223 for whitetail?

[jsthntn247]

I know allot of folks that would lose deer hunting with a 338 Lapua.

 

[XTR]

Not every shot goes to its intended location. White tails in most places are not that big and not that hard to kill, but some days it doesn't work. Personally unless it was the only center fire I owned, it would not be my first choice.

And for the record I'd pick my ML over a 223. With a good position I trust it out to 200, I've taken deer with it to 150.

 

[kyreloader]

Not every shot goes to its intended location. White tails in most places are not that big and not that hard to kill, but some days it doesn't work. Personally unless it was the only center fire I owned, it would not be my first choice.

And for the record I'd pick my ML over a 223. With a good position I trust it out to 200, I've taken deer with it to 150.

Have you used a .223 to kill a whitetail deer?

I have killed three whitetails with a .223 out to 150 yards. I have killed deer with a .243 Win, .30-30, .284 Shehane and the .223 killed the deer that I have killed with it faster than all of the other deer that I have killed with the other calibers.

Is it the best all-around choice, no, but did it work extremely well for me when I used it- YES. Would I use my .223 again for whitetail deer hunting -Absolutely.

 

[Kenster]

In 2012 I shot an 8-point tennesse buck with my 30 herret with a sierra 135 gr ssp at 50 yards broadside , it spun 180 degrees and took three steps looking around. Rick (greyfox), who had already downed the doe that had been standing next to the buck, put a shoulder shot on my buck ( who was still trying to figure out which way the shots came from) with his 223 ackley and the buck dropped like a rock! Later found that my shot took out a lung and went through the diaphram (had to ask my wife about the spelling...ha.ha.) Rick'sdoe went about 15 yards before piling up. He told me later he was shooting a bullet designed for deer huntin'-don't remember the brand, but we took two deer to the checking station that morning, and the venison has been great. Bye the way, I had whispered to Rick to put my buck down, which he did quite handilly. Thank's Greyfox! W.0.W!........ FIVE PAGES of response- don't you just love a good discussion! I'm just glad my wife was around to help me spell diaphram correctly! While I was typing this response she came into the room and, seeing me typing, rolled her eyes and exclaimed " what are you doing, buying ANOTHER gun!) can anyone else on this board relate to that? I cann't complain though- you see, she cooks venison REALLY well!!!!!!!..........cheers everyone!

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

I'm just glad my wife was around to help me spell diaphram correctly!

Correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, and word use would be an anomaly on this site, anyway.

It's "diaphragm."

 

[tipper999]

I say use a bow.

 

[timeout]

I say use a bow.

The native Americans don't even use those here in WI. ;D

 

[MrMajestic]

I'm just glad my wife was around to help me spell diaphram correctly!

Correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, and word use would be an anomaly on this site, anyway.

It's "diaphragm."

LMAO! laughing with you not at you! ;D

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

I'm just glad my wife was around to help me spell diaphram correctly!

Correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, and word use would be an anomaly on this site, anyway.

It's "diaphragm."

LMAO! laughing with you not at you! ;D

Their, they're. Dont laff to hard or your defiantly going too hert you're self. Take a brake. [Not too be confuzed with a muzzle break.] :-X

 

[Kenster]

thanks guys, humor really helps take the edge off!
and she really DID roll her eyes when she asked me if I was buying ANOTHER gun. But she is a great cook and loads of laughs most of the time. thank ya'll fer that there spellin' hep! Oh, one other thing- I think Rick (Greyfox) is an alright dude. Good Huntin', guys

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

thanks guys, humor really helps take the edge off!

This is may be the world's only internet forum where people don't take themselves too seriously, but take their rifle accuracy very seriously. Keep smilin' and shootin'! ;D

 

[SeabeeKen]

Agreed
Neck shot only with a 223

 

[varmintshooter]

Over the years I have gone from a 308 to a 243 to a 223. I have only shot 3 with the 223 shooting 75 gr a-max. One went 40 yds blood everywhere. It was only a 45 yd shot, double lung shot and fairly small exit. The other 2 did not go that far. If using a small cal. I feel that a hunter must be willing to pass up some shots that would be taken with a larger cal. If you are not willing to do that a 223 is not enough gun. All 3 were between 100 and 140 lbs. also the longest shot was 160 yds. Hope this helps.

 

[markT]

Old thread: but seems a .223 /556 works on hydraulic hoses. Trump Rally in PA. Fist assina on him.

 

[Bill K]

Minimum 6mm/243 for deer, in my book. Don't know how many hunters,I've talked to that were/are, die-hard users of the 223 for deer, and they have never lost a critter, w/ 50g and 55g bullets, no less. Seems to me, there are a lot of tall tales for the 223 and deer. No sense in arguing the matter.

No doubt a few tall tales, but not near as much as the one's we are hearing on the long range stories, i.e. over 600 yrds now days. Many deer have fallen to the 223 Rem and even smaller calibers, i.e. 22 rf/hornet, especially in the old day.
It is a matter of being closer, personal and placing the bullet in an accurate and deadly spot on a deer, no matter the species, Whitetail/Mulie/Black tail.

 

[AWS]

Some thoughts.

If everything goes right the 223 with the right bullet will do the job, how many will just buy the cheapest ammo and fill the mag with it for deer hunting.

Head shots, I have had to finish off one with its jaw shot away and found another like that on my traplines.

When I was a little fellow I hunted with my dad's bow hunting club. One of the members was a Native American from the Shawno WI area. He was so into archery he was the first member to use a recurve, told you it was a long time ago. He ran the shipping department at the factory my dad worked at.

 

[qldreloader]

We don't have Whitetail deer in Australia but I have shot two Chital stags with my 223 and Barnes TSX bullets. Neither moved more than 10 yards from where I hit them using high shoulder shots. I wasn't intending to shoot deer on either occasion but the opportunity presented and I was confident. Both shots were under 150 yards. I wouldn't take a shot much further than that at even a smaller Chital with a 223. I've also shot heaps of decent sized pigs with the same load. Now I generally carry a .243 and shoot everything with it.

 

[pdugas]

Bullet placement is and always will be king !

 

[DShortt]

The wide assortment of bullets available for .223 today certainly makes it a viable deer-hunting cartridge, bolt-action or not. Remember, the caliber was designed to kill 180-lb. humans (though they probably didn't specify "clean" kills). The only caveat I would put on the .223 and deer is that the shooter knows his weapon and can put the bullet in the right place.

I have a friend who has shot "uncounted" deer with a .22 Hornet and swears not one has ever taken a second shot. He shoots only head shots, preferably in or behind the ear, and claims they "go down like they've been hit by lightning". Last spring he shot a 240-lb. black bear from a blind with a single .22 Hornet shot exactly between the eyes. He said the bear went down so fast he didn't believe it. His wife was in the blind with him and remarked that "no way" she was getting out of the blind because that bear couldn't have gone down that fast. He waited five minutes with no signs of movement and went to look. When he dressed him out, he said the brain had literally been turned to mush and it had been an instant kill. Last fall he took a moose with a single behind-the-ear shot from the Hornet. Pretty interesting considering I used to handload several boxes of .300 Weatherby Magnum for him every year. He says never again with a rig that big.

Actually, that's debatable. The original was 7.62x51. The military decided to go with the 5.56x45 and killing humans was not the top priority. Particularly when you consider the restrictions of non-expanding projectiles. All sorts of theoretical ideas including marginal stability to induce bullet upset and tumbling wounds on impact which were later rejected for improved accuracy at longer ranges.

Can you kill a medium size game animal with such a rifle? Absolutely. Do I consider it a preferred choice? Absolutely not.

 

[Shutstr8r]

I’d like to chime in if I could. I have taken several cull and predation deer with my .223 ackley and either Berger 80.5’s or Berger 85.5’s out to 200 yards. But I hand load and they shoot very well. Velocity is about 2950 with the 80.5’s and 2895 with the 85.5’s sitting on a stout load of Ramshot Tac out of a 26” barrel. But I mostly shoot head shots on them and don’t take running shots. I’ve shot two in the neck and they dropped like a wet turd from a dogs behind.

—Darrell