Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Have you used the .223 for deer/antelope?

I've got a .223 Weatherby Vanguard and an AR15 which I use almost every day when we make a round looking for feral hogs. Using a 62 grain BTHP Hornady hunting bullet it has worked really well. The reason for the .223 is the lack of recoil lets me acquire another target quickly. When deer season opens I take my .30-06, because it is much more likely my deer will not end up on the neighbor's property before expiring and we shoot deer to eat. That said, if all I had with me was a .223 and a good buck presented a broadside shot at 150 yards I would go for it with a fair degree of confidence, but I wouldn't take a .223 and go looking for a deer if a good 30 caliber was available.

What bullet are most most people using in their 223s to harvest their deer? Barnes? Nosler?

Steve.....for me it was a simple 55 grain Hornady soft point.....It really don't take much to pierce the rib cage and do a helluva lotta damage to the lungs.

I'm reminded of the days when the .243 Winchester was considered inadequate by many.....all it actualy did was point out those that couldn't shoot.

I was reloading 62 grain Barnes for about 50 cents apiece, and then I found some bulk 62 grain Hornady BTHP at Midsouth Shooters Supply for 10 cents each and they shot to same point of aim and seem to kill just as well. That is on hogs which to my opinion are tougher to kill than deer.

This one got both shoulders broken with a 53 gr. TSX..and he's about as big as they get. He stopped when the bullet landed... Wife made a good behind the shoulder shot with a .30-06 and he was motoring fast towards a knife edge ridge I did NOT want him to get over, so I stopped him.....

63 gr Sierra SMP #275 lbs.DRT. Hogs get shot in the brain with the little guns...








Trifecta with a 60 gr NBT...

I really don't think most hunters have a clue how little it takes to kill a deer. They plug a few through the lungs with a .308 or similar and they run 50 yards before they fall over so they think with a dinky .223 they'll run into the next county. It just isn't so. Deer aren't very hard to penetrate and busted lungs are busted lungs. I haven't found that it makes much difference whether they're busted with a .30-06, .243 or .223. As for penetration, I've shot 40 gr. JHP's from a .22 magnum completely through the lung cavity of several adult does and put a 38 gr. Power- Lokt HP from a 5mm Remingtom magnum rimfire through both shoulders of a forkhorn buck. None of those deer made it farther than 75 yards before they fell.

My primary deer and antelope rifle lately has been a .223.

Wyoming requires at least a 60 grain bullet in the .22 CFs, so I use the 62 TSX and the 69 sierra with mixed results, but my bad results are from the bullets....not the cartridge. I may try the 64 bonded or something else next...

In Idaho and Montana however, without the 60 grain handicap, I have had awesome success with plain 'ol 55 grain soft points of various makes. I have killed mule deer that had to be getting in the 300 pound neighborhood with the .223 without issue.

OP asked about deer and antelope with the .223...answer is Yep! 53 gr TSX again....

In a 223 on I like a 55 grain Gameking, shoots through most deer w DRT being pretty common. Always wanted to try a 65 grain Gameking.

Never tried a Barnes or a Partition but bet they would be great as well.

Bigger, tougher stuff than deer? how about Oryx....

62 Gr TSX

Lots of different good ones on the market now...This was a basic 55 grain Hornady Soft Point...a proven performer..







This was a Speer 55 gr. Gold dot..

Ingwe, don't impose your ethics on me.

The 223....5.56 have been killing humans on the battle field since 1968.

You, sir, are a s h i t disturber. Just sayin'.

Nice pics Tom!

I had no idea color film was available prior to 1935.

David

Funny how many folks think .223/5.56 rounds are "too light" for game... but we use them on people without a problem.

In LE circles, a number of bullets in the 60-65 gr weight range have been highly successful for use on animals in the 175-225 pound weight class. Any of the Barnes bullets in that weight range are excellent. The 60 gr Nosler Partition is excellent, as is the 64 gr Nosler protected tip, the 64 gr Winchester PowerPoint, and several othes. I've seen these 3 tested in gelatin and they produce highly effective wound channels. I've only used the 64 gr PowerPoint on deer, however, so I can't personally attest to the effectiveness on varmints of the 2- or 4-legged variety.

Naw. Those are daguerrotypes he had Photoshopped...