Best .223 bullet for whitetail

60gr Nosler Partition or 65gr Sierra Game King

The heavier TSX bullets will give you a little better performance without sacrificing too much velocity in that long barrel. Partitions and Game Kings are never a bad choice either.

What twist is your barrel?...

jwrowland77 said:

60gr Nosler Partition or 65gr Sierra Game King

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This exactly.

The Nosler Partition 60 grainers would work the best. If they will stabilize in your rifle.

The Winchester 64 gr. Power Point is another bullet rated for up to deer sized game.

you're going to get different answers from different people. I have hunted with my .223 ar15 for at least 4 years and have taken several deer with it. I started with the Hornady TAP ---> Big no no although it did the job, no blood trails. Next I switched to Remington 55gr PSP and those out performed the TAP. Quick clean kill if shot was placed right.

Would I be comfortable with using a .223 again if I had to? Yes! but I have much retired the .223 and upgraded to the 300 blackout. better bullet selection and bigger expansion. sure not a 1000 yard caliber but over 9/10 deers i've seen that are shootable are within 100 yards. Realistically under 50 yards.

rg1 said:

The Winchester 64 gr. Power Point is another bullet rated for up to deer sized game.

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It may well be rated for deer ( and it *did* work) but, based on my experience, there MUST be better bullets out there!!! Relatively close shot, well under 100 yards, on a small doe and NO exit hole....

i am also interested any anyones experience with a 223 bullet designed to stay together and penetrate. i have seen deer shot with power points (factory ammo), a friend would go to the store and buy the heaviest .223 rounds available. blood trails at 50yd shots were iffy. it has the energy but so many of the offerings simply fly apart upon impact and don't have an exit wound.

i have also seen what a 77g smk does. . . i bounces all over the place and leaves pencil holes.

I've always shot them in the neck with either the 60gr Partition or 65gr Sierra game King. Most shots from 75yd and closer. No blood trail because they've all been DRT.

Generally, halfway between bottom of skull and front shoulder. About the halfway mark on the neck.

I've taken 2 deer with Speer 70 grain Semi Spitzers out of 1:12 twist barrels. Both were one shot kills; one with a 22-250 at 360 yards and another with a 222 at about 80 yards. On both, the bullet went clear through the deer so I'd say penetration was OK. They also stabilize well in 1:12 twist barrels.

I have used 2 different bullets in my AR to take deer, and loaded them for others to use in Handi Rifles. 60 grain Nosler Partition, and lately 55 grain TSX, both worked fine, 3 out of 4 exited with the Nosler 1 out of 1 exited with the Barnes TSX.

I havent had the opportunity to use the bullet to hunt yet but what about the nosler 64 bonded? Its built to be super tough and has been very accurate from my 20in AR.

Get one of the premium bullets the guys have mentioned like a Nosler Partition or a Barnes.
My daughter killed her first deer, a small doe with a .223 and a Sierra GK BTHP. It did the job because she hit her good, but the bullet didn't penetrate very far (not that it really needed to) and did not exit. The shot was from about 40 yds.

Next time, we'll load up some Partitions.

63gr Sierra ProHunter, 65gr GameKing if barrel twist allows (my Rem. M-7, w/12" twist shoots them well),
Also sho a dozen or so with Hornady 60gr apt.
I killed one with Berger 70gr VLD from 1/9" twist bbl from Mossberg MVP. EXCELLENT terminal performance, 1/2" groups at 100yds.(25.0gr RL15).

There is no good 223 bullet for deer. The bullets are too small.

The 22's are not even legal in many states.

What twist is your barrel?...

X2. It does matter

Savage99 said:

There is no good 223 bullet for deer. The bullets are too small.

The 22's are not even legal in many states.

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That's a matter of opinion and personal preference. Obviously previous posters in this thread managed to kill deer with a bullet that was too small. The right bullet, in the right place and an understanding of the limitations imposed by a smaller and less powerful round will get the job done every time.

I have used the 55gr Hornady SPs on pigs with good results. The 53 and 62gr TSX worked better with a more consistent expansion and penetration.

Speer 70 Gr Semi spitzer

Has anyone mentioned the Speer 70 Grain Semi Spitzer? I had good results with this bullet many years ago on PA whitetails.

There is no good 223 bullet for deer. The bullets are too small.

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This comes from people who assume all 223 caliber bullets are designed for varmints. There are no good varmint bullets for deer regardless of caliber. A 30-06 loaded with a varmint round will fail just as surely as a 223 loaded with a varmint round. A bullet designed for big game hunting will work just fine regardless of caliber if used within its limitations. Even 300 WM has a limited useful range. A 223's limits are just closer. Within the limits the OP has stated it will work fine.

I can't say for sure what is best. Generally bullets 60 gr or heavier are meant for big game, but that isn't a rule written in stone. Looking at previous posts I'd say any of the above will work.

Barrel twist does matter if you plan on using heavier bullets suitable for deer. Most bolt rifles in 223 are twisted for use with lighter bullets, most AR's are better suited for heavy bullets.

well i tried the winchester 64 gr. power point. it did not do well. upper double lung shot. it expanded and left an exit hole about the .50 inches. deer ran 100 yards laid down. got back up, ran another 100 yrds and went down for good. average doe. not very much devastation inside the bullet wound at all. might just be a .223 in general. shot was taken inside 110 yards. tried a few other bullets with the same results. including a 60 gr v-max, 65 gr gameking and 70 gr speer sp. an ethical kill with the .223 with any of these bullets listed above has to be a heart shot. even lungs or liver shots are not going to produce a good enough wound channel to dispatch the deer ethically. I'm not saying this to say not to use the .223 im just saying this to tell you what to expect with the "right" bullet in the .223.

BigBore45 is right. You need a heavy bullet with a matching twist. And we still don't know what the OP has for a twist rate. If it's one of the older HBAR's it should be 1:9 or 1:10, which limits you to 60 grain and under.

Many deer were killed in Kansas with .22 LR in years past. Most hunters were better shots than now, and bullet placement makes all the difference in the world.

Jesse Heywood said:

BigBore45 is right. You need a heavy bullet with a matching twist. And we still don't know what the OP has for a twist rate. If it's one of the older HBAR's it should be 1:9 or 1:10, which limits you to 60 grain and under.

Many deer were killed in Kansas with .22 LR in years past. Most hunters were better shots than now, and bullet placement makes all the difference in the world.

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Nah. 1:12 shoots up to a 60gr easily. That's what my daughter used for her first deer.

1:9 should go up to 75gr. I'm currently using a 69gr in a 1:9 but have tested 75gr and they worked great.

Lj1941 said:

Has anyone mentioned the Speer 70 Grain Semi Spitzer? I had good results with this bullet many years ago on PA whitetails.

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Yes, I mentioned it just a few posts above yours.

The other .224 caliber bullet I've used on deer was a Remington factory soft point spitzer out of a 22-250 weighing all of 55 grains. It work just fine but of course that might not translate into good with a 223. The lightest I've ever gone was with a 45 grain Hornady Spire point out of a 204 Ruger at a bit over 250 yards; the deer was down on the first shot and went no more than maybe 10 yards but I wouldn't suggest doing that unless you and your gun can place the bullets very accurately.

As far as bullet weight and twist goes, for about the umpteenth time it's bullet LENGTH and not weight that determine how fast the twist must be. The Speer 70 grain Semi Spitzer has stabilized just fine in the three 1:12 twist barrels I've tried it in and rumor has it that they'll work in a 1:14 twist barrel but I never tested that.