Using .223 on deer strikes me as being either a stunt or a by product of MSR love, and I can’t imagine choosing .223 on deer for any other reason.
Using .223 on deer strikes me as being either a stunt or a by product of MSR love, and I can’t imagine choosing .223 on deer for any other reason.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
Exactly what I was thinking, rifles for hunting big game in the state I live in must be .24 caliber or larger.Originally Posted by GJM
Depends on the state. In GA our deer are small, and ranges are short. 223 works surprisingly well with the right projectile. It's not forgiving of bad shot placement or shooting through brush.
If you are willing to live within it's limits it'll work just fine.
I originally used 223 to hunt because it was my best option as a poor college student and I didn't have the cash to go buy a dedicated hunting rig. 15 years later and I still don't need a larger caliber for deer.
My only want for a bolt gun is so I can play at 1000 plus yards and hunt out west.
As noted above, Deep South deer are small. I've shot two deer and at least a dozen hogs with 5.56. I've always used premium ammo and placed the shots well. Everything I've shot has been suitably impressed. Neither of the deer moved more than 10 yards after being shot. If you keep the bullet in the heart/lungs it may not exit but it looks like a grenade went off inside the chest.
- It's not the odds, it's the stakes.
- If you aren't dry practicing every week, you're not serious.....
- "Tache-Psyche Effect - a polite way of saying 'You suck.' " - GG
Depends on what you mean by "deer." A 62 grain Partition out of a 16" AR was decisive on 120 to 140 lb Oregon Blacktails so it certainly was "enough gun." I would have used a different choice on the big ole corn fed bucks where I grew up in Appalachia. If somebody tells you they shot one that weighed 300lbs back there, they're probably lying, but if they say 250lbs, there's a good chance they aren't.
I was into 10mm Auto before it sold out and went mainstream, but these days I'm here for the revolver and epidemiology information.
Perfect angle, perfect shot, seems like an appropriate .223/5.56 projectile will get the job done on smaller deer. A larger diameter, heavier bullet gives me more options on angles, which can come in handy on a big trophy, or following up on a wounded animal.
I get the appeal of hunting with your AR, but if I am running a bolt gun, it will be in a larger caliber.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
The vast majority of my deer have had the bullet pass all the way through. Even the 77gr TMK I tried this year exited(although it was only 50 yards). Too much frag and ruined meat though. I'm going back to Gold Dots.
The whole "deer with a .223" thing is pretty well trod ground. Answers fall into two camps: folks who think it's nowhere near enough, and folks who post pictures of themselves next to a dead deer while holding a .223 rifle. I think my pictures of that are all on old-fashioned film, or I'd do it. I saw plenty taken with a .223, including less than perfect shots, with no major drama. They were all within 150 yards, and most well within 100, so essentially I wouldn't hesitate to use a .223 on a deer at any range I would also use a .30-30. If I lived in Montanna? Different answer.
I guess what confuses me about this argument is that folks depend on .223 as a defensive cartridge, but won't hunt deer with it.
I was into 10mm Auto before it sold out and went mainstream, but these days I'm here for the revolver and epidemiology information.
A friend of mine did some testing on wet packs. Here are the results:I recovered this handloaded 180gr .308" Nosler Accubond fired from my .30-06, from just under the far side hide of a cow elk, shot twice broadside at 424 yards. I think the first one was a complete pass through, though the hits were only inches apart. It's the only one I've ever recovered from all the elk, deer, or antelope I've shot with this load. It is almost always a complete pass through. I thought the performance was quite adequate, and about as good as Noslers advertising propaganda. I haven't found a reason to change bullets yet.
As far as the Hornady load in question, I've never been really satisfied with solid copper bullets like the GMX or TSX/TTSX... it seems like you have to keep the velocity higher to get good bullet upset and expansion. That is logical, but it seems that lead core bullets expand better at lower velocity than their all-copper/gliding metal counterparts. I just don't trust the mono-metal bullets to expand like lead core stuff. It seems like a minor difference in materials hardness or faulty construction can cause them to act more like solids (as it seems to show in your pictures), than expanding bullets. I don't think it has anything to do with the hollow point clogging... but I could be wrong (say the solid copper bullet impacts hard bone and collapses the tip).
I have use a 70gr TSX on deer before and it worked fine, and appeared to expand as intended. Nosler is supposed to be coming out with a 70gr .224" Accubond, and I am keen to try that bullet when it shows up. Though the various Gold Dot and Fusion loads/bullets probably offer similar performance.
This. There is a logical disconnect. If you trust 5.56 to stop a violent 200# man with a firearm from killing you in the next few seconds, but don't trust it to kill a 150# deer inside a sensible timeframe/100 yards? Well...
Anyway, here is my 8pt buck I shot with 70GMX. it killed him dead. He ran 68 yards and piled up after leaving a blood trail Ray Charles could follow with his toes.
Reply With Quote
