Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Its possible that a .223 works on deer better than 30-06?

+2

I used to believe the same thing.

I don't need a 4" hole to kill a deer, deer die easy.

Holy [bleep].......

If you can shoot, it don't matter whether it's a .223 or a .30-06 (own both, killed stuff with both, and a bunch of other rounds, too).

If you can't shoot, neither one is going to make the difference.

So, for deer hunting, why would anyone ever use anything other than the .223?

That's a great question......................variety is my guess.

just for the sake of throwing it out there, I brought my .223 into the field once this year ... shot a spike whitetail buck at about 135 yards ... drilled it directly in the shoulder with a 62g TSX ... that buck "ran" about 10 yards, if that ...

the compare/contrast starts when I mention that I have since shot three whitetail doe, all over 100lbs, with my .243 using the 85g TSX ... those shots ranged from about 65 yards to 185 yards ... The two doe I shot in the shoulders (and I do mean directly in the shoulders) both 'ran' further than the spike buck did ... about 20 yards each ... The third (at 185 yards) I shot in the neck about 4" behind where the spine and skull meet ... anyway, regarding the three shoulder-shot deer, does that mean the .223 is better than the .243 because it dropped the buck faster?

All I'm saying is, what I've been saying all along ... and is the same thing that others I consider "in the know from real experience" ... and that is, place the [bleep]' bullet where it goes, and watch the animal die ...

As to why or why not use nothing more than a .223 on deer ... who the hell knows? Not only can I say I don't care, but it also doesn't matter ...

last time I checked, dead is dead, regardless of the size of the exit wound ...

So why the 7mm-08? Was that a random selection or were there other factors that influenced your decision.

OCC ... To be perfectly honest, I have no other reason than that I found a good deal on an LVSF 7mm08 and really like the rifle package. And if I had a 223 set up in a sporter type package (rather than the clunky heavy setups that both of my 223s are), I would have no problem toting it around and shooting 200lb+ WT bucks with the same confidence as the 7mm08 ...

Because they can. Or, because they have to (state law mandate). Or, because they want to.

Pretty damned simple, really.

Why did I grab my .300wsm 90% of the time this past season? Hell, I don't know. I'm spending more and more time with my Little Sky in .260 right now. Wanna take bets on what I grab 90% of the time next year?

I've got a Little Sky in .223 on order. If I spent enough time behind it I'm sure I'd be as confident with it as I would with any of my other rifles. Drill the shoulders.....

Some of my relatives feel I'm "undergunned" when I use my .308. Old habits die hard.


George

Got a Kimber Montana .223 on order, and NC allows it. VA has a bill pending to re-authorize .22 centerfires for deer season.

Got 53 gr. TSXs, already moly'd up.

I'm not set up to moly, so mine will have to be run nekkid.

We'll have to see if we can link up this year and determine whether it makes a difference.

George

Could work on this end. And, we have deer down here.............

It's not that we don't have deer, it's just.....

Yeah, south is probably better .

George

Hey, what's the temp up there tonight anyway?

I would tend to head out with a couple hundred 223 rounds and the Bumblebee on any given day in Alaska and return with nothing but empties. Tis nothing to shoot a few hundred rounds at a time, day after day with the 223AI, more so than say the 300 Roy.

Another wonderful thing is being able to watch the entire show unfold through the scope, almost zero recoil affords that.

Below zero, but not as cold as other parts of the country. Just threw some more oak in the boiler outside. Let the mercury drop, it's just a few extra sticks of wood.

It's gonna be colder tomorrow and I'm going ice-fishing on the bay.

George

Practice breeds skill and confidence, negating the need for the upper extremes.

My initial thought was to get an identical platform in the .223 for practice, but it could easily become a go-to killing machine.

George

And it has, LOTS of bullets sent down that tube. I trust it, or more importantly, me with it more than any rifle I own. I'd not want to be a thing with me wondering around with the 'Bee.