ORIGINAL: trailer
The only draw back for me between the two would be cleaning the barrel on the 204. I had a 17HRM and despised it when it came time to clean that barrel.[:-]
I own both a Ruger .17 HMR and a ruger 204, and never had problems with cleaning. That is one of the fun things about owning a firearm, is the maintenance. Choosing a firearm on its dirty factor is just silly to me. There are the real factors out there in choosing a gun, and cleaning should not inhibit your choice.