When habitually pitting your .17 Hornet against coyotes, or pressing it into service for prairie dogs in the windy West, you should consider Hornady’s heavier, 0.172"-diameter, 25-gr. V-Max bullet. Thanks to its 0.230 (G1) ballistic coefficient, in a 10-m.p.h. full-value breeze the tiny projectile deflects a tad less than its lighter 20-gr. sibling at 200 and 300 yds., thereby making hits easier. It also delivers slightly more energy at distance, too. More important to the coyote hunter, though, is the 25 percent increase of metal brought to the quarry; that greatly boosts the potential for lethality. Lastly, I’ve found 25-gr., .17-cal. bullets to consistently exhibit better accuracy than their lighter counterparts, as demonstrated at the range with this load. So, for those in search of an accurate, do-it-all recipe for a trusty .17 Hornet, look no further.
