.22 Hornet or .222 rem, for coyotes?

I have to defend my little hornet on this one. My calling partner carries the .222 and does very well well with it. I carried my hornet last year and did equally well. I know my abilities as well as my limitations with the hornet, and have never lost anything I have pulled the trigger on...including dogs of various varieties and ranges, as well as controlling the groundhog pupulation out to a couple hundred yards. (Admittedly, this sounds like inexperience or bragging....it is niether.) I prefer the Hornet for the shots off the back deck because the wife doesn't hear it when she has the air conditioner running in the bedroom (most of the time.) The .222 definitely has more downrange oomph, but the hornet will get the job done as well inside a couple hundred yards--and more quietly.

Niether has a whole lot of factory ammo selections--see above post re: .223 vs. 224 bullet diameter.

Maybe you should buy both and decide which one you like better....then you have an excuse for another set of dies...and more range time. :)

WNYS
 
I had never even shot a 22 hornet until last year. We hunted with a couple guys that were die hard hornet shooters. Of course they only hunt in Grey Fox and Bobcat country so we didnt see any first hand results on Coyotes. We took a 30 pound Bobcat at over 100 yards and he didnt run a step. For shots under 150 I would say they will do the job as long as your shot placement is good. I dont have any bad feedback to report after our 3 day experience with the hornet. Of course a 223 or above will be a more all around rifle and you can take longer shots, not limiting your range.

Take care,

Todd
 
I do love all the calibers that everyone mentioned to your question. They all do a fine job. My newest addition to my collection, and it is sweet, is the .204 ruger. It's based on the .222 rem mag. They moved the shoulder forward a little and increased the volume inside the case. I buy .222 rem mag casings and send them through the dies. Check it out and good luck. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
I've owned the 22H, 218 Bee, 222 Rem, 223 Rem, 22-204(222 Rem Mag Improved), 5.6x50R Mag, 22-250 and 22-250 AI, my go-to rifle for most of my calling preds is the 222 Rem with the 52gr Speer FB HP.

Rem 788 222 Rem
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Sako FS Vixen 222 Rem
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Win Model 70 222 Rem
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Valmet 212 12ga/222 Rem, I did kill the coyote with the shotgun barrel
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How did I miss this thread 20 years ago???

Anyway, having shot lot and lots of coyotes with a standard Hornet, I have settled on about 150-175yds, (though I have shot coyotes to 200yds) as the farthest I'd shoot, and then only if broadside. When they are facing me, as in a calling situation, I prefer to keep it around 100yds or less.

My bullet of choice is a 45gr Barnes XLC. Once I settled on Barnes X, and then XLC, I noticed a reduction in runners and floppers. Once I run out of XLC's, I'll switch to the TSX.
 
I have rifles in 22 hornet, 22K hornet, 221 fb, and 222. I’ve killed coyotes with all of them. There’s not enough difference in the 22 hornet and 22k hornet to talk about. As you go up in cartridge size (more powder & velocity) you stretch your range of effectiveness a bit and you gain some in faster kills on marginal hits.
Another issue is the availability of rifles in these cartridges. There’s a few in 22H. There’s almost none in 221 fb that are currently being made . And actually there’s not a lot of 222s being made, but rebarrel/rechambering a 223 is an easy but not inexpensive option.
I like shooting all these guns, but if I had to take one coyote calling, it would be the 222.
 
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