Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .223 deer bullets

What’s the max distance for the 223 with a proper bullet? My 1-8” shoot 75 eld-m very well.




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I was anti .223 on deer for a long long time-with zero experience myself using them. Over time I’ve seen too much evidence refuting that belief and have changed my mind. When hunting specifically for deer I don’t use .223. I do a lot of predator hunting at night. My sister and her husband have a bunch of Axis on their land, you only see them at night, never during the day. I’ve shot a few with a .223 and like you have never seen a difference between it and larger, more powerful cartridges in terminal performance. So if all I had for deer hunting was a .223 I wouldn’t feel handicapped at all.

My favorite bullet for my .223/5.56 is the Hornady 62 grain BTHP sold in bulk by Midsouth Shooters Supply but alas they are no longer available. I got just as good results on hogs with these as I did with Barnes TSX 62 grain. And a whole lot cheaper.

Always interestng to read these threads.

I am another one of those idiots (per gunswizard) who has used .22 centerfires on deer-sized game. His choice of deer cartridge, the .30-06, will definitely kill deer--and is also a great elk round, and more than adequate for African "plains game." I know this due to actually having used the .30-06 on a bunch of big game around the world.

Have also used (and seen used) various .22-caliber centerfires from the .22 Hornet on up through the .220 Swift on big game up to 500+ pounds, which I sincerely doubt gunswizard ever has. They kill about as well as much larger cartridges as long as the bullet lands in the right place and penetrates/expands sufficiently. A bunch of bullets will do that.

My daughter used to use the 60 gr partition when she was 9 (Whitetails). It worked very well. I was surprised by the blood trail.

The reason I favor the .223 for deer hunting in our family is that the girls and young boys shoot it so much better than they do a more powerful caliber. No way it has the kill ability of a .30-06 or even a .243 Winchester, but if you are flinching mightily and scared of your rifle we all know what that leads to. My experience with .223 is limited to hogs, coyotes, various pests, and pit bulls, but I would have to say I've never had an animal run off and get away after being hit with my .223s. Some have gone a ways as in 200 to 300 yards for big pigs but I had that happen twice with a 155 grain Scenar out of a .30-06.

What would be first choice for deer, .223, 22-250, or 22-243 assuming 8 twist and 60 grain partition? I guess the 22-243 would be a why bother If you already had a 243?

I have a bunch of 62 grain Bearclaws. I’ve killed a bunch of pigs with them, also with the 62 grain TTSX. I have no doubt they would kill deer if hit in the heart-lung area. I loaded a bag of 64 grain power points I had. They killed pigs just fine too.


Granddaughter with first pig at 8, maybe 9 with 223 and a Jack Carter made Bear Claw.

My only gripe with the 223 and Deer is that I feel like the blood trails aren’t as good as you get with more traditional deer cartridges like a 30/06. I do think there is an obvious difference in the reaction of a deer shot by a 223 and a 30/06, all things being equal, yet, I’ve shot deer that have ran just as far with both rounds. I have also made less than perfect shots with the 30/06 that were still able to put our smaller Texas deer down rather quickly that I doubt a 223 would have been able to do.
As an open disclaimer, I have only killed maybe 7 or 8 deer with the 223 and only one gave me an easy to follow blood trail, of those that ran. Furthermore, all of my 223 deer have been with the same bullet, which I have never been able to recover. Exit holes have all been surprisingly similar, clean 40-50 caliber, give or take, on exit hole diameter. I also avoid shoulders as a general rule, but would advise extra caution to take lung shots with my 223 load combination.

Great picture, Hanco. Looks like a happy kid.

You shoot them in the ear, as far as you want. Grand daughter shot two caribou, with her .223, one at 120 yards, and one at 237 yards on the range finder. Each one went down in about twenty yards! She didn't hit the ear! 😉

Winchester/Olin factory loads with the 64 grain PP are dependable on deer. Shoot 'em through the lungs or through the shoulders, whichever POA you prefer.

I've successfully used these W/O factory loads in the 223, 223 WSSM, and 22-250 on whitetails in the 120 to 170 lbs. range at ranges out to around 200 yards.

Thank you, she is 17 now, still hunting.

What bullet is that? It sounds like a mono.