I have two heavy barrel savages that shoot quite well. One is a VLP and the other is a BTVSS. These are the loads I use for them.
35 bergers, 25.5 gr of RL-10X and 26.8 gr of benchmark
40 bergers and 40 V-max, 24.5 gr RL-10X and 25.5 gr of H-4895
39 sierra BK and 40 gr Nosler , 25 gr RL-10X and 27.5 gr of H-4895
32 V-max and 32 gr nosler, 26 gr RL-10X and 27 gr H-322 and Benchmark
26 gr varmint grenade, 26.3 gr RL-10X and 23.3 gr H-4198
45 gr hornady sp, 24.3 gr RL 10X
All of these loads will generally print out 1/2" groups or better out of both of my savage 204's.
These loads may not work in your gun so REMEMBER to start below these and work your way up at approx .2 to .3 gr at a time.
For yotes your best bet is to use the 35 and 40 gr bergers or the 45 gr Hornady sp's.
Wildcat makes a 38 gr hollow point that should be excellent for yotes as well. I am hoping to have some test loads of these soon and will probably be using them this season.
The ballistic tips will work for yotes as well, but if you hit bone they may splash and can produce some very large holes. My favorite for prairie doggin and other small critters is the 39 gr sierra BK. Has a high B.C., good mist and lift action, and best of all is the "giggle" factor of seeing your hits through the scope.
There are no factory loadings for bergers or wildcats in Canada. The Hornady SP's are available as factory made bullets and most 204's shoot them okay as their overall length is shorter than the 40 gr V-max.
Ideally you will want to re-load to get the most out of your 204 for accuracy and once you do you'll find it very addictive.
I did purchase another 204 a couple of weeks ago. A T3 lite, grey laminate, with the stainless barrel. I wanted a lighter carry rifle for yotes. Just waiting to put some glass on it. This one will probably be dedicated with the 35 & 40 bergers, the hornady 45 gr sp's and the 38 gr wildcats for yotes. Of course it will have to "tag along" out into the p-dog fields in order to help keep the other two 204's barrels cool. You just can't have to many barrels out in a rich target environment.
