Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles .223 and deer bullets

You might just like that Krag...theres a lot to be said for heavy slow bullets too....


( 7x57 and 175s spring to mind instantly....)


Report back!

Standby. There might be an upcoming Newfoundland moose hunt (not this year) and there might be a Krag going.

Done with the '95....


nothing could be more skookum!

I'm thinking I should be able to hit a Volkswagen sized kill zone with open sights out to 150 yards.

Yep! Moose is bigger than a hedge apple.



I killed an Oryx at 250 with iron sights. My PH asked if I could hit him....yeah, he has a vital area the size of a Radio Flyer...

That's the ever loving thing ain't it. You don't have to throw 5 in 1/2", you just need to throw one in washtub sized target.

People make killing too complicated.

When you use the little guns,a little surgical precision doesn't hurt...but still isn't as necessary as folks are led to believe.

Which is even easier with the little guns.

Ingwe/Steelhead. You've summed up all the problems of the hunting world nicely. Minute of radio flyer should be a new standard. I seem to fill my tags and freezer quite nicely with a naked recurve and cedar sticks without issue. Throw in a scoped .223 with good bullets and life sure gets simple.
Contrary to my handle I haven't needed the ol '06 (s) in a few seasons. I merely take them out to knock the dust off anymore.

DINK: I have from time to time relayed here how my close friends here in SW Montana have a "family" 223 Remington Rifle they use to fill their freezers with every year.
This family consists of 4 daughters a mom and a dad all who Hunt.
They harvest around 6 to 10 animals a year with their Remington 700 in 223!
I have seen members of this family take at least 10 animals first hand - all were one shot kills and IIRC all were DRT!
This list of witnessed animals includes Mule Deer, Antelope and Whitetailed Deer.
A few years back I saw one daughter kill a 31" Mule Deer Buck with one shot from the 223!!!
This was a BIG bodied Deer by the way!
The same daughter killed a Mt. Goat a few years earlier (again with one shot!) using the families trusty 223.
The family uses Remington factory ammo (55 grain PSP's by Remington) for their Hunting needs.
Never heard of a "blood trail lost" from my friends.
I think the "plan" with the 223 Remington and medium size game is to shoot them in the heart/lung area and let the bullet "explode" therein - this results in a quick and humane kill.
If this is accomplished (the correct shot placement and a good bullet like the 55 grain Remington PSP!) you will not need to be looking for a blood trail.
I have used 22 centerfires on Deer and Antelope a few times myself - I would certainly NOT use a 100% copper bullet (like the TTSX's!) on them.
Try the 55 grain Remington PSP's next year.
Please extend my congratulations to your young Hunter.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I've not shot any big game with a 22 cal. I do know a thing or two about blood trails. They have more to do with shot placement than caliber, as others have mentioned. Shoot at the heart/lung juncture, and there will be blood. Shots lower in the body cavity allow leakage. Of course, the bigger the hole, the more blood can leak. My best blood trails on deer have been short (about 50 ft max), and look like a bucket sloshing. These have been with various calibers hitting in the bottom 1/3 of the ribs near the foreleg, and generally clip the top of the heart.

To summarize: it isn't the bullet, it's the shot placement.

We shot a medium size doe last weekend. She took about two steps, twirled and dropped. Used 55gr TSX VorTx ammo and a 20" AR15. We have been using a .280 Rem and a 30-06 in the past. I'm very impressed with the damage (boiler room) and she did spray blood, enough to follow if needed. I'm not looking at going with the 55gr or possibly 62gr in my 223 as well. Not sure why we use a larger gun