Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Best bullet for 16" AR used for 200yd deer

25 to 26 grains of H 322, and a 55 gr SP, Hornady, Speer or Sierra, gives fast velocity even in a short barrel....

The other two bullets I'd use with the same powder or with AR Comp, is a 63 grain SMP Sierra or a 70 gr SMP Speer....

Old School, but they sure hang a job on whatever they hit, even deer sized game....put em in the right spot, its normally DRT for me..
been working just like that for many many decades, for me and other hunters...

Seafire: your talking rib/lung shots for those 55gr (varmint) bullets, correct? Would you be comfortable with high shoulder shots or quartering shots? thanks

200 gr .358 bullet! Be Well, RZ.

Definitely not speaking for Seafire, and I've never used the Speer or Sierra so can't comment there, but I'd be comfortable with the 55 Hornady SP from pretty much any angle, and definitely ok with shoulder shots.

Tatelaw: Thanks for the report! Curious: any expereince with the 55 Hornadys on varmints, pdogs, 'yotes, etc?

I’ve killed about 70 pigs, a deer or two, lots of coyotes, and 2 cow elk with them. Shoot them in the front half and get out your knife.

OK, I'm not trying to pick a fight. And certainly not questioning anyone's experience. Just having a hard time reconciling what Hornady says on it website with your experience.

Hornady lists several 55gr 22 cal. bullets. Only one is touted as a big game bullet. Most are listed as "Varmint" and said to provide "Explosive expansion, even at low velocities" . Again, I'm not questioning you folks with experience. Just surprised that bullets designed for "explosive expansion" with no consideration of "controlled expansion" or penetration, could perform so well on shoulder or quartering shots on big game.

I just decided to try them after seeing the work that Scenarshooter and others on here had done with them in the Swift and 22-250. I shoot them out of a 223 or 222 Mag. I don’t care what I have handy I’ll try it on a pig if presented with the opportunity. A couple dozen one shot kills in a row on pigs gave me the confidence to use them for other stuff.

All that said if I had to chose one bullet for big stuff in the 223 it would be the 77TMK.

Not much in the way of varmint hunting here in North MS except for coyotes. I've taken one coyote with the Hornady SP from my Swift. It was a very dead dog. Also took the second largest whitetail buck of my career with that same bullet. Hornady makes a 55gr SX that is supposed to be very explosive. The SP is a tough little bullet.

If all the options I've tried, I'm still enjoying casting Lee 309-170 gas-checked bullets. These run 2150fps out of my 16" barrel Sig716 in 308 winchester, and leave a squeeky clean barrel. The only thing I'd like to hunt with this platform is a south Texas hog, or Javelina. Otherwise it's a dandy patrol rifle