Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 223 Rem best deer bullet?

In the 22-250.

Can't imagine why it wouldn't be a dandy in the 223.

That’s cool , wasn’t being an ass
Don’t know Ingwe and can’t see his face for expression so I thought he was a Dudley do right type

I personally have never killed a deer with 223 , but have some loads worked up for it this year if I live long enough to get in woods
Got some 64 gr solid base noslers loaded for a 1/12 twist and some 70 gr Speer for 1/7 twist
Both shoot well under an inch
Hope to get the opurtunity to take one with one of them this year
Kenneth

75gr hpbt outta my Tikka has killed a pile of deer. Never a doubt with any of em

Yes. Worked very, very well. Good damage. I’d say the damage was on par with what you’d expect a cup and core bullet out of a 223, but better penetration. About what you’d expect from a partition of any flavor.

I would not hesitate to use them.

Yes I mentioned that on page 2. I do want to clear up that it is the only higher than 55 grain bullet I have tried in my gun as it is a 1982 model 1500 Smith & Wesson, which has 1:12 twist and is now the Weatherby Vanguard which has a 1:8 twist barrel; both are actually Howa barrelled actions.

It was good to read about other heavier than 55 grains working in the 1:12 twist guns. I searched high and low for factory loaded 60 grain Nosler Partitions or just bullet tips. I have a good supply of both. I see some factory 223 offerings here with a deer on the box instead of a coyote or the word Varmint.

Also, the use of FMJ is illegal in Pennsylvania for hunting. It must be an expanding bullet.

Winchester 64 gr Power Point. Cheap, available, and effective.

Yes. I load it for my Grandkids. It delivers a lot of DRT and most often passes through on broadside shots on our smaller coastal deer. Wrecks innards.

I have been hunting with a .223 almost exclusively for about 10 years. I have killed hundreds of hogs and deer with 55,62 and 64 gr soft points. You can spend more money on premium bullets but they won't kill any more dead than the common stuff. Good luck and good hunting.

What made you switch to the 223 exclusively?

Can’t answer for someone else, and I haven’t gone entirely to .223, but of six deer killed so far this year one with 6.5x55, one with 7x57, one with .44 revolver and three with.223’s.

For me, the attraction is small, inexpensive powder charges, small, less expensive bullets, mild recoil and low noise level. I don’t take risky shots no matter what I’m shooting, but using a.223 reinforces that ethic.

I’ll never go entirely to .223 (or any other cartridge) because I like too many rifles too much and like to play with all of them.

P[/quote]

He doesn't know the twist on his 223. I have concerns about the heavier bullets if he has a faster twist. It also needs to be readily available in factory loads.[/quote]

The length is the stability issue. Many of the copper bullets need a faster twist because they are long for the weight. I believe you would do fine with up to 64/65gr traditional lead core, but may not want to go higher than 53gr in the Barnes. My twelve twist shoots the 50gr ttsx great and loaded well they're fast enough to open and cause a nice wound channel.

All he should probably need.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1165262200?pid=366197

I couldn't find any factory offerings that were loaded with the Sierra 55 grain GK SBT, another fine deer bullet from the 223.

Surprised no one has mentioned Speer Gold Dot. Not easy to find but used to be made in 55, 62 and 75 grain versions. Those bullets expand beautifully and hold together, and Speer put them in factory ammo. Again, if you can find it.

Been mentioned several times. In fact was mentioned in the OP.

223 Fusions work great on deer and pigs and they have been accurate in nearly a dozen different AR's I've run them in. And you can find them at Walmart. And they tend to be loaded to full pressure.

That said, if his twist rate is fast enough, the 75-77gr+ soft/fragmenty bullets definitely make much bigger wound channels.

I've had good results with the Nosler Personal Defense 64gr BSB and 62gr TSX. I couldn't get decent accuracy out of the 60gr partitions

?? I looked again, saw no mention of the Speer Gold Dot. OP mentions the Federal Fusion. Both are good choices IMO but the Gold Dot bullets would be my first choice for deer.

Pretty sure they are the exact same bullet.

Fusion is a factory load, Gold Dot is a component bullet.

Years ago we used the win 64g pp. Last year I shot my buck with a 16" ar and a 60g npt. The little partition worked great.

Bb

I wasn't awarethey are the same bullet. Speer used to load them in factory ammo as well. But Speer and Federal are owned by the same company now so it makes sense that Federal Fusion is what we get now.