I ran my ballistics program and would predict that both the .17 HMR and the .22 Mag (with the new pointed bullet) would have remaining energies of about 175 foot-pounds at 100 yards. The velocity of the .17 HMR's 17-grain bullet would be about 2150 fps and the velocity of the .22 Mag's 30-grain bullet would be about 1600 fps. I think 175 foot-pounds is not sufficient energy for coyotes with such light bullets. I have shot a number of coyotes with the .17 Remington and the .17 Hornet and found that if their bullet impact velocity was 2,700 fps or more the coyotes died almost instantly. With a lower velocity the .17's did not work well for me. Since the .17 HMR only starts out at that velocity I don't think it is a very good coyote cartridge at any distance. Hornaday (or was it Nosler?) made some 33-grain plastic tip bullets for Remington to load into .22 Magnums. When it did not work out, several thousand of them were sold through a large reloading store. I bought some and found an accurate load for them in a .22 Hornet at about 2,900 fps muzzle velocity. I shot one coyote with this rifle at about 120 yards where the remaining velocity would be about 2,100 fps and the remaining energy would be almost the same as the muzzle energy for the new Hornaday .22 Mag load. The bullet hit the small coyote in the lungs broadside and the coyote did not seem to know what happened. It ran about 50 yards, and layed down in a picked cornfield, facing away from me. Eventually its head went down and I walked up to it. A couple minutes later when I got about 50 yards away from it, it heard me coming and raised its head toward me. My second shot killed it. That was the most poorly killed coyote I ever recovered and the first shot was perfect. The .22 Mag may be OK for coyotes with heavy bullets at close range, but I don't think it is an adaquate coyote cartridge with a 30-grain bullet, nor is the .17 HMR with its light bullets.
