These threads!! I usually don't respond to threads like this, but I just got to say a few things. Top 10 reasons not to use a .204 on deer...even on the sholder!

1. .204 will be statistically be a crap shoot on the sholder, ballistics calculators show very little TKO, very little mass, very little stored energy, so selecting it for deer is showing stupidity.

2. Ethics be damned. Regulations in multiple states disallow anything in .22 cal on down, some 6mm on down. SO IT IS ILLEGAL, and I believe it Maryland too. Check with your F&G Dept.

3. I am not a big bowhunting fan and I begrudgingly support this type of hunting (in my mind it is wounding) because there is at least some stored energy in weight the arrow, and SHARP broadheads that slice cleanly. That being said, in Kansas there are a lot of arrowed deer that die a horrible death, just as there are deer that die in Kansas after being shot with a .22 and the .22 is illegal on big game in Kansas.

4. It is big Game, use a bigger bullet.

5. Deer are a shared resource. They belong to the "people" not to the "hunters". It is the height of hubris to just take a shot at a deer "to see if you can". It shows little respect for the animal you are "hunting", and little respect for the sport of "hunting" as practiced by an individual.

6. Killing animals wholesale for herd control, use a .44 mag, 30-30, .308. Don't need flat shooting in this application, just theTKO needed and all these are fine in the less than 100 yds.

7. Gun nuts like more guns and need more situations to buy more guns. If you need an all around, get an all around gun. Don't limit yourself to owning just a .204.

8. 4,000 fps velocity does not give the bullet magical properties

9. How do you find those little bullets in the dark?

10. If you go deer hunting and you are gone for a long time, you had better bring something tangible home or the wife will be very upset, the .204 will lower your odds for taking the deer and increase your odds for domestic hell. WHY WOULD YOU USE IT?