I find it interesting that so many .22 Hornet users don't (or won't) use the newer bullets with far higher BCs offered today for shooting small varmints like ground squirrels and prairie dogs. As I mentioned already, plastic-tips in the 40-grain range at 3000+ fps turn the old round into a genuine 250-300 yard prairie dog round--how far depending on the amount of wind.
And yes, using the Hornet to "start" on a PD town does result in them staying up out of their holes longer, due to a milder report. But after considerable experimentation (I get to shoot PDs every year) I eventually came to the conclusion that the .17 HMR worked even better as a starter round, especially with the A17 ammo designed for the Savage semi-auto. In my CZ 452 it gets right around 2800 fps, and works fine out to 200 yards--which is where the .22 Hornet doesn't even work as well with "traditional" blunt bullets in the 45-grain range at about the same muzzle velocity--because they drop more, and drift more in the wind, and produce an even milder report.
The .17 Hornady Hornet works even better than .22 Hornet with plastic-tips, one reason it's been my primary PD round for ranges out to 300+ yards for over a decade now.
Might also mention that beyond 300 I also use much milder rounds than some have mentioned here, mostly the .204 Ruger out to 500 yards, though a fast-twist .223 often gets used in windier conditions. The only time I go to a 6mm round anymore is beyond 500, where my 13-pound 6XC built by Charlie Sisk has worked very well with plastic-tipped, high-BC bullets in the 100-grain range.
Using traditional blunt 45-46 grain .22 Hornet bullets at traditional 1950s muzzle velocities seems kind of like using 160-grain round-nose bullets in the milder 6.5mms (whether the 6.x55, .260 Remington or the dreaded 6.5 Man-Bun) just because they're traditional....
