A good deer round
- Thread starter RM1(SS)
- Start date
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
You might get more responses if you stated what caliber the gun is. Good luck.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
I personally wouldn't hunt deer with a 223 because I fell it is too light for the job.
However, if I had no choice and had to do it, I would be using something with a Barnes solid copper bullet like the ammo shown in the link below. And, I would certainly be extremely careful about shot placement.
Best wishes.
Drycreek
Well-Known Member
I'll have to agree with Native, the .223 is a varmint round. It will kill a deer, but it certainly wouldn't be my first choice. I think the bottom, for me, would be a .243 with 100 grain bullets, and a premium bullet at that. Something that would give you an exit hole. The 25/06 would be better, and the 6.5s or 7mms would be better yet. That's been my experience anyway.
FL Plotter
Well-Known Member
There is a not a good round/load for deer in the .223
catscratch
Well-Known Member
My kids have shot several deer with a .223. I believe they've all been with off the shelf Winchester ammo (but I'm not 100% sure). All have been chest shots and all have ran shorter than ones shot with my .308. I think the furthest recovery was 20yds or so.
Goldentriangle
Active Member
I am going to go with Catscratch. Even though I feel that it is quite light, I've seen 4 deer shot with them during Missouri youth season and all of them were smoked and went not farther than 20 yards. One was a big bodied 3.5 year old and that needed a 2nd shot though. These were with factory Winchester 64gr deer season xp rounds. No exit wounds but the bullets literally exploded in their vitals and killed them fast. Still not ideal but if it gets my kids in the woods I'm good with it. I myself will stick with my lightfield commander max expansion slugs. They hit like a sledge everytime.
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Eshoremd
Member
Exactly.
Are there better choices? Sure. But it will certainly work.
What's better for a recoil sensitive shooter? A 223 they're comfortable shooting or a 300 win mag that gives them a jerky trigger finger?
Right round for the right situation.
Eshoremd
Member
Beautiful rifle you have. Checkout the Hornady Whitetail 60gr round.
Should be good with your 1:9 twist 20.5" barrel. I use a 24" 1:8 with this round and it's very accurate and deadly.
Drycreek
Well-Known Member
Speaking for myself, I never said it wasn't appropriate, just that it is a varmint round, and I would not (by choice), use it on a deer. I have however shot several hogs with a .223, and will again. My riding around on the golf cart gun is a .223/5.56 AR pistol with a suppressor, but when I hunt hogs, I use one of two 6.8SPCs. Got one for day and one for night. Why ? Because they kill quicker and there's a little more margin for error. I've lost a few hogs with a .223, and a couple with the 6.8, mostly because hogs move a lot, and quickly.
I shot a large hog once with a 22-250, behind the shoulder because he was 250 yards away, and I couldn't be sure of a head shot. He ran toward me and I shot him between the eyes at about 100 yards and that ended him. A larger, better bullet would have penetrated more and gotten into his vitals. The 22-250 bullet blew up on his shield I suspect. Now, I know a deer has no shield, and is a softer target than a large hog, but if you stray into the shoulder blade on a deer, the .223 is definitely an inferior choice. In my opinion, the .223 for deer is like a .410 for ducks. Can it be done ? Sure, but it's not the best choice.
Drycreek
Well-Known Member
I don't want to start a whizzin contest here, but using your logic, a .308 with a good bullet would make a good round to hunt Cape Buffalo.
Now that I've managed to hijack the OP's thread, for which I apologize, I'm out of this.
GonHuntin
Active Member
What logic is that???
Have you ever killed a deer with a .223, or are you just repeating what you have read or heard??
It has been proven repeatedly that the .223 is perfectly adequate for deer sized game when the appropriate bullet is used......that's not a guess, it is a fact. Not sure what is so difficult to understand about that???
I have no doubt that a 180 grain solid, fired from a .308, would kill any cape buffalo that has ever walked the earth....provided it is placed in the right spot. Have you ever heard of Karamojo Bell?? He killed over a thousand elephants and hundreds of cape buffalo using a 7x57 (275 Rigby) and a 318 Wesley Richards......
Have you ever killed a deer with a .223, or are you just repeating what you have read or heard??
It has been proven repeatedly that the .223 is perfectly adequate for deer sized game when the appropriate bullet is used......that's not a guess, it is a fact. Not sure what is so difficult to understand about that???
I have no doubt that a 180 grain solid, fired from a .308, would kill any cape buffalo that has ever walked the earth....provided it is placed in the right spot. Have you ever heard of Karamojo Bell?? He killed over a thousand elephants and hundreds of cape buffalo using a 7x57 (275 Rigby) and a 318 Wesley Richards......
shaman
Member
I would recommend that you take this question to 24hourcampfire.com, in their deer hunting section. Tell them the shaman sent you.
There are a lot of good deer hunters over there that have hunted with the 223 REM. It is a perfectly viable deer cartridge. As long as you don't try it out too far and make a good shot, the deer falls over just like every other good deer round.
I've been on 24hourcampfire.com since 2002, and I've seen a huge shift in attitude in 223 REM. 15 years ago, 223 REM on whitetail was considered a stunt. Now, it's pretty much a no-brainer.
I have been threatening to try it myself. I have the rifle and the load, but every year something comes up. I'm turning 60 this year and it's on my list, but I've got so many deer rifle projects open right now, I may be 75 before I get them all fully tested.
There are a lot of good deer hunters over there that have hunted with the 223 REM. It is a perfectly viable deer cartridge. As long as you don't try it out too far and make a good shot, the deer falls over just like every other good deer round.
I've been on 24hourcampfire.com since 2002, and I've seen a huge shift in attitude in 223 REM. 15 years ago, 223 REM on whitetail was considered a stunt. Now, it's pretty much a no-brainer.
I have been threatening to try it myself. I have the rifle and the load, but every year something comes up. I'm turning 60 this year and it's on my list, but I've got so many deer rifle projects open right now, I may be 75 before I get them all fully tested.
lindseymorgan
New Member
I think the caliber of the bullet depends on what kind of game you are going to hunt. It seems to me that the .223 calibers is very suitable for birds, because these bullets are intended for civilian use, and they are enough for birds. If you want to hunt something bigger, such as deer, the 5.56 caliber is more suitable for you. If you don't know enough about this, you can read the review on bulkmunitions.com. First of all, it is better to read the review and do not experiment. I order all the necessary ammunition here at a good price and delivery is very convenient. Good luck on the hunt.
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My grandson started his hunting career with a .223 single shot H&R youth Handi Rifle. The first deer he ever fired at was a spike buck at 7 yrs of age. We lost that deer because we could find no blood whatsoever. I did find it a couple weeks later 300 yards from the shot. The next year he shot a young 4 point buck at 20 yards and the recovery went well but we still had no blood trail with only a small entry wound. That same year I went and helped a friend try to find a deer he shot with his AR-15 in .223. That deer Even though chest shot lived 2 days and we found him standing in a small creek very sick. Bullet blew up in chest and only got 1 lung. The next 2 years Eli shot a single doe each year and we had a devil of a time finding either one but by just going direction of travel and gridding we found both within 100 yards of the hit. Eli at that time had attained a size that allowed him to be able to hold a lever action 30-30 up and he has hunted with that the past 3 years. He has killed 5 deer in that time and of those 2 dropped in their tracks, 1 went 15 yards, 1 went 25 yards, 1 went 30 yards. The blood trail is very good with that rifle.
My takeaway is that the .223 Remington bullet we used is good for perfectly broadside deer at close range if you can see well in the country you are shooting in in example...shoot a deer and watch it run till it falls. He never shot 1 with it here on the hollow and I am glad because deer are always only a few steps from some really steep terrain in the downward direction and it is very wooded. The buck he shot With the 30-30 this year dressed 165 lbs and went 25 yards and I am glad because at 35 yards he would have been going down into a very steep hollow.
Will I let my other grandsons use that gun...yes...but only at our other property where the deer is guaranteed to be close, broadside and a track job isn’t going to put us in rough country.
My takeaway is that the .223 Remington bullet we used is good for perfectly broadside deer at close range if you can see well in the country you are shooting in in example...shoot a deer and watch it run till it falls. He never shot 1 with it here on the hollow and I am glad because deer are always only a few steps from some really steep terrain in the downward direction and it is very wooded. The buck he shot With the 30-30 this year dressed 165 lbs and went 25 yards and I am glad because at 35 yards he would have been going down into a very steep hollow.
Will I let my other grandsons use that gun...yes...but only at our other property where the deer is guaranteed to be close, broadside and a track job isn’t going to put us in rough country.
Deadeye
Well-Known Member
I know a guy that went to the .223 in a Ruger All Weather Rifle as he aged. The First Buck he shot had a small trickle blood trail that he follow for several hundred yards before he lost it all together.
However I do also know a Guy that shot a deer standing Broadside at 40-50 yards with a .22 LR Stinger. Yes that is NOT a legal Round to hunt with, but he did it anyway to help out a friend. That Deer never showed any signs of a hit, but he said because there was snow they were able to track it. At 40 yards from the shot he said it looked like "someone turned on a Blood Water Hose" and at 50 yards the deer lay dead. Claimed the little 55 gr bullet went in between two ribs, blew up both lungs, and exited hitting a rib leaving a hole "the size of a 50 cent piece".
So since it has been done, does that mean a .22 LR is a good Deer Round? Of course not. Likewise the .223 is not considered by many to be a great Deer Round but may be used IF the shot is selected as a proper time and place for it to work. However there are much better Rds to use also with little recoil. the mentioned .243 is a great example.
However I do also know a Guy that shot a deer standing Broadside at 40-50 yards with a .22 LR Stinger. Yes that is NOT a legal Round to hunt with, but he did it anyway to help out a friend. That Deer never showed any signs of a hit, but he said because there was snow they were able to track it. At 40 yards from the shot he said it looked like "someone turned on a Blood Water Hose" and at 50 yards the deer lay dead. Claimed the little 55 gr bullet went in between two ribs, blew up both lungs, and exited hitting a rib leaving a hole "the size of a 50 cent piece".
So since it has been done, does that mean a .22 LR is a good Deer Round? Of course not. Likewise the .223 is not considered by many to be a great Deer Round but may be used IF the shot is selected as a proper time and place for it to work. However there are much better Rds to use also with little recoil. the mentioned .243 is a great example.
catscratch
Well-Known Member
Kind of interesting the different results we all have with basically the same things. Personally, we've had much better blood trails with the .223 round than with the .308. Both kill just fine, just harder to track when they don't bleed with the .308. With that said we mostly bow hunt and have a pretty small sample size with rifle rounds. I don't discredit anything anyone has posted here as I'm 100% sure you all are honest and just sharing your experience. For all I know our experience may take a complete 180 in the next couple of years. Just interesting how different people have different experiences.
