I shoot both the 22 Hornet and the 221 FB in rifles. I've never had any problems loading for either, so I wish I knew what I was doing wrong there by missing out on all of the Hornet reloading issues. In a rifle, both are pussycats...
I also have a 10" barreled 22 Hornet Contender, and I like it a lot. It's very easy on the ears and recoil, and it's a real joy to shoot in the Contender. In contrast, I have a friend who shoots a 10" FB barrel and it is just that - a fire ball - in comparison to the Hornet - when it goes off. Even with those differences, his FB doesn't seem to kill PD's any further out than my Hornet does.... I've never tried the Hornet on coyotes in the Contender frame.
For a short barreled Contender, my hands down choice is the Hornet. In a rifle the 221 FB is hard to beat for a lower powered .224....
JMO - BCB
