CZ 527 .204 Ruger for deer

[pacecars]

I am considering buying a CZ 527 Varmint in .204 Ruger for Coyotes, pigs and deer. This is in Florida and the deer average around 100 lbs for does with the bucks being a little larger with an occasional 185 lb buck. Has anyone used the .204 Hammers on any of these critters or Pronghorns? If so what bullet and what twist in your rifle? The rifle has a 1:12 twist so I will be using the 39gr hammer hunter. I know some will say it is too small for deer but I think it might be perfect for surgical precision with little recoil. I am past the point where I have to shoot a deer when I go. I likes to pick my shots and will let a deer pass if I don’t feel comfortable with the shot plus’s it will be backed up by eaither a Freedom Arms .454 Casull or a Linebaugh built Ruger in .500 Linebaugh.

[bigbrowndog]

You might check laws, many or most states do not allow anything below .24 caliber and I’ve never seen one allow less than .22 centerfire, for big game. That said, no matter what bullet is used relying on surgical precision to hunt is not a good idea, IMHO. I’ve had to chase far too many animals for “snipers” relying on precision because they choose to use little bullets and “precision”, too many lost animals, too m poor hits, too many suffering animals. Rant Over………

Trapr

[pacecars]

Florida has no restriction on the caliber of rifle for big game other than no rimfires. The bullets that are coming out now are making the smaller calibers quite capable. If I could get a 1:7 twist heavier bullets come into play. I have used .223 Remington on deer and it works extremely well. As I said I am past the point of having to kill something and taking risky shots.

[Encore64]

The 204 Ruger would be too small for my tastes as well.

My own CZ527 is chambered in 6.5 Grendel. Ballistics comparable to the old 250 Savage with extremely low recoil.

I've also used the 223 Rem with thicker jacketed bullets intended for deer. It worked, but when buying a dedicated gun, I picked something a bit bigger.

[magnumwheelman]

the Deer are much bigger here, but agree to double check the Florida Regs, for all the animals the OP listed... ( everything I find on the www, indicates 223, as the smallest legal deer caliber... limited to a 5 round mag, in an AR ) a 204 would not be legal in MN ( previously the 30 carbine was the smallest, but this state yielded to the gun lobby, allowing .223 for deer here now, which I feel is pretty marginal, for the size animals we have... as a side note, 25 ACP is a legal deer caliber here, not by power, but by caliber

I did see, an indication, that 20 caliber is legal for turkey in Florida, but not sure on the other animals listed

[Fowler]

Are there any 20 cal controlled expansion bullet on the market? All the bullet I have ever handled were Varmint/target bullets that are very fragile and designed to come apart very easily. I used to have a buddy who like the caliber for coyotes because he would get an entrance hole and no exit hole to patch up in the hide. I guess they really make a mess of the inside of a Coyote, hate to think what they would do to a deer, just don't know how deep the bullet would penetrate before disintegrating...

[pacecars]

Here is a copy of the Florida regulations for deer

General gun season — Centerfire rifles, shotguns, centerfire pistols, muzzleloaders, precharged pneumatic air guns, crossbows and bows may be used.

[campfire]

What's the reasoning behind wanting to use .204? Why not .223 when it's been proven and can provide all the precision necessary with practical ranges?

[lar4570]

Barnes X is available for 223.
I have a CZ527 IN 223 and really like it.
The .204 39gn hammer looks to be a varmit bullet. I would seriously consider something larger, or designed for deer.

[squawberryman]

I can't speak for deer, but I could shoot (with confidence) the heads off of sunning water turtles at 150 yards with this one. You won't regret buying the rifle.

[potatojudge]

Hammer recommends a 9.5 twist minimum for that bullet. With a 12 twist you might just be hitting a deer with a tumbling 38 grain bullet, or a yawing one that may or may not perform as designed.

They don't list medium game as the purpose of that bullet, nor for the heavier 48 grain hammer hunter.

A call to Hammer might clarify, but I doubt they'll endorse this.

[jeffh]

I love these little guns!

I've had three, still have two. My 222 is my favorite. All have been exceptionally accurate and the only guns I've never felt I had to work on to improve. I HAVE had to do a serious deburring job on the insides of the feed lips of every one of their magazines I've had, but it's quick and easy job.

[woody]

I think I would use something a little bigger. A .243 would make a great dual purpose gun. I’ve shot several deer with the .243. Works very good on deer and for sure coyotes.

[pacecars]

I have shot deer with an AR-15 in .223 using a 53 gr TSX and I have not had any problems with it going through shoulders. I have shot deer with all manner of rifles and handguns in different calibers from .22 Rem Jet up to .375 H&H Mag and a Shiloh Sharps .45-100. I have killed enough deer to know where the bones are in relation to the vital organs. Deer are not that tough to bring down with a well placed bullet. I have used a .223 with Hornady 53 gr V-Max bullets, which are designed to be varmint bullets, and none of them went more than 50 yards. These were heart or lung shots since from my testing into actual dead deer won’t penetrate the shoulder bones reliably. I have several friends that use the same bullet and their results have mirrored mine. I do believe the .204 with the right bullet will work well on deer. I started looking at the 204 Ruger forum and there are a lot of Australian hunters that use the .204 with great success on Kangaroos and feral donkeys with a lot of 1 shot kills. I think I know what I am doing at this point in my life and I don’t want to reinvent the wheel and if someone has done it before their information could be extremely helpful. Thank you for your input and concerns. I do not want to cause any animal to suffer and if I thought I would be out there wounding deer I would not use it

[pacecars]

Well I bought the gun and since it has the ugly Kevlar stock I have also bought a Turkish Walnut varmint stock from the CZ store. I guess I should explain more about the deer hunting with it. I will mainly be calling Coyote and Bobcat and using the rifle then. I have had several deer respond to the predator calls and if I have the opportunity I would like to be able to pop a deer. I will also more than likely have a .500 Linebaugh on or a 10mm 1911 (if the .500 isn’t back yet from its journey). I like to be prepared