The .204R wins hands down within the velocity, keepy-uppey stakes, no question, but that graphic shows off the .22H to its worst cos of commercial bullet choices. The 35gr V-Max is a great little bullet for relatively close shots, not much passed 130yds or so imho cos of the fast shedding of velocity and killing energy etc. But substitute that projectile for the excellent 40gr Sierra BlitzKing and we get far better results for the diminutive ?22 Hornet .. My quite sedate loading of said in my .22Hornet/.22KH gives me 2,950fps and a drop at 300 yds of around 10.7", not a million miles off the stated .223Rem @ 7.1" but faaaaar better than the near 17" of the 35gr V-Max offering!! That velocity can be pushed to 3,100 fps quite easily in my .22KH but at the expense of case life so I keep the loads down to a sensible level for my rifle..
But then I will never zero my .22H/.22KH @ 200 yds and never probs take shots at critters at much over that in any case.... So the data is again somewhat bias in setup and comparison. And again I will ask, whete are the comparative figures for the ORIGINAL COMPETITOR of the .17HMR.?
ATB ....... and shoot safely
Now out of personal interest in getting a fair and unbiased , straight comparison - (even though it may be fairly obvious which side of the .17HMR vs .22Hornet my support falls on) - I checked Hornady's site and got these figures as representative of the ACTUAL bullet and advertised velocity figures etc. used in their .17HMR loading. I then inserted those elements into my iSterok app' (EVERYTHING ELSE was unchanged from the .22H 35gr V-Max calculations) and now can report MY findings.
The .17 HMR Hornady load for commercial use comprise the following data figures...
17grain Hornady V-Max projectile fired at an advertised 2,550 fps from a regular 24" barrel, having a B.C. of between 0.120 and 0.125. I will use the 0.125 B.C. figure here so I won't be charged with fixing the figures to suit my example.
Inputting this limited dataset into my ballistic app' and I obtained the following - slightly surprising - results...
With a comparable 200 yd zero, at 300 yds the wee 17 grain .172" diameter projectile had shed most of its useful velocity, giving:-
Remaining Velocity ...............................988 fps
Remaining Energy ................................37 fpe
Drop at 300 yds from a 200 yd zero ..... 22.3"
As a reminder, taking the figures directly off the graphic given earlier by another respondent, and so with a 200yd zero and 300yd POI gave the following :-
Remaining Velocity ................................1,119 fps
Remaining Energy .................................. 97 fpe
Drop at 300 yds from a 200 yd zero ........ 16.9" (iSterok gave me 16.2" with these inputs but what the heck eh?).
NOW which cartridge has a more "looping trajectory" between this 17gr .17HMR commercial loading and the (not a good choice but nevertheless a commercial loading) 35gr. .22Hornet cartridge with a good deal more fps & fpe than the rimfire one, and with a stated drop from a 200yd zero to a 300yd POI of 16.9"...??
BOTH are pretty awful and quite honestly would be hard to use in the stated "test comparison" from one's rifle unless one were to be an advanced ballistician AND Excellent shot and the prevailing weather played the game!!.. However, I rest my case as to which one of these two would make the best choice (???) given the test criteria, but in a pest hunting situation even though the .22H is demonstrably "better" and more powerful for nailing a fox (say), I would personally avoid such a shot with EITHER rifle/chambering...
Like I have said in this thread I would NOT use the 200yd zero with my .22H/.22KH loads, and given the above drop figures would (and do) limit my zero to 120yds and MAX quarry taking range to not much more than 150yds given this particular commercial loading with the 35gr V-Max bullet upfront.. I am shooting LIVING quarry and try my damnedest to give the chosen critters a QUICK & ETHICAL demise, as much as possible in any given situation, and trying to tag a small beastie at 300 yds distance from me when the bullet is dropping like a veritable stone is NOT following this promise to myself and to those animals I take deadly aim at!!
ATB ....... and shoot safely.