I know there are some bullets designed for target shooting that are accepted as a good choice for hunting.

Does the Nosler .223 77gr Custom Competition also meet that challenge?

A 77gr .223 should have excellent BC values and should certainly be accurate - but what will happen when it hits a deer?

There are too many proven bullets to go with one that isn't.

Have shot plenty of CC bullets at paper and steel, but not at game. Don't know anybody who's tried 'em on game either.

Apparently Nosler got into the target-bullet market after many other supposed target bullets had already been proved to be useful hunting bullets, whether Berger VLDs or Lapua Scenars.

All bullets were unproven at some point.

The deer will die.

From Snipers Hide Forum:

While not deer, the 69 grain .224 does an explosive job on ground hogs under 100 yards and the 77cc plowed through about 12" of coyote including both shoulder bones and exit was about 2", shot was 250ish yards. I'd do some milk jug testing a few times and see if its expands reliably. Back when they were using J4 jackets (same as berger's hunting line at the time) I'd say go for it. But it’s my understanding they make their own jackets now...

As an aside, 10-15 years ago had some 77 SMK's, not tipped.. Shot a couple of jack rabbits and they showed no sign of being hit. Finally would sprint off a ways and die, absolutely NO expansion..

I saw some gel tests when they first came out and the results were pretty much same/same as 77 SMKs

I tried them on a couple of coyotes. No expansion. They may be better on deer but I’d use something else.

We have a good number of feral hog hunters here. AR platforms are the overwhelming choice. A large percentage use Hornady 75 gr BTHP match in the 223 and the results are outstanding…even on the big boars.

Not sure I would trust them to expand.

Hornady ELDM bullets are the cat's meow though.

This is BS from the “Sniper Forum”. I’ve shot groundhogs with the 69s out of a fast-twist 220 Swift (about 200 fps faster than you can push them out of a .223), and they do not explode. In fact, they are not a humane killer for groundhogs, only marginally better than FMJs. We could connect reliably to 550 yards, but the bullets weren’t anchoring the groundhogs.

For deer? I've been looking for a bit heavier bullet like the 75-77gr for my valkyrie, seems everything heavier is match grade and I don't know much about them. I always thought they were for target shooting.

Quite a few "match" bullets work very well on deer and other big game, despite being designed "for" target shooting.

Of course, quite a few bullets designed "for" deer and other big game haven't worked very well for their intended purpose....