Deer Rounds

[BornAgainBullseye]

It will do the job. I have killed many deer with .223 remington. My first was when I was 10 years old. Over the span of 10 more years it was the only gun I hunted with until it was stolen. I have replaced it with a .30-06, a Nagant, a .308 custom mauser, a 8mm M48 mauser, and guess what... another.223 remington. It will be the gun I let my son shoot his first on. If it is legal in your state then It is ok to use it. If not then oh well. Still a great caliber. Are there better for deer hunting. absolutely.. but does it work. Yes it does. Will it kill a " big buck" It sure as hell will kill it just as dead as a 105mm belted magnum. I do have 2 wall hangers that were killed with .223. one was shot behind the shoulder, which ran 75 yards. The other I droped where he stood with a shot in the neck. Overall I have killed 6 bucks and 3 doe with this caliber. Never have I had one I could not recover. Never have I made a bad shot with it either. Stop bashing it! It will do its part if you do yours!!

 

[woof]

Why does this subject have to go on and on? It is clear that about half the posters here look with some contempt upon those who hunt deer with a .223 and that those who hunt deer with a .223 don't care. So be it. It is unrealistic to think that the distribution of ethics and sportsmanship among those who shoot and hunt would any different than in any other walk of life.

 

[spiroxlii]

Please remember that all deer aren't created equal, and all hunting environments aren't created equal. For large deer and long ranges, .223 may not be optimal. For the smaller deer we have in many parts of the country and for the short to medium range hunting that the landscape dictates in some parts of the country, .223 with the right bullet may be a fine round.

 

[spiroxlii]

^ Actually, some .223/5.56 loads might work better on thicker deer than on skinny deer, since passing through extra tissue will give the bullet more time to do its yawing and fragmenting magic. I don't know. Just as all deer and all hunting environments aren't created equal, all .223/5.56 loads aren't created equal.

 

[762ghost]

I roll my own ammo using Hodgdon Varget powder and Barnes 62gr TSX TripShoks. I worked the load up to the accuracy I was looking for and I have found this combo works well for deer. The controversy will always be there but the consensus here with those who know from experience seems to be stick with a 60+ grain bullet you a familiar with the POI on and use a well placed shot.

 

[woof]

A is free to hunt deer with a .223 if his state permits it and B is free to disagree and draw whatever conclusions he wishes from that. It is obvious that for every person who thinks .223 is adequate for deer there is another who thinks it is more than not recommended, it is unsporting, and there is no taboo against pointing that out. As someone said earlier in the thread, if wounded deer could get up and shoot back you would no longer see the .223 used.

 

[indoorsoccerfrea]

i think it all goes back to the shooter. if you are responsible and can get proper shot replacement, then essentially any round would do the trick.

 

[Brian Dale]

Indoorsoccer, how would you feel about this change to your comment?

"I think it all goes back to the shooter. If you are responsible and can get proper shot placement, then there are more loads that will work than one might initially expect."

Please keep in mind that, out in the field, we still need bullet energy, penetration, expansion, tissue damage and so forth.

 

[woof]

There are shooters who I might think capable of hunting deer with a .223 ethically. The problem is, when you say something like "if you are a good enough shooter" the ground shakes around here from all the heads nodding, "yeah yeah that's me!" There are those who can safely take bad turns at 70 mph too, but I wouldn't want my teenager trying it.

The danger is that very young, very inexperienced would be deer hunters read this forum and take what they read to heart. When they read that a .223 is fine in the hands of the right shooter how many of them do you really think say to themselves, "Gee, I don't think I have the experience or skill for that." Right. If someone out there wants to hunt deer with a .223 go ahead but you should really keep quiet about it because it sets a very very bad example and there is nothing more "high road" than trying to set a good one. A good example is saying one should never take hard curves at 70 (even though you secretly think you can) and saying the .223 is not adequate for deer (even though you secretly think it is, in your hands).

 

[d2wing]

I understand your point. I am done now.

 

[Deer Hunter]

A bad shot with any rifle round is bad.

It doesn't matter what a novice is hunting with. If it was a .223 or a .338, nothing makes up for a bad shot.

I'd trust a novice with a .223 more than some magnum-class round that I see thrown around as "great for deer and anything else!". Less recoil, more confidence, less likely to flinch and jerk a shot.

A bad shot with a .308 and a bad shot with a .223 look exactly the same: Deer runs off to either die of infection later or suffer a slow healing process.


If you hunt with a larger caliber, that's fine. I began hunting with an SKS and did just fine. I didn't know anything about bullet construction, weight, etc. I used wolf HP and took numerous deer at various ranges.

Bullet construction is nice, foot-per-pound is nice, but nothing beats a well placed shot. AND that doesn't apply to just .223, it applies to anything.

If you cannot kill a deer with a .223, you cannot kill it with a .308. The difference in bullet design, power, etc isn't enough to make up for bad shooting.

 

[Dos]

If you don't use at least a 243 for deer





publish and be damned..

 

[Brian Dale]

If someone out there wants to hunt deer with a .223 go ahead but you should really keep quiet about it because it sets a very very bad example and there is nothing more "high road" than trying to set a good one.

woof, you're probably right.

 

[minimeh93]

30/30 baby!

 

[stalkingbear]

The ABSOLUTELY best .223 round for deer is 140 gr fired from 7mm08!

 

[Dos]

The ABSOLUTELY best .223 round for deer is 140 gr fired from 7mm08!

I couldn't agree MORE !!!! Now there's somebody that knows what they be talkin bout....