22 Hornet vs 223: Coyotes Beware!
When it comes to varmint hunting, there are few rounds that can compete with the popularity and success of the 223 Remington. Since its release in 1964 and adoption by the US military, the 223 Rem has been nigh untouchable as the go-to option for plinking, long range target shooting, and varmint hunting.
However, before the 223 was even a twinkle in Remington’s eye, the 22 Hornet ruled the roost as the king of the varmint cartridges. With extremely high muzzle velocity for its time, it was not uncommon for hunters to harvest coyotes at 200 yards with iron sights thanks to the Hornet’s flat trajectory.
Although the 223 Remington outperforms the 22 Hornet in every ballistic category, the Hornet is one of those cartridges that refuses to die as it’s a perfect bridge caliber between the rimfire 22HMR and 223.
The 22 Hornet is the more classic round of the two, as it dominated the varmint hunting stage prior to WWII. However, after the war, new varmint rounds like the 220 Swift and 22-250 pushed the Hornet into relative obscurity.
As of late the 22 Hornet has seen a bit of a resurgence, with several mainstream rifle manufacturers offering new bolt action rifles chambered in 22 Hornet. However, ammo availability still plagues the Hornet's mainstream acceptance in the hunting community.
Overall, the 223 Remington is our choice for the better caliber with better ballistic performance and ammo availability to the moon and back. However, if you find yourself in possession of an old Hornet rifle, then by all means keep it and enjoy shooting a classic varmint hunting cartridge.
