Hi, 68W,
As you know, I make absolutely no claims to being an AR expert.
Having said that, I've quite succesfully bonked mule deer and prairie goats with the .223. I used my Kimber M-84, quite possibly the most hand engraved and gold-inlayed rifle to leave Kimber of Oregon (serial number: "Steve's .223") to do so. After a lot of thought, I used the 55-grain Spire Point Hornady.
And, to be quite honest, I usually forgot I was shooting a .223 and simply held and shot at the critters like I was carrying my .280 Ackley. They all simply fell to the ground, most sincerely dead.
Just a personal thing, but I am not a Sierra fan on big game. The guys and gals at Sierra are wonderful and they make a fabulous target and varmint bullet, but I've had some problems with them on big game.
The Speer 70-grain would be excellent.
I'd also try the Winchester 64-grain Power Point ... Actually, today, this would be my absolutely first choice for deer and wolf choice in the .223/5.56. And my old standby, the Hornady 55-grain Spire Point, would be super, as well.
Good Luck; and please take a lot of photos of your kills, so you can share them with us.
God Bless,
Steve
Thank you for the courteous reply.On your recommendation then I will choose the 70gr Speers for my big game endeavors. Having a good deal of respect for your opinion I would like to follow your recommendation on the 64gr and experiment with more options but money is a concern and I have a good number of each of the aforementioned bullets loaded and ready. I did a quick google-fu action and saw that those Winchesters are factory loaded as well as available as a component. I don't have loading equipment of my own so hand-loading is an activity I do with a BIL very infrequently and usually under time constraints, so having the factory option is a good thing to tuck away in my head if/when I run out of these two "premium" loadings. I will zero in these Speers for the wolves and save the Sierras for coyotes and those two-legged predators. I still can't decide if I'm gonna hunt deer with the AR ("new school") or go with the '94 30-30 ("old school").
If I am blessed to have kills I will report. I expect the wolf to be a very challenging hunt. I am going to try and call them in...we'll see. I unfortunately cannot put as much time into hunting these past and coming years as I'd like to (medical students don't have time for much play) but any day hunting is a real boon for the mind and soul, success will just be bonus!
Thanks again Mr. Dogzapper,
68W
PS--I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking this: I want to see that Kimber!
