Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting .223 for a dedicated deer rifle

Damn If I'm not thinking of a .223 Kimber Montana as a dedicated deer rifle. I'm totally into rifles I can shoot all day. Been in contact with some stellar high country men that hammer giant bucks in colorado, utah, and california high country and Lowe and behold they smash big mule deer bucks with a .223 Montana. Totally gets my interest. Thoughts?

With out a doubt a 223 will kill deer. It would not be my dedicated deer rifle choice. I would look at the .243 or 25 cal's, little more knock down power and still able shoot them all day.

I bought this Montana .223 with the intent to punch it to AI and use it as a dedicated deer and antelope rifle.

I have not punched it to AI yet, because I am lazy and cheap. I did kill this deer with it, plus 5-6 antelope, but killed my 2017 and 2018 mule deer with a bigger rifle since I was also elk hunting when I happened to come across the deer.



I've $hit canned the bipod and just rest over my pack now. I've settled with the 62 TSX. At first I wasn't impressed with that bullet at .223 speeds, but it has grown on me with the last few antelope.

All day, every day. Barnes if you want little meat damage, Sierra 77gr TMK or Hornady 75gr ELD-M if you want to be impressed, or Federal 62gr Fusion for ease and all around performance.








No cartridge has “knock down power”. Bullets kill by damaging tissue. The more tissue damaged, the faster animals die all else being equal. There are bullets that can be used in a 223 that cause more tissue damage than anyone would want from a 300 mag.

I’ve killed a lot of hogs, but only 1 deer with a 223. The only limiting factor I’ve found with the 223 is range. The little bullets tend to run out of speed past 300 yards and it shows on game in my experience. That being said, I never had an issue taking an animal with one.

Nothing wrong with choosing it for a dedicated deer rifle. It'll get the job done if you do your part.

It's worked very well on a wide range of game for me out of .223's and has been accurate in all of them. Very good bullet/load especially for .223's that aren't twisted fast enough for longer bullets or have limited mag box space. As stated, it's the easy out of the box route.

Very nice. Two questions, if you don't mind. Did you know it had a drop tine before you shot it and , if so, how nervous/excited were you?

Thank you.

If I weren't already a long way down the rabbit hole of loonyism, and was just starting out, I would not hesitate to arm myself with a .223 as my primary deer rifle. As it is my interests have scattered to hell and gone, and I'm a lost soul.

Still and all, a quality .223 bolt gun or single shot is pretty high on my to-do list.

Have you been able to use those in a 1:12 twist?

Anyone have experience with the 65gr Sierras on deer or hogs?

I have killed tons of deer and hogs with a .223 the last few years. 52-65 grainers... I think I'm going back to the 55 gr soft tips. I do not shoot animals past about 250 yards with it.

Like others here, I've killed deer and hogs with the 62TSX and it is a mean little bullet when speeds are high. Digs deep and causes a fair bit of damage. What it does not do is retain velocity or cheat wind well past 250yds or so, and it doesn't seem to expand well when it starts to slow down. If hunting where shots past 200yds are frequent, I'd much rather have something on the order of 6mm or 6.5mm. This assumes I was looking for a "smaller gun" than your typical .277,.284,.308 stuff.

I would agree on the range limitation. I used a 220 Swift and the 55gr TB one year. I also used the 22/6mm (.224 TTH) with the 75gr Swift. While the Swift was awesome, the TTH was "spectacular"! I later used a .221 Fireball CZ 527 and the 50gr Barnes XLC on an 80# shoat. It was a good killer. I have a female cousin who has used the 22-250/55gr soft nose as her dedicated deer rifle for over 40 yrs now. She lives in Texas. The 22-250 is used some here in Utah. Mostly for coyotes with an occasional deer thrown in. I am sure a 223 with the right bullet would work on most of deer hunting. I put the fast 22s in the same category as the smaller 6mm rounds, both have to be used right, but work when they are! Have a ball dude!

Not to high jack... BUT... what does a 223 do a 22-250 wouldn't do better? Is this a twist issue?

223 will definitely do the job, although wouldn't be my first choice for a dedicated deer caliber either. As others have eluded to they are on the "heavier" end of 223 bullets so make sure the twist rate will handle them (likely in the 1:9 or 1:8 range). Other than that it will be making a quality shot and not exceeding the capability/design of the bullet.
As for the Montana I have one in 25-06 and really enjoy carring it through season. Mine likes heavier bullets in general BUT does not like to be pushed at higher end velocities. I've found loads that give me good velocities and terminal performance. Never had a deer go more than 40 yards or so. Good luck in your pursuit!

Whatever winds your clock, as long as it's legal. Haven't gone there yet, but here any CF is legal. I have two .24 caliber rifles that are lighter than my .223, so that's where my selection begins. A good CF .22 could be considered an equivalent of the .40-.45 caliber MLs of times past, I think. My late friend made a couple of good kills on does with handloaded 55gr Hornadys out of his .22/250. We found one of those bullets in the hindquarter after full-length penetration.

I knew he had the inline extra point on his left side, but has no idea about the droptine until I got up to him.

Excitement meter was pegged regardless, just like it is on all bigger critters.

Hey pointer,

Sorry, I've not tried them in a 12 twist.

Boy that’s a dandy Ted