Deer Gun .556?

[Bamban]

77 TMK coming out at 2914 ave from my bolt gun

High shoulder shot because I like to collect them where they once stood. Dripping Springs, CenTex WT. Range 235 yards. Went through both shoulders, broke the bottom of spine. What's left lodged on skin.

 

[mic2377]

Better price here:

Nosler 22 Cal 64gr Bonded Solid Base Bullets

Nosler 22 Cal (.224") 64gr Bonded Solid Base Bullets

ravenrocksprecision.com

There are several good bullets in 22 cal that work well. The Nosler 64 BSB's are good, their BC is not the best though. They do hold together and have a good balance of penetration and expansion so they will typically exit unless a severely quartering shot. I have personally taken several large hogs with this bullet at 2950 fps from an 18" AR-15 without any issue and these are tougher animals than deer for sure.

Fundamentally whether or not a 223 is appropriate depends on the shooter and their respect for its limited capabilities.

Bullet technology has come a long way since the days when the Partition was one of the only options for controlled expansion, and that is what has made these smaller cartridges shine.

 

[372xp]

Warning, I’m going a little off topic from a 223…

I’ve killed deer with Sierra’s 85gr HPBT too, dang good bullet!

If a deer is not alarmed, just about anything will put them down in their tracks with a well placed shot. But an alarmed deer high on adrenaline is very difficult to put down, even with a very well placed shot and especially if this is a slower moving bullet like from a 308. This has been my experience anyways.

I’ve dropped deer in their tracks at 75ish yards with a 185gr HP from my 8” 44 Mag revolver. It was feeding and had no idea I was there. I’ve dropped running deer with my 308 and watched them get back up and continue to run. One got away from me and another hunter shot it a few hundred yards away. All the deer I’ve killed with the 22-250 either dropped on the spot or dropped within 50 yards. I think it’s from hydro static stock or whatever you want to call it.

So, would I use the 223 as a deer cartridge? Yep!

I’m not a trophy hunter nor do I need the meat. If I wanted a trophy buck or needed the meat “right now”, I’d use my 300 WSM loaded with Hornady 165gr Interbonds. Which I loaded this way specifically for the chance at a trophy buck knowing I didn’t need a perfect angle to put one down. Never killed that trophy but did take a couple of bucks with it, one a broadside chip shot about 60 yards, the other was charging hard from a drive that ran 50 or 60 yards. 2 hole bleeder and he was pretty well drained when he dropped! But if were going out just to spend some time in the woods and maybe shoot a deer if the opportunity came about, I wouldn’t worry one little bit about hunting with a 223. Any shot I took would be a guaranteed kill shot or I wouldn’t take it.

It comes down to the hunter and their reason for hunting.

Ok, farther off topic but a pretty good story…

Reminds me of a hunter from 40 years ago. He was an all too typical hunter from Pennsylvania. No land of his own, spot lighted a lot which was his scouting. Was basically a road hunter and never got far from his vehicle. Shot his rifle about 3 shots a year to make sure it was on paper. He bought a 300 Weatherby Mag for a long range deer rifle and wanted me to load long range loads for him. I’d shot the rifle with 180gr factory loads as did he. Yeah, it kicked more than I liked and he was scared to death of it. He wanted it loaded with 150gr bullets to reduce recoil and get more velocity and I wasn’t going to argue with him. I don’t remember how well it shot because of what happened when he did shoot it.

Picture this…. Shooter at the bench, looking through the scope, rifle is on sand bags front and rear, he’s trying to get comfortable, looking through scope, pushing the rifle into the bags, pulling it tight, more pushing gun down into bags, fiddle farting around for at least 3 or 4 minutes. We didn’t think he was ever going to shoot! When he finally did, and I’m not making this up, front and rear scope covers came off the scope, his hat was knocked completely off his head and his glasses were hanging off one ear. We thought the gun blew up! It hadn’t, it was all his reaction to the shot because he was so afraid of it! Us watching him laughed our butts off! I think he shot it again but I’m not positive but I did as did a couple others and the loads shot ok.

He killed a buck with it that year. He was walking through a golden rod field and a buck jumped up in front of him 20 yards away. He shot from the hip, taking its privates off and then killed it with another shot. We always kidded him about his long range rifle.

The two bucks I killed with my .340 weatherby were at 12 & 25 yds, both had been wounded in front leg by someone else, they laid up till I allmost stepped on them.

 

[JAlfred]

Buddy killed 2 and his wife killed 1 with 223 and 60 grain partition this year. They all exited, left good blood trails and dropped within 40 yards. The damage was impressive. The one shot through both shoulders wasted a lot of meat.

 

[SD guy]

There has been a lot of discussion recently here and other forums on .223 for deer hunting. Many discussions have gone on for ad nauseam. My question is, with several companies now manufacturing 223/556 caliber hunting rifles (Henry Long Ranger, Ruger American, etc) rifles capable of firing a 556 as well as a 223, how much better would a 556 quality bullet be over a 223 quality bullet? Would you feel underpowered with a 556 if you felt underpowered with a 223? And would you feel comfortable going on a deer hunt using a 556? (Asking for a friend! )

While I have little doubt that that both cartridges could be up to the task at hand. Twist rate typically found with the 556 may be more favorable for some of the longer hunting bullets. 223's are offered with a slower 12 twist as well as 9 twist & faster that may do better for the intended purpose you state.

Establishing a fast enough twist will leave you with choosing a proper bullet for the task at hand. Lots of poor options to be found along with a few rather good options mentioned here.

Somehow I personally prefer to step things up, a bit. Not a lot just a bit. I do not know about all of the rifles you mention though at least one offers a chambering that I like considerably better for the task at hand. I truly believe that as good as the 223 may perform the 6mm ARC will leave me with more confidence. Again a proper bullet for the task at hand will offer a better chance of success under a wider range of shot selection.

As a reloader I am pleased as punch with the 6mm ARC. Not so sure I would feel the same if I did not have the option to reload. As a non reloader I would likely choose the 6.5 Grendel in todays market for factory ammo.