatically and the destructive force follows.

 

Yall have mentioned a lot of good rounds. Have any of yall ever used the 222 Rem. I got my first varmint rifle this Christmas, and it was chambered for the 222. It would not have been my first choice for a varmint round, prolly would have chosen the 223, but I just fell in love with this gun. Its an older Model 7 Rem. Flawless condition. High gloss walnut, blued barrel, polished bolt. It had a Leupold 4x scope(which I still have) but replaced it w/ a 12x scope. I think it has had a trigger job, but the rest is stock from what I can tell. It shoots very well( cuts bullet holes at 100 yrds w/ factory ammo). Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone else had used the 222.

 

A friend of mines uses his .222 when we go dog hunting. I have a .222, but its a factory Colt AR-15 chambered in .222, hasn't been made for a long time, so its new in the box, in the safe....its a great round, especially if you handload...

 

BIGAMABOY:

When the 222 Remington first came out I was given a Savage bolt action, can't recall the model right now and it's at the other house, with a crummy trigger and a stock that looked like it had been turned from a reject blank. The little rifle had the worst set of sights you can imagine but it was a ball to shoot. I put a Weaver K-10 scope on it and with factory ammo it would shoot 1" ten shot groups at 100 yards. This off a bench with good sandbags of course. That little rifle is still one of my favorites when I am teaching kids to shoot off the bench. Low recoil and muzzle blast makes it a natural choice for a first relitivly high velocity rifle.

My dad used this rifle to take a few head of deer prior to our state outlawing anything smaller than a 6MM for game animals. I would not suggest using this calibre for deer unless you are willing to wait for a standing, up close head shot. Dad would set by one of the water holes and wait for the animal he wanted to saunter out and commit suicide. But I digress.

The 222 has the potential for supurb accuracy and is very capable of 300 yard shots for groundhogs and smaller critters. Working up handloads for the individual rifle will generally improve the accuracy by quite a bit. Some 222's gained an undeserved reputation for being inaccurate because people were loading the wrong bullets for the barrel twist in them. Many of these rifles would settle down when given the bullet weight for which they were designed. Most will shoot 50 grain bullets very well but should be tried with 45 and 55 grain as well. A few shoot 45 grain bullets supurbly when using a reduced load. The thin jacket 22 Hornet bullets work well for these reduced velocity loads.

Brass for this calibre can be easily made from 223 brass but I would not recommend doing this as the headstamp could cause confusion. The reworked brass will chamber in a 223 rifle and somtimes will fire. I don't know of any blowups or rifle damage from this happening but why take the chance when the proper brass is so readily available.

Enjoy your new rifle, it's a winner.