[jeepcreep927]

I am going to put together three AR 's for a prairie dog hunt next summer in South Dakota. One is for me, one for my dad and one for my brother. I am trying to decide on caliber. Initially I wanted to do them in .204 Ruger, then I saw the price of ammo compared to .223. I have read the ballistics charts but would like real life opinions from you guys. Once this hunt is over I can safely bet that my brother's and dad's rifles will mostly live in their safes. Where I hunt here in Vermont, 300 yards is the very limit for a woodchuck or crow, closer for coyotes. I have no experiance with the .204.
The guide says 1000 rounds a day between the three of us is about right, and we're going for four days. Do you guys think the .204 that much better for essentially a one time thing? Not to sound cheap, but the ammo cost is really my hang up. Thanks for any input.

 

[jeepcreep927]

JD-
Thanks for reinforcing what I was thinking. I would like a 204, but I don't NEED one. I would use it after this trip but inside 200-300 yards I don't know if the justification is there since I have half a dozen .223s and a .222 already, don't really need another sub-caliber.
On another note, have you noticed any trouble in getting AR parts? I plan to do these up over time as finances allow (read that: easier to get past the wife). My buddy has three DPMS lowers with consecutive serial numbers in stock but I wanted to use Stag lowers. If finding them is going to be a battle I may just jump on the DPMS lowers he has. Thanks again.

 

[jeepcreep927]

I thought about the Fireball, for a second or two. I have a contender in .222 and a bunch of AR's all in .223. I couldn't justify (even to myself, which when it comes to guns, I can do pretty effectively) buying something so similar in performance. If I build another AR after these, I would probably stray to something with vastly different ballistics than a .223/5.56. Maybe .50 Beowulf or .458 SOCOM just for the novelty. I have heard of the .450 Bushy but never read up on it.

I think I will follow my initial thought and your and Matt's advice and stick with 5.56 chamber for simplicity and economic reasons this go around. Thanks for the help.

 

[jeepcreep927]

I would be staying with the lighter end of the spectrum but "never" over 60 grains. I have been thinking 1-12 would be my best bet, but I may check out how my 1-9 rifles do with 50-55 grainers. Do you think 1-9 will be a little too fast for 50-52 grain bullets? I really don't have an ideal specified bullet weight but would like to keep it in this range. Thanks.