The 204 and I started out on a sour note. The first one I had did not like 40 grain Hornady's at all so I tried the 32's that SHOT great but I lost too many coyotes. Then the 39 gr blitz king came out and it shot well but again, I lost coyotes. I sold the gun and declared it unfit for a coyote round. Then Berger brought out the 35 gr bullet that proved to be a good coyote bullet and worked great on cats so I bought a Contender barrel and it worked ok but lacked speed. Again I got out.
Then my cousin built an AR that seemed to work pretty good and I was able to pick up a Kimber Montana in 204. It liked the 40 gr Hornady's and they killed coyotes just as well as my 22-250. It also likes the 40 grain Bergers and Noslers which both kill better than I ever expected. If I didn't have the Montana, I'd build a 20" 204 and never look back. Hide damage is minimal and I don't recall a cat or coyote that ran anywhere.
It's not as versatile as bigger calibers but for what I do, it works just fine.
