Shooting Milk Jugs

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Buckshooter

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I need to how deep my Nosler 64 grain bullets will penetrate at 300 yards. I want to make sure there is enough enegry left in the bullet at that range. A friend told me if the bullet smashed through three milk jugs I would be doing well. Using it on white tails. I know I can hit the vitals, but was just wondering what the penetration would be with this bullet. It is an Accubond. I never use varmint bullets when hunting deer. Any comments or has anyone tried this? I have a thread about using a 22/250 on Missouri white tails, but thought this would be a new thread to cover all white tails. We live in SC and it takes good shot placement with smaller diameter bullets. Thanks in advance
 
When it comes to hunting deer with a .22 centerfire, its ALWAYS going to be controversial I've found. That said, I don't think the differences between SC and MO whitetails is significant enough to warrant a whole new topic. That said, regardless of which .22 centerfire is used, 300 yards is certainly pushing, if not flat out exceeding the range which most people would choose to use one. The .22 centerfires of various sorts DO work fine for shooting deer given proper shot placement, but are considered to be a close-range affair, with 200 yards being on the outside range for most hunters. There isn't a .22 centerfire round I'd happily take a 300 yard shot on a trophy buck with....in fact, there's, not a 22 centerfire I'd take ANY 300 yard shot at a deer with.....and I'm one of the people who DO say its "ok" to hunt with the .22's. Its all about knowing limitations, and personally, I think using any .22 on deer at 300 yards is about 100 yards further than I'd feel would be ethical.
 
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I'm in the camp that says a 223, with proper ammo, is just fine. But I have to agree 300 yards is just pushing it too far. Muzzle loaders, shotguns, archery equipment, and handguns will all kill any game on the planet. But when people choose to hunt with those tools they just have to accept that there are range limitations to therir chosen weapon. Hunting with a 223, or any rifle round is no different.

The biggest problem with hunting with a 223 compared to other limited range choices is this. With muzzle loaders, handguns and bows, if you can still hit the target, you still have the power for a clean kill. A 223 runs out of power for a clean kill long before the shooter runs out of the ability to make hits.

Used responsibly a 223 with good bullets will kill any deer that walks as quickly as any 300 magnum. But I'd feel best at ranges of around 100-150 yards. Certainly not much beyond 200.

If you want to shoot milk jugs, then try for yourself and see what happens.
 
A milk jug test will help gauge penetration, but there are additional important factors at work.

Animals don't die due to penetration or ft-lbs. of energy in and of themselves, they die as a result of the destruction of vital tissue. The question the OP may want to address is, "at 300 yards, will my bullet ruin enough important stuff to down a deer quickly?"

There is no perfect test medium that simulates animal tissue. 10% gelatin is the closest we have come up with, but that stuff is expensive in quantities sufficient enough to conduct terminal performance tests.

I would go with a stack of loosely bound wet newsprint as a test medium. The crater left in the paper won't be indicative of a wound cavity in animal tissue, but you will have a chance to recover the bullet and examine factors like expansion, fragmentation, and mass retention.
 
My late uncle would test his reloads with plain mud. Well, he had a mix of clay and loam wet down to the consistency of bread dough packed in plastic lined cardboard boxes but mud all the same.

Using this medium he could study "wound channels", expansion and the "shock value" of the ball.
 
Milk jugs

Thank you for the informative responses. Sounds like 300 yards is out of the question for the 22/250. Will use it here within two hundred yards
 
I shoot larger calibers. I don't have to worry. I do keep my shots within the limit of whatever I'm shooting, from 40 yards with my compound bow to 400 with my bolt rifles. My favorite lately is my .50 caliber wolf. I can't see much further than 75 yards or so from one stand, about 40 from the other. About anything bigger than a .22 Hornet would do, but I just like burning charcoal. :D
 
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