I see no one jumped on this so I will try to help out if I can. I have many years of reloading and shooting small high speed bullets. On page 123 of the Lyman 49th edition reloading manual, I see that the bullet weights available to you are 32, 40 and 45 grain. I do not know of any bullet designs in that weight that are not made to splat things. I believe this is the primary purpose of the 204 Ruger. You will need to get a 224 diameter bullet in 55 grain and up. Then you can get FMJ bullets for penetration or a variety of bullets that don't go splat. A good example is to log onto Midway USA, go to reloading, bullets, 224 caliber and then look at the bullet types. For hunting, I often prefer a HP Match bullet as they are made with a heavy jacket and a small hollow point. They hold up well.
Now for caliber! I have the 223 15" Encore. Here are some of its virtues: Fast! Small amount of powder used per shot = Cheap. Ammo is often on sale for as low as $7.00 a box! Surplus ammo is common, brass is common. They are easy to reload. Recoil is minimal. The speed is great. The bullet selection is huge with weights from 35, 40, 50, 53, 55 and 60 grain bullets. In a pistol, the speed is right behind a 22-250! I can get a used 223 case for about .06 cents each. 22-250 cases are closer to $2.00 each new and hard to find used at all plus they use a lot more powder for that Extra 350 fps.
plus if you want something to go splat, you can load a 223 for that too
I hope this helps answer your question. Happy shooting!
