Just found an ar in .204, I know this was designed for varmints obviously, but if one picked one up in the middle of the night, would the terminal ballistics comoare to the obviously popular .223? Let's ignore body armor for now.....
Yeah, 32 gr+ is what I was thinking, I may or may not know a guy who has harvested all his deer with one (not going there, educated him on legalities, leaving it alone) but was thinking that at such velocities, though maybe less than ideal, such a thing would surely not be laughed off, I know the 4 legged coyotes didn't used to laugh them off before the fast twist .22s became popular....Hornady offers a 45 grain interlock in .204 Ruger, I imagine those would be perfect for HD/SD. A varmint load would also do well, although I would try to stay at 30 grains or heavier just to be sure enough fragments make it to the bad guy's vitals.
Really I plan on swapping uppers on and off for different uses, I am already well set on .223, handguns, shotguns, etc but I was curious about the concept, if I were to grab the varmint gun I would not feel undergunned, I don't feel it's ideal for sure, and then on the other hand, with the scarcity of just about everything right now, I have a friend planning on getting his first ar, I found a very reasonably priced upper in .204 he's only planning on 2 uses, varmints and hd. Ideally we'll get him setup with a .22cf but it was a good enough price to ponder.....So horsey300, have you already acquired the rifle or just thinking about it? If you are just considering it, another option might be preferable, like an HD shotgun. But, if you already have it, a 32gr .204 varmint bullet would do major damage. I shot a coyote running away from me at about 150 yards and hit him in his left hip. It almost took his leg off. The second finishing shot hit his neck and blew out a big chunk of his neck and throat. Sorry, for the gruesome detail, but wanted to give you an idea what a 32gr varmint bullet can do at 4000fps. So HD weapon? Maybe not, but could be very. effective.