.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
W07wJy.jpg


Sako FS Vixen 222 Rem
Hg8qej.jpg


Win Model 70 222 Rem
X5aAGk.jpg


Valmet 212 12ga/222 Rem, I did kill the coyote with the shotgun barrel
uUPDyV.jpg
 
Last edited:
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.
 
I have a .222 REM Mag in a Sako rifle, and for Fox over here it is devastating….i reckon for Coyote would be my go to for sure.
I also use the 222Rem, and a 22K-Hornet,
If I had to pick one, it would be the .222Rem, with 50gn soft points.
Jay
 
Fox said:
Hi all,
I have a .22-250 for open country coyote hunting, Fantastic caliber for the job /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif.
I am now looking for a coyote rifle for around my house to protect my chickhens and sheep with lambs, i lost 2 lambs last week /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif.
Range would be max 200yds.
Cant seem to decide weather to get a .222 or a Hornet.
Will the .22 Hornet have enough knock down power for the job?
I am sorta leaning toward .22 Hornet a nice CZ 527. looks to be a quick handy light rifle?
What do you all think? As I cant seem to make my mind up /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif, .22 Hornet or .222?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
If you chose between the two, take the .222.
 
Another vote for 222. More flexible. more power available if you want it. Can be made about as quiet as the hornet by going to quick powders, 4227 or even quicker.
 
17ahjoe said:
I have a .222 REM Mag in a Sako rifle, and for Fox over here it is devastating….i reckon for Coyote would be my go to for sure.
I also use the 222Rem, and a 22K-Hornet,
If I had to pick one, it would be the .222Rem, with 50gn soft points.
Jay
Click to expand...
My main coyote rifle is also a Sako in 222remmag. It's very effective.
 
Of the two calibers you mentioned, my personal choice would be the 222. While hunting jackal in Namibia, the guide first handed me a 22 Hornet in hopes of saving fur for a nice tan. We had way too many runners with the Hornet and enough shots to see that it was not consistently lethal. Later we switched to a 223 which gave a noticeable difference, dropping them much better. The 222 is close to 223 performance, and well known for great accuracy. Jackal in general are smaller than coyotes and similar to a large fox.
 
6mm06 said:
Of the two calibers you mentioned, my personal choice would be the 222. While hunting jackal in Namibia, the guide first handed me a 22 Hornet in hopes of saving fur for a nice tan. We had way too many runners with the Hornet and enough shots to see that it was not consistently lethal. Later we switched to a 223 which gave a noticeable difference, dropping them much better. The 222 is close to 223 performance, and well known for great accuracy. Jackal in general are smaller than coyotes and similar to a large fox.
Click to expand...

When I first started using the Hornet for coyotes, sometime in early 1991-1992, I ran into the same problem with runners and floppers, so I tried lot's of different bullets. The bullets made for a Hornet velocity seemed to expand to quickly, on frontal shots, so I experimented with heavier construction bullets and finally settled on Barnes X, and now use the XLC, and when I run out of those, I'll switch to the 45gr TSX.

The reduction in runners and floppers with the Barnes was very noticeable.

To me, bullet construction is vital, and the faster, or slower, you push them, the on-game performance changes. Shoot a bullet designed for 30-30 velocities out of a 300 UltraMag, and it might not work like you want.

A simplistic example is a raw chicken egg: drop it on the floor and it breaks. Now, throw another one as hard as you can against the floor, and it splatters.
 
Fox said:
Hi all,
I have a .22-250 for open country coyote hunting, Fantastic caliber for the job /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif.
I am now looking for a coyote rifle for around my house to protect my chickhens and sheep with lambs, i lost 2 lambs last week /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif.
Range would be max 200yds.
Cant seem to decide weather to get a .222 or a Hornet.
Will the .22 Hornet have enough knock down power for the job?
I am sorta leaning toward .22 Hornet a nice CZ 527. looks to be a quick handy light rifle?
What do you all think? As I cant seem to make my mind up /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif, .22 Hornet or .222?
Thanks.
Click to expand...

I use the Hornet around my house because even though I have large tracts adjacent to my small farm, there are just too many cows, horses houses and people on the other side of uncleaned fence lines. I have made kills out to 200 yds with my Hornet with my handloads pushing a 40 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip and average of 2987 fps. I did find the Hornady V Max does not work with the Hornet. Coyites get up and run. i shot 1 yote 3 times, knocking him down each time, and then had to dispatch him when I walked up to him. The Noslers don't do that.
 
K22-hornet said:
When I first started using the Hornet for coyotes, sometime in early 1991-1992, I ran into the same problem with runners and floppers, so I tried lot's of different bullets. The bullets made for a Hornet velocity seemed to expand to quickly, on frontal shots, so I experimented with heavier construction bullets and finally settled on Barnes X, and now use the XLC, and when I run out of those, I'll switch to the 45gr TSX.

The reduction in runners and floppers with the Barnes was very noticeable.

To me, bullet construction is vital, and the faster, or slower, you push them, the on-game performance changes. Shoot a bullet designed for 30-30 velocities out of a 300 UltraMag, and it might not work like you want.

A simplistic example is a raw chicken egg: drop it on the floor and it breaks. Now, throw another one as hard as you can against the floor, and it splatters.
Click to expand...
Try the 40 gr Nosler Ballistic tip ahead of 13 gr Lil Gun.
 
Chick said:
Try the 40 gr Nosler Ballistic tip ahead of 13 gr Lil Gun.
Click to expand...
I have, along with various other plastic and soft-point bullets, of multiple bullet weights, and none of them work as well as a Barnes X or XLC out of the Hornet, at least for me.

As I've mentioned, the reduction in runners and floppers was noticeable after I started using Barnes.

In a larger cartridge, like 222/223, the extra speed these develop over the Hornet makes a 'standard' bullet work very well, and I don't use Barnes in those cartridges, though I have. It isn't necessary.

Speed helps, a lot. When I used a 60gr Vmax out of the 222RemMag, at 3,100fps, it killed coyotes well. My son shoots the 60gr Vmax at 3,700fps out of his 223wssm, and the difference in how it kills coyotes is dramatic.
 
With the 40gr Nosler BT, I've never had runners or floppers. In fact the only runners and flopers I have had were when I bought a box of 50 gr Blitzkings for my 22-250. Had 7 in a row. I called Sierra and they told me the Blitzking was made for instant expansion, to take the head off a prairie dog. He said the 55 gr Game King was probably their best coyote bullet.
 
Back
Top