the .218 is a little snottier than the hornet, and ive used the hornet, many do. and it would be much more fur friendly than the hotter varmit calibers out there, especialy on fox and bobcats. they say a hornet is a 150 yard rifle, but thats cause its kinda inaccurate past that, it has the balistics to be a 250 yard varmit rifle , but you cant always hit stuff reliably that far. ive never shot a .218 so take what in saying for what its worth, i do have plenty of experiance with the hornet, and i know its slightly better.
one problem to consider is ammo availability, unless your a reloader. but i would use it if i had to for coyotes out to 150 yards, maybe more depending on bullet construction available, and how well it shot at those distances. 150 yards is fine up here in the brushy hills, may not work for you in Ill. do a search, and talk to someone who owns one.