Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting .223 ?

jprice,

I'm sure you just forgot to mention that the .325 WSM is the big Mac Daddy killer of them all!

(I like .325 WSM)

Go read some of the reviews of the 70 grain Speer softpoint bullet, 5 stars every time. I have 100 ordered, waiting on them to show up. People get anal about this stuff, if my silly pointy stick and string thingy kills the bejebus out of them I would be a fool to think a 223 into the same area of the deers body would not kill them, now shoot them in the a-- with anything and all bets are off. Also with bullets getting to be so expensive, the little ones seem to still cost a bit less.

adammada,

Of the two blacktails I shot, one DDRT and the other traveled about fifty feet. Way better than 175 Partitions from my 7-.300 Weatherby.

Life is uncertain. Hunt with what you want and eat desert first.

I've Killed Several with a 50GR B.T.{At 4000FPS}It's More About where you shoot'm, than what you shoot'm with.

60grain V-Max has worked fine on SC deer.
The 60grain partition gave total broadside penetration on those four does last season.

Mike

Learn to hunt, learn to shoot, load a good bullet, and the .223 is PLENTY.

Fail in any one of those four requirements, and the .223, .30-06, and perhaps the .50BMG won't be enough.

.223 is good enough, as is a .22 LR. I personally like a little bigger hole.

VAnimrod, just FYI you don't have to load a "good" bullet in a 30-06 to effectively kill deer. But you knew that.

223 for deer = inappropriate.

This fall I plan on trying a lung shot with a 55gr Trophy Bonded Bearclaw and the 60gr Nosler Partition. I'll keep you posted.

60 grn V-Max thru both lungs= dead deer.
Pick your shots and the 223 is a good deer round.

Have you shot or have you seen deer shot, with .224 Partitions or TSX's?

Opinions are like Belly buttons.
Everyone has one but some should be kept undercover!

Mike

I asked the ".223?" question back in the summer of 2002, and was seriously contemplating using my Mini-14-- even started cooking a load for it. I didn't hunt with it. I still haven't hunted with it. I probably won't hunt with it. Having seen numerous iterations of this same thread over the intervening years, I have seen a huge shift in the collective opinion. Back in 2002, the naysayers were legion. It was largely considered a stunt.

Nowadays, the herd seems to be shifting. I think the Internet has a lot to do with it. Folks who, a decade ago, would have never dreamed of hunting with a 223 Rem are meeting more folks that do.

Back in 2002, I gave up on the 223 Rem idea for the same reason I'm not hunting with it now. When I go to the rack and look, I have several better choices. My collection is skewed towards 30-something calibers, and when you have choices like 30-06, 308 Win, 30-30, etc. it is hard for me to pass them all by and grab something chambered for a 22-something.

I'm 50 now. I don't believe in the touted 4 stages of evolution of a deer hunter. However, I do think the idea of "Method" being a motivation to hunt is real. Method? Hmmm. Okay, let's see. I'm going to bypass all my favorite deer rifles, and . . .

. . .I've tried to end this missive three different ways. The bottom line is it probably ain't gonna happen. I just can't get past the idea that, despite .223 Rem being a good and wholesome deer killer, I have something better readily at hand.

Shaman, not trying to pick a fight, but your last sentence you state something better readily at hand. How do you define better? What makes 1 caliber better?

Thinking about using the caliber this year and just wanting to pick your brain is all.

I would suggest that "better" is subjective term. For instance, a 10 gauge shotgun might be considered a better goose gun than a .410. But what if the shooter is a small child?

Everyone knows a .223 will kill a deer. For some folks (me included) bigger holes are "better". Hit 'em with a stick if you want to, it don't bother me none. But PLEASE don't make me spend every night wandering around the woods looking for your deer when I should be sitting at the fire, drinkin' beer and playing the guitar.

He asked for our thoughts on the 223 for deer, I gave mine.
End of story.

I shot one with my 30-06 that left a light blood trial for awhile and then no blood trail. Ran 250 yds or so. I suspect that if either deer were hit where it was intended for the bullet to go they would have died quicker.

Sorry to offend you, Swift. I was just hoping to get some opinion based on experience, that's all.

They will kill a deer just as dead as anything else, but in my experience, smaller holes means less blood. Even the best placed rounds, of any caliber, can leave you with a tracking job. We don't have the benifit of snow, barren ground or visibility of more than a few feet around here, so I want BLOOD.