Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting .223 for whitetail - yes or no?

Have been actively looking for the 75gr Gold Dots. Don’t believe there are any, anywhere.

62 grain gold dots seem to be gone as well.

It depends if you want components or ammo.

When the TBBC’s were discontinued I had a bunch of factory 223 ammo loaded with them. Needing those bullets for my 22-250 I pulled the bullets from the 223 factory ammo and replaced them with inexpensive 55gr Hornadys. Nothing was wasted, I still had 223 ammo (with Hornadys) and had TBBC’s for my 22-250. The same could be done with the Gold Dots if needed, just a suggestion.

For what it’s worth I’ve spoke to Speer and they assured me the component Gold Dots have not been discontinued, we’ll see I guess.

You bet Big B, that amount of penetration surprised the hell out of me, had to be near two feet, need to get the Adder mounted up on that little Ruger and go smack some dark thirty pigs! ; ]

Thanks LBP. Wanting components but can’t even find 75gr Gold Dots in loaded ammo.

I was at GT Distributor’s down in Austin about a month ago and they had tons of 75gr gold dot ammo in stock. Currently they’re sold out but keep an eye on them as they get new inventory regularly. Good luck with your search, it really is a great bullet.

77TMK at 200yds this evening. Late season doe I collected for some friends caught it center of the rib cage angling forward to exit the opposite shoulder. She staggered about 5 steps and folded up.
Typical lung soup produced by the TMK, no deer on earth could survive that I don’t care what state it’s from.

No eating that liver!!

Any idea of the mv, just curious.

Lung pudding generally will get it done. Nice…

I’m guessing somewhere in the neighborhood of 2650-2700. I haven’t chronoed it so I really don’t know but I’m shooting 25gr LVR out of an 18” barrel.

It definitely worked. I have some that I need to work up a load for in my 223’s. My 22-250 launches them at 3150, I wonder if at that velocity it would be too much of a good thing.

I have shot several whitetails with them at 3250fps at the muzzle with good results. I did see less exits up close, but it didn’t matter.

Good to know, thanks.

I'm just now starting to come over to the dark side and join the stunt shooters. I recently started a thread asking for load advice using the .223 and 62gr. TBBC bullets. While in Mississippi, I had my brother hunt with his Ruger American .223 using the ammo I loaded. I had committed to making my season a lever gun season, the reason he was testing the loading for me.

Having seen the results, I would not hesitate to use it for any deer. I ordered a thousand bullets tonight to go with what I've already bought. I'll also be testing loads for the 77gr. TMK bullets I've purchased and hope to use on deer next season. Below is a link to the thread and results on loading and hunting with the .223 load.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...8016221/loads-for-62gr-tbbc#Post18016221

Aboltfan, where did you find the 62grTTBCs?

Thanks.

Frank

Frank,

PM sent.

Yes. I have done it many times under 125 yards. 223 Rem 55 grain Sierra

its not the cartridge... it is the shooter and shot placement and picking the right bullet...

despite popular theory, deer are not armor plated... nor is much other game....

on an experiment, I shot a post card piece of 3/8 inch thick steel target at 200 yds,
my load was 12.5 grains of Blue Dot with a Hornady 55 grain SP bullet.. MV was about 2600 fps..

The bullet bore right thru the steel plate...

Same combination, but making a regular Military Spec 3150 fps MV with a common powder, when the same type of plate was shot at 100 yds, the bullet splattered on the plate...5 in a row... then used the 12.5 grains of Blue Dot and the same bullet, with a MV of 2600 fps, and shot at it at 100 yds..that bored thru the plate each time...

Well the military load would certainly kill the deer, and if that bullet moving slower will drill thru a steel plate, I'm sure it will drill thru a deer or antelope....I've not been there, but loaded the Blue Dot loads for kids ( scouts), and they've been hunting with grandpa and dad, and it took down blacktail deer just fine...