Personally I’ve never seen the point of a .204 over any of the .22CF’s which have their own limitations. Looking at the facts the .204 is a barrel-burner, and is over the MV limit for civilian ranges including my club. Like the parent .222 Mag it has the performance on paper to be legal for Roe in Scotland, but as a squirrel & gopher calibre may not have the tools to do the job on larger game.
Whether the ammunition is suitable is a serious doubt & worth raising. We’re told by the OP that it hasn’t been used on Roe, so there is no data yet on the terminal performance of .204 bullets, which
is required under Scottish Law. The .22CF Cals have been used for decades in the field so there is plenty of experience with these to draw on.
The answer given by Police Scotland is straight from the H.O.G but doesn’t fully comply with it:-
13.34 The legislative requirements for the shooting of deer in Scotland are based on the performance of the ammunition, not the calibre of the rifle.
Ammunition must be “designed to deform in a predictable manner”. Article 3 of the Deer (Firearms etc.) (Scotland) Order 1985 makes different provisions for the shooting of Roe deer in Scotland. A calibre is not stipulated but the bullet weight must be not less than 50 grains, the muzzle velocity not less than 2,450 feet per second and the muzzle energy of more than 1,000 foot pounds. In practical terms, this means a calibre of .222 or greater, rather than the .240 or greater for shooting Roe deer required in England and Wales
[FONT=&]Quarry Shooting [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Note that the absence of a calibre in the table below [/FONT][FONT=&]should not [/FONT][FONT=&]preclude it being considered by the Police. The purpose of this table is as a guide to establish initial “good reason”. [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Paragraphs 13.9 and 13.16-13.18 should be read in conjunction with this table. [/FONT]
[TABLE="class: MsoNormalTable"]
[TR]
[TD]
[FONT=&]Cartridges [/FONT][/TD]
[TD="width: 110"]
[FONT=&]Muzzle energy (ft lb) [/FONT][/TD]
[TD="width: 110"]
[FONT=&]Vermin & ground game and other small quarry[/FONT]3 [/TD]
[TD="width: 110"]
[FONT=&]Fox and other medium quarry[/FONT]4 [/TD]
[TD="width: 110"]
[FONT=&]Deer and other large quarry[/FONT]5 [/TD]
[TD="width: 110"]
[FONT=&]Dangerous Game[/FONT]6 [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 110"]
[FONT=&].177-.25 Air Rifles (FAC)[/FONT][FONT=&]1 [/FONT]
[FONT=&].22 RF [/FONT]
[FONT=&].17 Mach 2 [/FONT]
[FONT=&].17 HMR [/FONT]
[FONT=&].22 WMR [/FONT]
[FONT=&].17 Remington[/FONT][FONT=&]2 [/FONT]
[FONT=&].22 Hornet[/FONT][FONT=&]2 [/FONT]
[FONT=&].204 [/FONT]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 110"]
[FONT=&]>12 ft lb [/FONT]
[FONT=&]100-200 [/FONT]
[FONT=&]650-700 [/FONT]
[FONT=&]800-900 [/FONT][/TD]
[TD="width: 110"]
[FONT=&]Yes [/FONT][/TD]
[TD="width: 110"]
[FONT=&]No [/FONT]
[FONT=&](Yes for .17 Remington & HMR, .22 Hornet and WMR – also .22 RF in certain circumstance (see 13.25)) [/FONT]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 110"]
[FONT=&]No [/FONT][/TD]
[TD="width: 110"]
[FONT=&]No [/FONT][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 110"]
[FONT=&].[/FONT][FONT=&]17 Remington2 [/FONT]
[FONT=&].218 Bee [/FONT]
[FONT=&].22 Hornet2 [/FONT]
[FONT=&].22-.250 [/FONT]
[FONT=&].220 Swift [/FONT]
[FONT=&].222 Remington [/FONT]
[FONT=&]5.56mm/.223 [/FONT]
[FONT=&].243 [/FONT]
[FONT=&]6mm PPC [/FONT]
[FONT=&]6mm/.244[/FONT][/TD]
[TD="width: 110"]
[FONT=&]800-900 [/FONT]
[FONT=&]600-800 [/FONT]
[FONT=&]650-700 [/FONT]
[FONT=&]1,350-1,500 [/FONT]
[FONT=&]1,300-1,900 [/FONT]
[FONT=&]900-1,000 [/FONT]
[FONT=&]1,000-1,400 [/FONT]
[FONT=&]1,600-2,000 [/FONT]
[FONT=&]1,300-1,800 [/FONT]
[FONT=&]1,800-2,100 [/FONT][/TD]
[TD="width: 110"]
[FONT=&]No [/FONT]
[FONT=&](Yes for .17 Remington & HMR, .22 Hornet and WMR) [/FONT][/TD]
[TD="width: 110"] [FONT=&]Yes [/FONT][/TD]
[TD="width: 110"]
[FONT=&]No7 [/FONT]
[FONT=&](Yes for Muntjac and Chinese water deer in England and Wales with .222 and greater, .243 & 6mm/.244) [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Yes in Scotland for Roe Deer with .222 and greater.) [/FONT][/TD]
[TD="width: 110"]
[FONT=&]No [/FONT][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]