New Minnesota Whitetail Law - Anyone Using .223?

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i take one on "doe hunts" every now and then and have seen plenty of deer taken with a .223. however i have also seen a few that were hit well gone like the wind.

i choose to stick with larger calibers for most things but i would use a .223 if it were all i had.
 
Just cause you can don't mean you should. I have a freind in Mn who's going with his AR this year. I really hate laws that would limit what we can use but i gues you need them so dunderheads don't go popping bucks with .22 shorts and red ryders.

Oh well. To each his own.
 
Here's it's same caliber, centerfire, but "55 grain bullets or heavier", as it should be. Actually, it should be "55 grains or heavier - and no FMJ/ball ammo". Minn deer can get heavy to fight the cold - it wouldn't be my choice, but it would work in a pinch with a neck shot.
 
I must admit I've never really understood the logic in using Caliber as a guide in deciding what cartridges are acceptable for deer hunting. If you like you can blame that on the fact I live in South Dakota which uses muzzle energy as its guide. Here you must use a rifle cartridge that produces at least 1000ft/lbs at the muzzle no caliber restrictions.


Previously in Minnesota I believe you could use a 25-20, (a terriflc round but low to low/mediium energy that fades fast past 100 yds but not a 22-250 or 220 Swift? which produce Vastly more energy and retains it for long distances. That just does not seem right.

Another Questionable move with the new rule is I believe is that while allowing such calibers as 22-250, 220 Swift etc, it also allows 22 Hornet. Nothing against 22 Hornet, its another really terrific varmit round but for whitetail?

Now before all you Minnesotans open fire on me with the small caliber of your choice Yes South Dakota Regulations can seem odd as well. While they restrict rifle cartridges to those wiith 1000 ft/lbs of energy or more they allow handgun cartridges with 500 ft/lbs or more which means that while you cannot hunt with a 32-20 or 30 carbine rifle you with those same cartridges in a handgun even the new .327 Federal handgun cartrige would quallify.

I'm sure there are people out there that can logically explain these contradictions and to be fair within restricted ranges and with excellent shot placement any of the cartridges I've mentioned in this thread will put a whitetail (or at least a small one) down.

Just my (sometimes) humble opinion.
 
The whole argument is "What is a humane way to kill a deer" and it's decided from an overstuffed leather chair. Bad shots happen but you also get those who pull the trigger 11 times a year. 10 at the range to verify the scope and 1 shot at the deer.

Truth is, a 12 ga. slug in the gut will still take several hours to kill. My neighbor had to flush one out of a thicket that got hit in the paunch. A .223 is more than adequate but it needs to be placed right.

Also, with the onmibus fish and game bill that passed last year, they removed the cartridge length and only go after caliber and centerfire. Technically, you could use a 1895 Nagant if it was hollowpoint.
 
Also, with the onmibus fish and game bill that passed last year, they removed the cartridge length and only go after caliber and centerfire. Technically, you could use a 1895 Nagant if it was hollowpoint..



Us Minnesota boys are now allowed to hunt with a 32 acp pistol if we so chose.

I can't even imagine how this stupid law got passed.
are there that many hunter in Minnesota that want to hunt with low powered guns? I personally have never met a Minnesota whitetail hunter armed. with less than 30-30 power
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With the bucks I saw NW of the cities, those corn fed deer get huge, using a .223?!? friggin' kiddin' me! Not in your right mind, the weather is challenging enough.
 
why do people balk at using a .223 when people bow hunt every year? .223 does FAR more damage that the best broadhead
 
every year for the last 11. i have also shot them with a .223 and there is just no comparison. physics just says so.
 
The .223 is very effective on whitetails, go drink your super short ultra meat pounder Koolaid. :)
 
I've killed deer and hogs with a lot less. Course I don't shoot unless I'm sure I can put my bullet where it belongs. Deer are not hard to kill. Hogs are a little harder.
 
in the uk we have smaller deer like muntjac , chinese water deer and roe. .223 has just become legal for muntjac and cwd. i think it is a bad thing. i have a .243 win and i don't use it on deer anymore. it didn't have sufficient "DRT" ability. there is no such thing as overkill; underkill, however, is a problem.

i use 7mm08 or .30-06 on all deer. there are no degrees of dead, but lots of degrees of still alive.

interlock (uk-roe-hunter in the office)
 
As with most laws, I can see where the potential for making something right went way too far. With continued technologies, limiting case length or caliber doesn't allow for new powders, bullet technology or wildcatters. I do think though that they would have been better off by simply saying centerfire and ft.lb. at the muzzle.
 
Dispatcher55126

Dispatcher55126, good to see another Combat Engineer. I just retired from the 201 En Bn. (M)(C). I was the Battalion Commo NCO. I can finally hunt and fish as I see fit now. Love deer Hunting here in Ky. and as the Elk herds increase, may try that one also..
 
Elk in Kentucky? How cool is that?

I think we are living in a golden age of hunting in the USA.:)

Thanks for the responses. Now...a slightly different tack to this question.

If you HAD to use .223 to shoot a big deer - what load and where to shoot? We've had suggestions for 55gr nosler partitions and a lung shot. Is that the best?

Better yet, tell us about your successful .223 whitetail hunts.
 
Dispatcher55126, good to see another Combat Engineer. I just retired from the 201 En Bn. (M)(C). I was the Battalion Commo NCO. I can finally hunt and fish as I see fit now. Love deer Hunting here in Ky. and as the Elk herds increase, may try that one also..

I'm actually an ex-AF firefighter. The 105th ECB is a WWII reenactment group.
 
i think 243 is a little small my self im for 270 or larger or shotgun only as i have rolled over many big deer with a 12 ga big hole = dead deer with a good shot
 
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