I kill lots of deer. More and more of them are killed with 223's. Use bonded or Barnes bullets and they will generally penetrate close to 20 inches and produce a fairly wide wound channel.



From my not limited killing experience the 243 Win with the right bullet is a solid 600 yard cartridge on med/big game and even further with a couple of bullets. The 223 is solid to about half that. With 62gr federal Fusion, Partitions, etc. and especially with the 75gr AMAX I don't have any heartburn about killing a deer at 400 yards. With a Barnes or like bullet I prefer to keep it around 300 or under.


I would rather use a 223 on ANY NA animal where I get to pick the rifle, scope and bullet than use any other cartridge where someone else picks the rifle, scope and bullet.





62gr Fusion after penetrating almost 20 inches of a deer. 80 yards hard quartering too. Penetrated near shoulder, two ribs, lungs, two ribs, and was found under skin on offside.
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