223 for whitetail under 150 yards?

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Would I use a .223 Remington as a deer cartridge? No I wouldn't but not because I feel a 223 Remington is inadequate but simply because I have many other rifles more suited for deer hunting so I was never confronted with making the choice.

Said it better that I could. The 270 would be one that is better suited.
 
sure you are right

but, that spot gets a lot smaller when you’re using a .22 caliber bullet.
That is why I said to practice hitting a baseball at 75yards. If you can hit a baseball Everytime. Then you can hit the heart.
 
sure you are right

but, that spot gets a lot smaller when you’re using a .22 caliber bullet.
Logically, it should get larger. The spot doesn't change size, nor position, and since a .224" diameter bullet is smaller than say a .308" bullet, that spot becomes that much larger. (πx .1516² >πx .112², the area of the target area occluded by a .308 and .224 bullet, respectively.)
Just sayin. I know what you meant, though. Aim Small, Miss Small.
 
That is why I said to practice hitting a baseball at 75yards. If you can hit a baseball Everytime. Then you can hit the heart.

It has less to do with practice and more to do with probability. My 16 year old son can shoot a .223 at 500 yards and keep 15 consecutive shots inside 1 MOA.

I’m not handing him a .223 to hunt with.

Now, a .22-250 is a different story.....if I owned one
 
I use to believe .223 wasn't a good deer round, until my son bought a .223 Savage Axis, and proceeded to get deer with-13 in one year. (he hunts with a group that can't shoot well, and he can. they kick 'em out he get's 'em.) And one with his .357 revolver, just to show off. The deer he got that year were with Honady Superformance 55 gr. (Vmax bullet) factory rounds, ranges from 10 yards to 225. None went more than 50 yards.
Let me make it clear that I don't think the .223 is a good deer round for everybody. If you think 'paper plate' accuracy is good enough, .223 is not the round for you. But if you can call your shots, and are willing to pass up marginal shots, it will work. I was impressed enough that when a friend offer me the .223 Axis his wife didn't want, I bought it. I worked up a load that has worked well with 55 bullets of all types I've tried so far. I load V-Max's for him, and Nosler Ballistic Tip Varmints for myself.



Not the caliber's fault. That's on the shooter(s).
13 deer in one year? What state is he in?
 
Shot placement....
That actually brings something up that I mentioned earlier but never expanded on.
In my experience, a poor hit with a fast .224 bullet will result in either an emphatic flattening (still), or a really bad night (cause your not finding it any time soon).
IF the round catches something important forward of the stomach, its usually going to still cause so much damage that smaller stuff, say under 100lbs, piles up. unless it hits something important farther back, the wound will bleed and usually leak fluids, but not cause enough real blood loss to incapacitate the animal.
I knew/know of more animals lost to bigger guns than the .223, which is probably do more to implementation.
 
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Can it work? Yes, of course,
Would it me my first, second, or tenth choice? No.
I have taken shots with bigger calibers that I wouldn't have attempted with the .223.
My biggest buck, in fact. All I had was a quartering away shot, and a 180gr. 30-06 round punched through the gut and into the lung, exiting in front of the shoulder. No way would I have taken that shot with a .223
Thats the kind of advantage I'm not willing to give up to hunt with a smaller round like the .223
 
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I didn't realize any state allowed hunters to tag deer for other hunters. Huh.
Yeah, it's doable under the right circumstances in several places, on the reservation in South Dakota, my buddy's grandma qualifies for subsistence tags and since she herself is incapable of going others are allowed to tag out for her, not sure if that's state or tribal law as it's been a few years, and it may have even changed since then but while not generally practiced, party hunting is allowed in some places still. I always enjoy learning about the differences around the country, here no party hunting and dogs may only be used on a leash to trail wounded animals during big game hunts. Carry weapons are only allowed if they meet parameters required of a firearm or muzzleloader (depending on season) and never anything that goes bang during archery.
 
As many have stated, under the proper circumstances it will work. In the FWIW category, many old timers in the south used, still use, and swear by the 22 Hornet. A favorite of poachers for decades, it will suffice at PB ranges. One of my college room mates was from South Georgia where the family peanut farm had a permit for crop-destructive deer. Their round of choice? 22-250, but they deployed many a .222 and never complained. It’s the Indian, more so than the arrow.
 
Can it work? Yes, of course,
Would it me my first, second, or tenth choice? No.
I have taken shots with bigger calibers that I wouldn't have attempted with the .223.
My biggest buck, in fact. All I had was a quartering away shot, and a 180gr. 30-06 round punched through the gut and into the lung, exiting in front of the shoulder. No way would I have taken that shot with a .223
Thats the kind of advantage I'm not willing to give up to hunt with a smaller round like the .223
I'm not willing to gut shoot an animal with any caliber.
 
My 11 year old has shot his first three deer with a .222. None have gone further than fifty yards. He head shoots hogs all day long with that rifle. He has a .300 BLK now so that will probably be his go to. As long as you can put the bullet where it needs to go, there is nothing wrong with a smaller caliber.

I’d take a hunter any day with a .223 that he can control over a hunter with a big bore rifle with more recoil than he can handle and will be wincing before the trigger breaks...

Mark
 
I didn't realize any state allowed hunters to tag deer for other hunters. Huh.
Yup. Both hunters must be in the field (no Mom sitting at home in WI), and the actual shooter must stay with the carcass until the other tags it, at least in WI. I witnessed how he racked up that many deer when he and his group came out to the family farm, and I was there hunting with my younger son. Son #2 kicked up a doe and it went into a small copse, so we started walking the edges of it, and it snuck out the back of it, when we heard a slug gun (one of his friends missing) then a .223 (I know the sound well). I started through the woods, and recognized the guy coming down the ATV trail as my older son. He'd just dropped the doe his brother "sent" to him, so I told him, 'We'd better get some venison out that!" We did.
 
I'm not willing to gut shoot an animal with any caliber.
Neither am I.
That animal expired 10 feet and 15 seconds from where I shot it. The bigger caliber and heavier bullet went through the guts and subsequently completely destroyed a lung as I intended it to, whereupon a .223 probably wouldnt have. That's why I wouldnt hunt deer with a .223
 
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You quoted my post, now try reading it.
That animal expired 10 feet and 15 seconds from where I shot it. The bigger caliber and heavier bullet went through the guts and subsequently completely destroyed a lung whereupon a .223 probably wouldnt have
You took a gamble, and it worked. That shot required accuracy, and you were capable. Not all are willing to gamble on lower probability shots like that. Like Bfh_auto, I am not; in my case due to having bungled a low probability shot my first year of deer hunting. I took steps to prevent such from then on, and one of them is not taking low probability shots. Have I passed up a lot of deer because of this? Yes. It's not subsistence hunting. I don't "have to" get a deer. I am not denigrating you for your shot, or the decision to take it, nor attempting to inflate my ego. Just stating my position on shooting deer.
 
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You took a gamble, and it worked. That shot required accuracy, and you were capable. Not all are willing to gamble on low probability shots like that. Like Bfh_auto, I am not; in my case due to having bungled a low probability shot my first year of deer hunting. I took steps to prevent such from then on, and one of them is not taking low probability shots. Have I passed up a lot of deer because of this? Yes. It's not subsistence hunting. I don't "have to" get a deer. I am not denigrating you for your shot, or the decision to take it, nor attempting to inflate my ego. Just stating my position on shooting deer.
A gamble? Hardly. A gamble would have been using a .223 for the same shot. I knew exactly what would happen when I took that shot and it played out exactly how I predicted. A clean, ethical kill because I was using a caliber and bullet capable of reliably doing what it did.
A quartering away shot at 50 yards with a 180gr 30-06 is hardly a marginal or low probability shot.
It would be with a .223 though, which is why, as I stated in my original post, I wouldn't have taken the shot with a .223.
 
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Proper shot placement and a good hunting bullet the .223 should be fine within a reasonable range. hdbiker
 
I have taken quartering away shot before where you end up shooting them behind the diaphragm to get to the heart and lungs. Such a shot requires some experience and a good understanding of the deers anatomy but its a perfectly ethical shot to take for an experienced hunter. I would not encourage a new or young hunter to take such a shot. When I get my kids hunting it will be broadside lung shots only till they have displayed they have the marksmanship skills and restraint to take more difficult shots. I've gotten bolder over the years and couple times its bitten me, but if you wait for everything to be perfect sometimes you'll end up being hungry. I think the argument that a 223 limits you to good shot presentation is a valid argument.
 
A gamble? Hardly. A gamble would have been using a .223 for the same shot. I knew exactly what would happen when I took that shot and it played out exactly how I predicted. A clean, ethical kill because I was using a caliber and bullet capable of reliably doing what it did.
A quartering away shot at 50 yards with a 180gr 30-06 is hardly a marginal or low probability shot.
It would be with a .223 though, which is why, as I stated in my original post, I wouldn't have taken the shot with a .223.
I tried giving you a compliment, but your ego refused to see it. As the post above mentions, it is a tougher shot to make, and you made it. Maybe it was your first one like that, but as mentioned above, it can come back to bite you. I have firsthand experience with that.
And I will agree 100%, .223 would not be the round to attempt that shot with.
 
I tried giving you a compliment, but your ego refused to see it. As the post above mentions, it is a tougher shot to make, and you made it. Maybe it was your first one like that, but as mentioned above, it can come back to bite you. I have firsthand experience with that.
And I will agree 100%, .223 would not be the round to attempt that shot with.

Well,

You took a gamble, and it worked.
Not all are willing to gamble on lower probability shots like that.
That is the same as accusing me of unethical hunting practices. I don't gamble with the potential suffering of a game animal. I use a capable cartridge and bullet, and take shots that are within the capability of that cartridge and bullet.
 
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