Zane, I have a buddy who owns a M700 in .204 he intended to use as his Woodchuck gun, and while he is happy with it with factory ammo, hasn't worked up loads for it yet.
The past two years I have been on him to get off the snide and work it up to bring it to South Dakota so we can shoot it
That said, I just don't get excited over "new" cartridges. There is very little under the sun that is truly new, many of the "new stuff" can give you nothing you couldn't probably do with an older round with more work or new powder or bullets.
Now the various .17s were really "new" even though wildcatters were working with them since the 60s, accurate as heck, but they suck in the wind. They were having good luck with .19s, but nobody has brought one out yet, so the .204 splits the difference pretty well.
I saw a new Remington Model 7 in .17 Fireball that was pretty nice in the same shop that has the Sako for only like $599 that caught my eye, and the .17 Hornet is no slouch either. But I still think of the wind on the prairie. 20 mph is pretty normal, I've shot in 50 mph cross wind that moved a .224 50 grain more than 2 feet at 250
The .204 is really the only factory round that is as fast as the Swift so there is something. (Although there is still an argument if that is REALLY true, they hit like 4200 but with 30-35 grain bullets. The ORIGINAL factory load for the Swift in 1935 was 4100 with a 40 gr bullet...but no matter what, the .204 gets at least CLOSE to the Swift with a LOT less powder, so is more efficient.)
But when my buddy bought his .204 I still remember his call after his first day at the range..."CRAP I forgot I need another cleaning rod and brushes!"
I dunno, I think I will stick with something that shoots .224 bullets....still the most variety to pick from, one decent rod and cleaning kit works for all, etc, etc.
And a heckuva range in power from the Hornet to the Swift, with tons of cartridges ALREADY worked up in between, most of them accurate as heck too....