im thinking about buying a .204 rifle and wondered what kind of damage the little round does to white tail.

i know its about shot placement but wondered about the damage done.head shots? shoulder shots?for the most part does the .204 go in and come out or not?

i know its real fast but real small.replies please.thanks

Just go with a well built bullet, like partion, TSX, for body shots

A friend of mine has shot a couple deer with his on an AR platform and it does the job with body shots not sure of what weight bullet he uses but I know it is hornady.

No Partitions or Barnes TSX's in .20 cal...
Hornady does offer a 45gr soft point in .20, how "tough" it's constructed is not known to me; all others are varmint bullets (maybe Berger makes something else?).
My experience with the 32-40gr .204 bullets is they do as intended..violent expansion. I'm sure a deer would die if hit in the vitals, but hardly a "good" choice for deer.

What am I missing from this post? Please....there are simply better choices!! Be fair to the deer!!

I thought in Texas you need a .22 caliber or larger centerfire to hunt whitetail? Did the regulations change from last season?

You also can mow your grass w/ scissors, but there are better methods out there. He is not saying its not legal, he is basically saying "why would you do that?"

204 is legal but not ideal.

I know of a gunsmith that uses on to cull does. He says they take a piece of meat the size of a fist from the neck. He said they lock up like they we're hit by lightning, but of course he is a he!! of a shot and all he does is pratice. He said neck shots only!! So, if it don't exit the neck, I don't think it would reach as much of the vitals behind the shoulder as I would like. If they made a stronger more penetrating bullet for it, then it would work, but since they don't; you may want to look at another caliber!! I would'nt want to take a chance of a nice buck and having to pass on a shoulder shot, becasue I could'nt see his neck!!!

Very well said...

maybe i should have said coyote.thats what im after.dunno why i used a dear as the prey.

so what grain to exit the prey vs breakup inside it?

thanks guys.


(i use my .308 to hunt dear)

No kidding!!!!

204 is a blazin hot varmit round...wouldnt use on deer

Step up to a 243 (I didnt think a 204 was even legal in Texas for whitetail deer??)

It is. Why wouldn't it be?

cause its too small and waaaay to fast for much penetration

I agree but according to the law it is legal. I was just wondering where he got his info.

I own two different 204's and experience has showed me that the bullet doesn't exit even on small game it just blows the living he!! out of them. Every fox or bobcat i have ever shot has been it two pieces.

And it makes rabbits go poof!

It exitted all right. Just not in one piece.

Its like throwing a grenade under them