22 Hornet

[THERAVEN]

Would a 22 Hornet be O.K. for varmint hunting. A friend said that it would be to small to bring down a Coyote.

 

[PetahW]

IMHO, your friend needs an education..................

The Hornet's a perfect niche varminter, most useful for shorter ranges (up to 250yds, +/-, IMO), depending upon a particular rifle's accuracy; and a decided advantage for shooting/varminting in those areas well within earshot of dwellings, since it's much quieter than larger CF .22's.

FWIW, I regularly take 'Yotes with my .22 RF Magnum, which has about half the power/range of my Hornet - and none ever as much as thought about running off.


.

 

[ruger357w]

I love my 22 hornet, it's good out to about 150 yards on coyotes. If I hunt in place's where I know I can shoot further I use my 223 rem or 22-250. Mine seems to shoot 40 gr. v-max's really well, and it's cheap to reload for. I have the ruger 77/22.

 

[Pahoo]

PetahW + 1

IMHO, your friend needs an education..................

Amen to that !! ....

Be Safe !!!

 

[pabuckslayer08]

22 Hornet has a good punch, really alot like the 204 I think, shoots pretty flat and hits hard but loses alot of energy past 250 or 300 yards

 

[colbad]

I had one exactly for coyotes for a while. I was never happy with the rifle I had (Savage bolt) so got rid of it. Round was good in close but expensive. Went to Ruger 77 in .223 and MUCH happier. Better shooter, cheaper ammo and more range.

 

[alex0535]

I believe in my state .22 hornet is the smallest legal caliber for use on whitetail deer.

I am sure that it would be more than capable of bringing down a coyote.

 

[Geezerbiker]

I thought Oregon was the only state where the .22 Hornet was legal for deer... Learn something new every day...

Tony

 

[cdmckane]

Any center fire rifle is legal for deer in NY. My FIL uses his often.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

legal in MN... though I love the cartridge, I'd never use it for deer ( I have better choices )

150 yards most "normal" Hornets would be good for "yotes"... I have a 300 yard range, & have some of mine dialed in to 250 yards, though IMO, at that distance it's better used on a bit smaller varmint...

I also have a couple converted to fast twist ( 1 in 9" twist ) barrels, & can stabilize up to 68-69 grain bullets... I regularly shoot 55's & think the additional bullet weight & rotation, makes the fast twist good to 200-250 yards out of the Hornet

 

[jglsprings]

A friend said that it would be to small to bring down a Coyote.

Boy, I don't know what I did without the internet in the ol'den days. I shot coyotes with my 22-Hornet low wall for years. That was how I made spending money.

 

[Panfisher]

Before the internet lots of things worked just fine. My .22 Hornet has never had a problem taking down a coyote. It is legal for deer in MO as well, and I did actually take a deer with it, passed on several until I had one that met my requirements, and I will say this I was quite under impressed with it on deer, but she dropped at 50 yards with a bullet into the white patch under her throat. (I expected shattered neck vertabrae, but didn't get it).

As with all cartridges keep it within its and your effective range, feed it good bullets designed for the task and watch it work. Mine loves 45 grain HP's loaded to a moderate level, any hotten and it will split the case necks, which is a terrible sin for reloaders.

 

[Wyosmith]

I have never owned a Hornet, but I killed MANY coyotes with a 22 Magnum Rim Fire and did it several times out to about 200 yards and maybe a little past. I never lost one, and I never had one run more than about 20 yards after I him it.
So the idea that the Hornet is not enough is just not true. It beats the 22 WMR in every way.

However, Hornets do have short brass life (I never owned one, but as a gunsmith I have worked on many of them) If I were to look at buying a new rifle for the purpose of varminting and I were to be interested only in a bolt action, I’d lean toward a CZ 527 in 221 Fireball, 222 Remington or 223 over the Hornet. They make that rifle in the Hornet, but it would be my last choice of caliber offered because of the short brass life.
The fireball is a real good performer in a rifle and it’s soft spoken compared to the 222 and 223. It is a bit louder than the hornet, but not all that much.


Anyway,,,,,,, that’s my 2 cents worth

 

[shurshot]

I never fired the Hornet out of a rifle, but I did have a TC Contender in .22 Hornet and took out a few woodchucks. The wounds were devestating to say the least and I would not think twice about hunting yotes with the round, as it is a lethal little lady.

 

[huntinaz]

A friend said that it would be to small to bring down a Coyote.

Haha. Most good coyote hunters would argue with that.

 

[tuck2]

I have shot the 22 Hornet and reloaded ammo for a number of years. The hornet case is a thin walled long tapered rimed case that I have growen to dislike . To some what make it into a moderen case, some have it rechambered for the K Hornet round which then has a bit more powder capacity. Lil Gun powder produces the highest bullet velocity .It is the smallest powder case capacity of the 22 caliber centerfire cartridges. I used the 22 Hornet rifle for shooting prairie dogs but would limit my shots at coyotes to 150 -175 yards. Since getting the modered rimless 221 Fireball cartridge rifle my old Hornet stays at home. But I like the new 17 Hornet ballistics of the 20 grain V-Max bullet and the case is of thicker brass and looks some what like the K Hornet brass. Per the data in Hornadys cataloge the the 35 Gr bullet fired from the 22 Hornet has 193 ft/lb of energy at 200 yards while the 20 Gr bullet fired from 17 Hornet has 294 ft/lb of energy at 200 yards. When sited is at the same distance the 17 Hornet has less bullet drop.