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I have an opportunity for culling deer at a small farmstead but there are other houses within a quarter mile. The deer are hill country size and rarely exceed 120 Lbs. on the hoof.
I am thinking of these as possibilities: 17 Rem. with either a bonded Core Lokt, Lehieigh Controlled Chaos or Hammer bullets, 223 Remington with a stouter varmint bullet, 6mm with a 95 grain Berger Classic hunter. Any experience or opinions? I think if I get around 75% fragmentation and the core or base exits then I will be OK as long as I choose my shots wisely which should be no problem. I also need to anchor the deer within 100 yards which all of the above will do easily.

I know there have been similar threads especially for hogs. I also don't trust the highly explosive varmint bullets in case I hit a rib or something. There is the off chance for a big buck or an Axis deer so I don't want to limit myself to small does only.

Thanks in advance.

55 Sierra Gameking or the 60 grain Ballistic Tip in the 223. Have killed a bunch with the 55 grain Gameking, excellent in the 223.

Never tried the 60 grain Ballistic Tip but seen a few killed with 55 Ballistic Tips and cannot imagine the 60 not doing as good or better.

80 grain Sierra BTSP Varminter in 6mm. This bullet was impressive on the half dozen or so deer I saw a buddy shoot with it a few years back.

70 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip has also been a good bullet and bet the 80 grain Ballistic Tip is a good one as well.

We hunt a 10 acre piece in a somewhat urban setting and pick where we shoot, have to let a few walk at times.

My friend Brad used the 65 grain Sierra with good success and I think a Remington 55 grain Power-Lokt (one of the first bonded bullets)is a good choice too. Both for the 223.

Remember that if a 55 grain 223 bullet exits it's still only 55 grains and expanded which means it will not fly as well as a single pellet of 00 Buck. And the velocity of a 223 round after it exits is FAR slower then when it hits. Down range lethality is going to be curtailed a lot. This is not an excuse to ignore "rule 4" but it will help a great deal.

Working a lot with kids thru Boy Scouts, I can tell you that a lot of varmint bullets, if slowed down to around 2250 to 2400 fps MV, will perform more like a big game bullet, than a varmint bullet....

they need the higher velocity to provide their explosive reputation...

I've got a 4 x 6 steel plate I'll show folks sometimes....

when shot with 55 grain hornady SPs at 2500 fps MV, at 100 yds, the bullets penetrate right thru the steel plate..

same bullet when loaded to regular military specs of 3150 fps MV, at 100 yds, they will hit the same steel plate and shatter, just yielding a small dimple where they hit, and surrounded by a small powder puff looking residue...

Same thing with a ballistic tip...

since you are short range shooting... a 6 mm, 55 grain Ballistic Tip, at 2250 fps MV is a very deadly deer bullet, even if it does hit bone, a rib or a shoulder... no one will believe it until they see it...

deer you speak of are about the same size as Oregon Blacktail around here... many of them have been taken by some of our local Boy Scouts on their first deer hunt with Grandpa or Dad, in a 243 with a load like that with a 55 grain Ballistic Tip.

20 to 25 grains of 4198 or SR 4759....

I use a .308win 168 amax and a 125 Sierra in the blackout. I've also use a 55 vmax.
Only neck shots

55 grain Hornady spire point

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1...FCEkQ1QIItQEoBQ&biw=1920&bih=947

Thanks all. I have used the 55 Hornaday with good results from a 223 and have confidence in them for even Axis deer should one show up. I had overlooked the 55 BT in 6mm I bet I could load it just under full power and reduce exits with it. Same with the Berger as what exits is mostly the jacket. I wonder if wet newspaper medium would tell me anything useful about which will stay in the deer? It is tempting to see if I got a suppressor if I could take multiple deer but then I wouldn't know what to do with 20 deer at a time. Unfortunately here if you donate to a food bank or other charity you have to pay for processing.

DW thanks for the links, I will see if most are using them full power or not. This will give me three options as the 17 is good, it will stay in the deer with a double shoulder shot at least half of the time. Fortunately there is heavy wood cover as a back stop. On the bullets that exit there is no rhyme or reason to the direction they go. I have had more than one do a 180 inside a deer and others have hit a second deer not even in line with the first one. This happened twice on the same day and I was glad I had tags when I found four deer down instead of two.

I have a friend who's the "go to" person for a lot of farmers in the area when they need a deer culling due to destruction of crops. He's used everything from .17 HRM to .375 H&H, and the only thing he's ever had trouble with is the .17's. They just aren't reliable penetrator. He was using head shots, exclusively, and in a few instances, the bullets did not penetrate the skull from the side! He shrugged one off as a possible fluke, but on the 3rd experience with a sure hit in the right place, he concluded the .17's were just not for deer, even with head shots. When it works, it works dramatically. When it doesn't, you've got real problems, and the deer almost surely dies a wretched, painful death - not what any of us would intentionally do, ever!

The .22 LR, surprisingly, works great for head shots up to @ 50 yds or maybe a little farther if your gun is really accurate and you are too. I'd go with the 6mm., and my son's 6 mil shot well over 30 deer and all died in their tracks except one, at 350 yds. and it dies after trying to take a step, and got half way through it before piing up and kicking its last. And BTW, his rifle was very finicky, and would only shoot the 85 gr. Speer BTSP with really great accuracy. With that, it consistently put 5 shots into 5/8 to 3/4" at 100 yds. And it usually exited on broadside shots, too, so don't let anyone tell you it's not a "deer bullet. It worked with body shots in the heart/lung area. My son knew deer anatomy, though, and was a really good shot, and always placed those bullets very well. He and I like a high (top end) heart shot that takes out lungs as well. That 85 gr. Speer really messed them up inside, and 30+ one shot in the tracks kills ain't nothin' to sneeze at. either! And no matter the range, you just don't shoot toward a home - anyone's. Some will, if allowed to walk, make it to a location where the shot IS safe. And those that don't will be back again the next hunt, so .... it's not nearly as critical as many think. Good luck.

I think I have shot 8 deer with the 17 Rem. only one ran very far due to a heart shot. The 17 HMR I have even had turkeys go a ways after being hit mid body so I wont try that on deer. The 17 Rem. loads I use are supposedly bonded so that might be the difference. I also have Leheigh and will get some Hammer 17 fragmenting monos but not for this location.

I have used the 85 gr. Partition but not the Speer. The 87 Hornaday is supposed to be good too but I think the 55 BT is less likely to exit or go very far if it does exit.

I might try getting some elevation even the barn roof so all shots would be downward then pass through-s would not be much of a concern.

For that purpose, I would opt for my (not mentioned) 204 Ruger - 40 gr Ballistic Tips.
They have always exited coyotes, leaving ~ a dime sized exit - so I believe they would work well for your application. Thicker critters !

Don't have a 204 but would like one, overlap and redundancy are a good thing for a rifle looney. But the 17 or 22s should do well too.

2 of us hunt our little 10 acre spot at the same time. On more than one occasion we have killed a deer each within minutes of one another and several times we have killed 3 or more within 20-30 minutes.

I even shot my best buck to date one morning while my buddy was watching a smaller buck over the hill from me and when I shot my buddy said the smaller buck never even reacted, in fact he kept doing whatever he was doing until my buddy gave him an 80 grain Sierra.

It seems they go right back to feeding or whatever after a shot without much care unless they are right with the deer I kill.

I have had both things happen. The entire herd runs off and other times they will go back to grazing right around a fallen deer. Also even when alarmed by a shot if there are trees or hills around they don't seem to be able to determine the source of the noise.

My "urban" rifle this year is going to be a 257 Roberts using a 100 gr. Speer HP at 2600 fps. The important thing to me is that if any of the bullet does exit the pieces that do are small. I used this load on a dozen or so feral hogs that were raiding an HOA. All shots were at less than 60 yards, were neck or head shots and though there was some exiting which could have been bone I never felt I put any person or private property at risk. I did try to do some searching for bullet material but found only fragments of lead and jacket material with the biggest piece being the base of the jacket.

300 Blackout. 6.3 grains of Unique. 215 grain Berger. Any descent suppressor.Remington Bolt gun.18.5 inch barrel

Hammer.

Ruger American Ranch Rifle. 7.62x39. Sierra 125 grain Pro Hunter bullets. Suppressor

Do you local laws allow you to discharge a fire arm that close to an occupied building ?

As far as I know yes. Can't let a bullet go off the property line or over a road but mostly common sense regulations. Some counties have a ten acre minimum due to the large number of 5-10 acre mini ranchettes. Other counties have a 100 yard minimum away from a property line for a fixed blind to discourage fenceline hunting which is all to common around here. Usually the 100 yard rule is a subdivision restriction.

221 firebal necked to .243, shooting 115 berger @ 1050 fps. 7 twist barrel x 16.5 inches

Wicked looking set up. How do the 115 Bergers work at 1,000 fps?