Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Elk and the .223.Why not?

Nobody bitches about the effectiveness of an arrow - which is behind that of a .223 from a rifle.

Personally I am waiting for the thread to migrate to Elk and the 17 Fireball...or maybe the new 17 Ackley Hornet...

Because Craig Boddington and Jack Atcheson say the .338 is king. Jayco, did you know that Boddington swears by the Hummer H-2 also? That's all I need to know, I'm gonna git one today!!!

Well if your a local and it is legal, go for it. I personally would not travel for two days, spend a lot of money and have my hunt hinge on a 223.

You could AI it. Turns a mouse gun into a moose gun.

I have no doubt that the 223, coupled with the right bullet could kill an elk cleanly. But like Viking said, if I were to travel out west for an elk hunt, I would bring my 300wm. If I wanted to go light, I'd have my 7mm-08.

You better get off that cactus juice and get realistic if you are going elk hunting. .223 ha!ha!!!!!!!!!!

I find your comments to be very wise and I agree %100.

This thread is a joke....Jayco is playing with you guys..

Now Bob...I already gave reasons why, if the .243 is an Elk gun then the .223 should be also.I gave penetration test in ballistic Gel where a mediocre Federal Fusion out of a .223 penetrated 15" in ballistic Gel. If you know your Gel and how other Elk calibers penetrate in it,15" is about maybe average.

I also stated that if the 95 grain Fusion(type bullet) out of a .243 @ 2980 fps is an Elk slayer,then a 62 grain TSX @ 3100 fps in .224 should atleast be equal with only .019 difference in diameter.

I have personally seen Elk killed with a 22-250 so I stepped it up a notch and acquired not just one,but two .223 rifles..There light weight/easy to carry/hardly any recoil at all and plinking ammo is not worth reloading since it is so inexpensive.

So Bob..Tell me why a .223/.224 is not an Elk rifle if the .243 is,as so many say, and yes,I have seen Elk killed with the mighty .243?

I doubt anyone can say either cannot kill Elk since the .223 is like famous here in Idaho since we heard how well it works on Polar Bears by local tribesmen in AK,not even our Idaho elk are that tough.

Jayco

Five Federal Fusions picked out of ballistic gel out of the .223 measured at 15" penetration depth at "100 yards" not in someones basement...The 45-70 400 grain Swift A-Frame only did 18".

Not a bad looking bullet with some very nice cutting edges.



Jayco

Good deal if you're hunting ballistic gel.

Any bones in that gel?

Richard Mann,one of the NRA's contracted experts, helped develop the Bullet Test tube. (It�s slightly harder material than the gelatin used in Federal�s test.) Mann tested Federal�s loads in it and on deer, and here�s what he found:

When robustly constructed bullets like the Barnes TSX, Nosler Partition and Fusion are used inside 150 yards, penetration with the .223 Remington is on par with cartridges like the .243 and the .30-30 Winchester.�

We all know the 30-30 Winchester has killed a boat load of Elk and most other game and when the .223 penetrates equally with a well constructed bullet,within it's range and a well placed shot,I see no problem using it on Elk,just like the famed .243.

Jayco

I would wager that your little fed. fusions may not even make it through a rib bone or at least be deflected. I just have always liked to use the correct tool for any job that I do. I also bet that your little bullets don't provide much of a blood trail. I hope your a good tracker. Daryl.

You remind me of some fly fisherman I know. They insist on using the lightest tippets (end of leader) for very big fish. What happens is they can't put any real pressure on the fish, or the tippet will break. They also use very light fly rods, and again they can't put any pressure on the fish. So, all they can do is slowly play the fish until it's exhausted.
Now, keep in mind these are catch and release fisherman who claim to care for the fish. They're also fishing Gold Medal waters that are always catch and release. The point being to not kill the fish.
They finally land the exhausted trout on their tiny .223 size fishing gear, and hold up their prize bragging how they did it on small gear. Then they finally put the trout back in the water trying to revive it. It may slowly swim away, but it's dead. It went off by itself to die.
I ask them why they do it. They say because it fun and a challenge. The truth is they just want to brag about it, and could care less about killing the fish.

I feel someone who shoots a small caliber for big game is doing the same thing. Just something to brag about with no regard for the animal.

As was already said. You want to hunt elk? Buy an elk gun. Surely you can handle more than 3 lbs of recoil?

So, are you trying to make the case that a 60-grain .223 bullet penetrating 15 inches in a ballistic medium is the same as a .50 caliber 450 grain bullet penetrating 15 inches in the same medium?

Don't take me wrong,I am far from saying the .223 is an Elk caliber.Just saying like the .243 thread,it is capable of getting the job done if all the marbles lined up correctly and you use a top of the line bullet for the job.

What I am saying is,when the .243 is touted as being an Elk slayer then the .223/.224 is one also.It is on par in penetration and only lacking .019 in diameter before expansion and carries a higher velocity.

Out of all the rifles I have used on Elk,the .300 Win Mag continues to be my personal favorite with the .270 and '06 right on it's heals.

Jayco

A .243 is the bottom of the barrel for elk for most of us. You want to go below that? Makes no sense.

I would never consider a .243 for elk. A .223 is laughable for me. I don't care how many polar bears it's killed.

Yes,if the 450 grain is unexpanded because the 62 grain Federal Fusion expanded to .54 caliber.If your 450 grain expands,then of course not and remember,that expansion and penetration was at 100 yards not 25.

The case I am trying to make is when using a bullet like the TSX out of the .223 at 3100 fps(factory ammo) it is capable of taking Elk,certainly not my first choice,but like the 243 and 30-30 that it is on par with in penetration on game,certainly enough if the nut behind the wheel does his part.

Jayco

Bottom line Logcutter. Would you use a .223 for elk?