Jeff, I think conditions may come into play here. I helped a friend ready a slug gun with a scope to hunt at his FILs in Battle Creek MI. He called me 9:00 opening morning and had a 12 point and a doe on the ground. Evidently, they just walked up to his stand and allowed themselves to be killed. Hunting in Florida is not like hunting in the petting zoo. They have been (illegaly) chased with buggies and airboats and seen every redneck trick in the book. If a hunter was to put up a stand in the conservation area near me and wait to see a deer it might be several years before he even saw one and then it would be running as fast as it could. Picking a shot like you are talking about is not going to happen, and shooting a running deer through threw palmettos when you will only see a tail and ears at a dead run is not the place for a 223. The deer are wild down here! Most are killed with a shogun. In all my years I've never seen anyone carry a 223. I've seen a lot of lever actions and some ARs. I agree when it is standing still and you can assassinate it a 223 might be all the power that is needed to kill it. My uncle used to kill all of the hogs he raised with a 22rf, not something I would use either.
Deer gun a 223?
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bobinpa
Gold $$ Contributor
Lot's of people kill deer with .22 cal rifles of all sorts, but that doesn't mean it's ideal. Sure it can be done. It doesn't take much to stop a heart, IF you hit it. I've also tracked a few deer wounded with .22 caliber rifles because the heart wasn't touched...
Remember, there is a lot of degrees of wounded, but only 1 degree of dead. There is no such thing as overkill!
Remember, there is a lot of degrees of wounded, but only 1 degree of dead. There is no such thing as overkill!
Jonnyofalltrades
Silver $$ Contributor
Almost forgot about this one from 2020.
200 yards, quartering on. 60 grain Partition shattered the humerus and ended up in the guts somewhere. Dead on the spot. But it doesn't matter how many good, clean kills there are, because it's all just anecdotal evidence....
For what it's worth, I've helped blood trail animals shot badly with everything from a muzzleloader to a 30-30 to a crossbow.
Good shot placement and a good(deep) wound channel are all that is required.
200 yards, quartering on. 60 grain Partition shattered the humerus and ended up in the guts somewhere. Dead on the spot. But it doesn't matter how many good, clean kills there are, because it's all just anecdotal evidence....
For what it's worth, I've helped blood trail animals shot badly with everything from a muzzleloader to a 30-30 to a crossbow.
Good shot placement and a good(deep) wound channel are all that is required.
Adam in WI
Practically lives here
That's a beautiful buck, well done.
I just had a single shot .223 in my possession for a couple of days.
Handy-Gun NEF. My Pastor's son, now 43 years old has owned it 25 years.
He's taken plenty of Missouri and Florida deer with this rifle. His female cousin took her first deer with it. Every deer has been harvested with this particular rifle using 1 shot. I've shot with him, and he has told me he does not take less than a 100% confident shot that he knows he can make. He shoots quite well.
Handy-Gun NEF. My Pastor's son, now 43 years old has owned it 25 years.
He's taken plenty of Missouri and Florida deer with this rifle. His female cousin took her first deer with it. Every deer has been harvested with this particular rifle using 1 shot. I've shot with him, and he has told me he does not take less than a 100% confident shot that he knows he can make. He shoots quite well.
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JEFFPPC
Gold $$ Contributor
Ebb, I certainly don't think the .223 is the ideal deer rifle. It is very adequate in many situations though. Of course I am sure your aware no cartridge is adequate to cover up poor shot choice and poor marksmanship. Actually I doubt if 10% of deer hunters should be shooting at running deer. I have shot out several barrels to the point of keyholing shooting running deer matches. I would not think of shooting at a running deer with a .223 unless I was desperate for food. I do know two things. A .223 can kill deer just fine, many DRT. Secondly, if you have no experience it might be better to listen than blab, you just might learn something.
I have shot over 60 whitetails in the last two years on the citywide culling program,only a few select are chosen guys on swat,or former swat team members.Most guys opted for 308 suppressed,I opted for my Colt carbine suppressed with an Aimpoint,every deer dropped in his /her tracks a few made it 30 yards max.I used a Federal 55 grain Trophy copper bullet.However most shots were 50 yards and under, a few at 100,dependent on location only a few spots are certified safe at 100 yards due to population densities.two down today 223 at 75 yards Federal 55 grain. deer culling permits in a major city,police only .
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BearBio
Silver $$ Contributor
Conversely, while guiding I saw a client drop a 150 lb hog with a 45-70 @ 75-80 yards. We waited 15-20minutes because some other hogs were coming out of the barley field. We then approached and it took off running. Fortunately, I dropped it with my "trusty" 300 Win Mag before it got into the brush. He had clipped the spine and knocked it out. It came to as we were approaching.
BTW: I used that 300 Mag for everything from ground squirrels to elk for ~15 years. I knew where it hit out to 450 yards. I rarely used anything else.
Jeff in your previous statement you agreed with everything I was trying to say. A 223 is not the ideal rifle for deer, running shots present additional problems. I've successfully shot elk, with 388 win mag, lopes with 25-06, mule deer with 338 win mag, Florida white tail with a 742 rem in 30-06, and 25-06 hogs with 30=06 and a 12 gage all running or moving though some not at a dead run. I am by no means an expert, and jump at the opportunity to learn something that will help with a clean ethical hunt. So please educate me.
Jonnyofalltrades
Silver $$ Contributor
Thanks! That's not me, its a buddy that I guided to his first deer. I don't consider .223 ideal, generally carrying a 7mm Rem, 6.5 X 55, .270.
However, for first time hunters, with over the shoulder coaching, it's hard to beat.
drop_point
Silver $$ Contributor
Bullet construction and shot placement trump diameter. I've seen deer shoulder shot with a 150 gr SST from a .300 Winchester Magnum that weren't recovered, but I hunted exclusively with a .223 for several season and made every angle shot you could think of out to 200 yards with the 70 gr. TSX.
Saying the .223 isn't ideal is obtuse if you can't express what is ideal. I don't know what is ideal, but I know what has worked for me.
Saying the .223 isn't ideal is obtuse if you can't express what is ideal. I don't know what is ideal, but I know what has worked for me.
dthomas
Gold $$ Contributor
77 sierra tmk
Not if you're swat trained 2 head shots today both at 75 yards,drt.We practice relentlessly , no room for error if a wounded deer is found by a resident the negative publicity would be devastating.This thread just demonstrates there are no universal truths on earth when humans are involved.
PS: For the head shot crowd, miss the tight window of a humane kill and hit the deer in the jaw and you have a game animal that is going to suffer a miserable death. Judging from what I see on the ranges during deer "sight in", the latter is more likely.
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It looks like you wouldn’t any of this info out on the internet for your purposes .
Legal endeavor nothing to worry about state sponsored program.
Yes, I understand and glad you’re keeping the population of deer at a controllable number. I was just thinking about the PR side of it, was all.
long40shot
Gold $$ Contributor
I've done it, a nice buck at about 60 yards. A solid facing neck shot, he dropped like a sack of taters. I recovered the bullet, it was against the hide on the opposite side of the neck. The Hornady 60grn SP turned the inside of that whitetails neck into jelly. In fact, I just made a batch of jerky from that fellow the other day.
If someone needs to ask they probably haven't shot or practiced enough with said cartridge. I like to shoot and enjoy seeing what a bullet will do on impact. I have killed several deer with a 223 but I am also willing to pass on a less good shot that I might take a bigger gun.
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