Dedicated .223 for Deer.

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45B@cav

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Before I get blasted and hear the whole not enough for Deer. I will be hunting with my 7 year old daughter in La. and the deer are small. My daughter and I have already established that one of my AR's is the most she can handle. I consider myself to be a responsible hunter and I think it is important to get the kids involved at a early age. That being said I need a dedicated .223 deer cartridge. I don't reload so I need a commercially produced .223 deer round. Thank you in advance for any help.
 
I'm not a deer hunter, reloading expert, or Mr. Know-it-all. But my 2 cents would be to throw a rubber pad on that buttstock, use a round that deforms quickly, and practice practice practice. A well placed shot is far more important than superior firepower. Sure, a larger caliber would give you more room for error, but there have been plenty of people that have taken deer with .223, so it can be done.
 
45B@cav;

Not my pick for a round, but I'll not argue with you over it. However, I will suggest you trundle over to a shop that carries CZ rifles & take a look at the CZ527 bolt gun in .223.

900F
 
IMHO, and it's just MHO, if a kid can't handle a .243, they ain't ready to hunt deer. It'll do the job to 100 yards with a good bullet, but still, .243 doesn't have much recoil and it has a lot more horsepower than a .22 anything.

Rather than .223, if I had to choose a .22, I'd go with a .22-250. .22-250 packs respectable energy due to it's fantastic velocities. It's a pretty popular caliber for beginners/kids in Texas.

But, again, that's JMHO. There are other's here that go after 'em with M16s and 30 round mags and say it's plenty. We've been down this road, before. The deer are small there and the .223 is enough on a 70 lb doe. I mean, biggest they get around here is 125 or so field dressed, maybe 150 on the hoof, and we're pretty much like Louisiana. But, you better make darn sure she can hit the sweet spot with it. Don't waste a ft lb.
 
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45B@cav

YOU ARE ONE LUCKY DAD!!! I envy you! I have two daughters and neither will go hunting with me. Good luck with the .223. And yes I thought about making a comment about the size until I read all of your post. Then I decided to keep my comment to myself. I too agree that it is very important to get your children involved early. I wish you and your daughter much luck in getting a deer, and you are correct that most of the deer in LA are somewhat small and if you make sure the one she shoots at is small enough for the cartridge she should have no problem bringing it down with the .223. Good luck finding quality ammo for it. I have a bolt action .223 but I have always reloaded so unfortunatelty I can not be of much assistance.
 
45B@cav

YOU ARE ONE LUCKY DAD!!! I envy you! I have two daughters and neither will go hunting with me. Good luck with the .223. And yes I thought about making a comment about the size until I read all of your post. Then I decided to keep my comment to myself. I too agree that it is very important to get your children involved early. I wish you and your daughter much luck in getting a deer, and you are correct that most of the deer in LA are somewhat small and if you make sure the one she shoots at is small enough for the cartridge she should have no problem bringing it down with the .223. Good luck finding quality ammo for it. I have a bolt action .223 but I have always reloaded so unfortunatelty I can not be of much assistance.
 
If you can find .223 ammo that uses a nosler 60 grain partition bullet. I believe that to be the best you can find for taking deer with that caliber however, shot placement is extremly critical. I know federal used to make such ammo as I still have a box. Problem you will have is that most ammo manufacturers only make 223 ammo with either varmint bullets or FMJ. I had the same dilema taking my son hunting for the first time. My solution was his first deer would be a doe and he would only take a head shot, a 223 in the head is just as deadly as a 50BMG in the heart trust me. If you cant find ammo though perhaps a .243 would be the answer as recoil really isnt much over a .223
 
A friend of mine has a 7yo daughter(VERY small girl) who shoots his 7mm Rem,mag bolt gun and his Vangard in .300 Wby mag. She killed a doe with the 7mm. She started with a .223 until she mastered it and then moved up.
 
http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/pdfs/hunting/2008-2009_HRDH.pdf


Mentions not allowing the use of any caliber UNDER 0.22 caliber. Please verify for yourself. That's my read on it.

Personally I think taking a willing child child hunting is a tremendous event, and wish you well in your efforts as a mentor. A lot of great hunts to look forward to in the future.
There are many previous threads here for hunting deer with .22 centerfires.
I think you'll find what you need.
Best of luck!
 
+1 on check the regs. But a lot of southern states are going to the "anything that isn't a car, and kill as many as you can" additudes. Can't blame them once the insurance companies start complaining.

As far as the load, see if you can find the Federal Premium (I think it's in their Premium line) with the 60 gr. Nosler Partition bullets. These bullets are a lot tougher than the average .223 bullet built for paper and varmints.

Wyman
 
live in N Oklahoma,deer are big a 55gr sp or 62 hp will knock them on there @$$ !!!................here's one of my fav:seen a cow shot with a 223rem and he did'nt go no farther than his pasture would let'em;).
 
It is totally legal to take deer with .223 in La. The law states no rimfire at all or centerfire smaller than .22. She's a little tomboy and a daddies girl so yeah I feel blessed to have her as my one and only.
.223 is not my first choice but she shoots the hell outta this AR. So I feel like it's better for her to be comfortable with it. Also she's small for her age and I have a SHORT fixed buttstock on it so it fits her perfectly. I think I'm set on the 60gr Nosler from Federal. Thanks for the advice. She's my little sharp shooter so I have know doubt she will hit the sweet spot.
 
The Fedral Classic line of ammo has a 64 grn. SP that should work well.IF you can find any.
 
We have small deer in central Texas and the .223 is a fine round. I've had good performance with the Remington 55 grain softpoint. I've taken two deer with it and my nine year old son has taken one. I'm going to try a Winchester 50 grain hollowpoint this year.
 
.223 is fine for the size deer that are in Louisiana. They don't get as big in East Texas and LA as they do in say Vermont or Michigan. That being said, there are some large ones out there, but average, they ain't over 120 lbs on the hoof.

Make sure that she can do her part and the Winchester Power Point will do its part.
 
IMO.... just like in defensive shooting,,,,, the model gun or the caliber isn't anywhere as important as

SHOT PLACEMENT

We have a lot of 250 - 300 pound deer up here and the poachers favorite caliber is the 22 mag. Shots placed inside the ear seem to do the job quite well.
 
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