With all the 223 talk on this forum Im thinking about giving my 223 a run on deer this fall. What bullet/load do you guys like?

Thanks

I've killed with 64gr Power Points, 75gr Swifts and 62gr TSX. Haven't had a bad experience with any of them, the only one I've ever recovered in a deer was the PP and it was a RCH from making it all the way through. It weighed 57grs.

Have seen deer killed with 53 and 70gr TSX also.

The 62gr TSX is generally what I stick with and I do drill shoulders.

going to give the 45gr TSX a run next season. Should make a good deer bullet. HAPPY HUNTING

What powder do you use? How far have you killed der with this load/bullet?

H335 and a couple at 100 yards or so.

Do you feel 100 yards is about max?

Nope

Onside shoulder at 100yards with 62gr TSX (destroyed some serious bone) and exited. Thinking 101 yards wouldn't be pushing it, nor 200.

Dam! Can't wait to give em a try.

53 gr TSX over 25.5 H335 has worked very well for me.

BCR

Agree with Steelhead, shot a number of deer at 200 yds. and less..
Fave load in mine is 53 gr. TSX on top of 25 grains IMR 4895

Works on antelope too...

Had to do the old "hat trick" with that one...
Ingwe

I took a young buck last year with the .224" 62g TSX at about 135 yards ... drilled the shoulder like Steelhead did, and it looked the same.

I'm shooting it from a 1:9" twist barrel ... can't recall the charge weight, but I too am using H335, R-P brass and Fed205M primers ...

for factory loads, tough to beat the federal premium with the 55 gr TBBC, although I haven't used the TSX yet. Still trying to catch a bullet in a deer with that trophy bonded load.....

The Federal ammo with 60 gr partition should be a dandy

I've only shot one whitetail with a .223 NEF Handi-rifle I set up for smaller kids. I also used the 53 gr. TSX pushed by 25 gr. H4895. This little rifle has a 20" barrel with a 9" twist. The combo worked just fine. I'm itching to try some of the 62 gr. TSX's.

PC

My current fav .224 bullet is the 70 gr. Speer. With that said I agree with the bullets mentioned above. I cant recall the powder I use, but I can check when I get to the house.

Her's a pic of and entrance and exit rib shot.





Twas about a 150 yard shot on a 100 lbs. doe. Lugs and heart were trashed.

Joseph

Joseph

I was reading through the posts and about to mention the 55 grain TBBC. I haven't shot a deer with them, but have reviewed a few of my agency's shootings with that round out of a 20" M-16 barrel. It is impressive.

I also know of a Trooper who used that ammo to whack a few hogs while in Florida earlier this spring.

Heres one with the 55 gr. TBBC... They do almost Too much damage...

Ingwe

70gr Speer w/ enough RL15 for around 3000fps has worked for me. I wouldn't try busting near side shoulders with it though as you can with the premiums; ie TSX, partition, etc..

The last deer I shot with that load was hit just in front of the near shoulder and broke the far shoulder. The jacket still had a portion of the core intact but it couldn't quite make it out the far side. Found it just under the skin. He made it less then 20 yards with a huge blood trail.

Penetration with the speer has always been fine in my experience. Will still do a number on varmints as well.

I've heard lots of good things about the 70 gr. Speer. A friend used them for a number of years with good success. Others have said good things, my own experience with them is limited to 3 animals ( small sample...) but all 3 , lets just say, coulda gone better.... They needed following, and follow up shots, and all were hit well with the first shot...so I got away from the Speer.
But my experience with them certainly doesn't seem to match others...
Ingwe

I wouldn't say the speer is super tough by any means. It is just heavy for caliber I suppose compared to most cup and cores out there.

Did you not get enough penetration on your 3 animals? Were they lung shots?

Yeah, they were all lungers...one was a frontal shot, other two were broadside, nothing big or macho in the mix,bullets came apart...not something I expected....my buddy I mentioned was doing reclamation work for a mining company and part of it was to periodically shoot game for tissue samples, he shot 23 head with that bullet with nary a bobble...go figure...
Ingwe

Has anyone tried the 65 grain Sierra Game King?

There was the same kind of thread earlier and the Sierra GK 65 grainer was mentioned in a good light more than once...I personally haven't shot it, but know-and trust- a couple guys who have...
Ingwe

I've used the 63gn Sierra with good results on deer (fallow and reds) and pigs, and have just loaded up some of the 65gn Game Kings to try out. I sent an e-mail to Sierra and got a reply back (can't remember from who) that said that the 65 GK's should hold together better that the 63 grainers

Thanks guys. I have a very accurate 223 that loves them. Maybe I'll be able to use one to snipe a cochon de lait to take to my BBQ people in the town near camp.

I am sure hoping that the 64 grain Winchester PP works on Florida deer, since I have loaded up a bucket of them, and they are awfully accurate out of my Bushmaster.

The 64 grain PP is a decent deer bullet. I had a friend who used that bullet in a .223 WSSM (going a heck of a lot faster than a .223 Rem) with no complaints. But he also used the 55 gr BST factory load. The 64 gr Power Points usually exited.

I'm a big fan of the 63 Sierra. Was of the 53 TSX till last fall when I had one fail to open (please no big debates over this ok...).

I also like the 55 Horn, 60 Horn, 55 and 60 NSB's if you can find them as well. Plus the good old 55 R-P soft point works very well. My experience with the 64 P-P is fairly limited but from what I've seen I could easily just use it as well.

I have a lifetime supply of the 63's though so most likely will just use them for the rest of my days of taking game with a 223.

Dober

I have used the 60 gr. Hornady HP and SP for years in the 222, 223 and 22-250 with perfect results..I run them at 3000 FPS for perfect performance..All my kids have shot their deer with them until they got big enough for a bigger rifle.

Not much else to add to this thread except that a .223 can kill deer...grin...

I'll tell you what you can add to this. This is the first time I've seen the 223 discussed as a viable deer round without rancor. I started one of these threads in about 2002, just asking for suggestions, and it was like the whole world caved in on me. I ended up trying a couple of loadings and didn't like where I was heading and gave up-- I had a lot of .30-something deer rifles that seemed better at the time.

I'm just glad to see folks have opened up to the possibilities. This forum has come a long way.

Yeah, I remember not that long ago when the 243 Win was woefully inadequate for deer.

I rememeber as a kid, a close friend of my dad's used a 222 Rem as his primary deer rifle, and never had issues.

Good observation, maybe its just me, cause I always thought the small calibers should do the job....and along about 2002 ( + or- ) some premium bullets started showing up..TBBCs, Nosler Partitions, and soon...TSXs. For my money these made all the difference in the world...particularly in my own confidence of their performance. So I think I, like an obvious bunch of others, tried them....voila! The .223 became viable!
Ingwe

My fav 223 load for deer has been to load the 223 back into the safe and pull out my .250-3000 stoked with 100gr Barnes TSX's pushed with a max load of H414.

(But, I may have to try one of my .223's since I now have one with a fast-twist barrel that can handle longer bullets...)

If you try it, you'll find, at least with the TSX that longer bullets aren't necessary...Ive been shooting the 53 gr. bullet and have only recovered one so far....
Though I gotta say the 62 grainer has been singing a siren's song...
Ingwe

So far I've found 3 of the 53 TSX's, one in a lope one in a whitey and one in a carp deer.

2 of the 3 looked model perfect.

One the carp deer my better half shot it at about 140 yds quartering to us. Said volunteer went down at the shot and did the chicken. We found the bullet perfectly expanded right back at the root of the tail.

Dober

Carp Deer?...you know I love me some of dem stinky big-eared deer...
The one I recovered was from a real hooter Shari shot. She made a perfect shot, but the buck decided he wanted to top over a knife-edged ridge before he cashed in, so I stuck him through both shoulders, which changed his plans...that boolit was picture perfect...
Ingwe

it's almost funny to think that putting a decent bullet where it goes, works... (grin)

I have used the 70 gr. Speer, Hornady 55gr. and both 60 gr. bullets HP and SP and I once foolishly used a 52 gr. Sierra matchking. I will out loud say this bullet is unsuitable for deer. It shot really well though. Having a double lifetime supply of Hornady 60 gr. HP's with cannelure I may never get to try any of the newer bullets but I would like to put a 60 gr. Nosler Partition to the test.

My son will hunt in a couple years. He will carry the .223, and I'm working up a load for him. I've never loaded in .223 before. What do you guys think of this?

Hornady 55gr sp
Hogdon H414 at 28.5 grains

Another fan of the 70 grain Speer SMP...

My load is 28 grains of H 380...2900 fps out of a 22 inch barreled rifle..

5 or 6 deer, DRT at the shot.. distances from 60 yds to 250...

a .22 will kill a deer,but why take the chance.Stay above 243 for deer .Use the 223 on yote's and such.

Gee...seems like I've heard this someplace before....
Ingwe

Hey Mike,

Are using ADI powder in your 223 loads? What twist is your barrel?

I have been really struggling to get decent accuracy out of my Rem LVSF (1 in 12 twist) with either the 53gr TSX or the 60gr partition. Expected as much with the partition as the twist is on the slow side but don't know what the deal is with the TSX - have tried both AR2206H and AR2208 with little success. Keen to try the heavier Sierra's that you're using.

The rifle is a bug-holer with 52gr BTHP, 55gr Vmax etc.

Cheers.

Yes, ADI 2206 - can't remember the load off the top of my head. Rifle is a Tikka T3 - 1 in 8 twist. The box that the Sierra 64 grainers came in said that 1 in 8 was necessary to stabilise them. You might be out of luck with a 1 in 12.

Try changing the seating depth with the TSX's - some people like them right on the lands.

Aaah, that makes sense. I will definitely be getting a faster twist when I rebarrel. Good excuse to shoot more I guess

Geeman, +1 on this, but if you are messing with seating depth, try it in BOTH directions...had some odd non-conventional results with TSXs in some guns, but never found one that wouldn't shoot them well...
Ingwe

Thanks for that - I will definitely experiment with seating depth. My rifle likes v-maxes and BT's seated way out but could be the opposite for the TSX.

Have even considered trying the 45gr TSX which I only recently found out about - I know it's very light but figure if a 55gr soft point works then a 45gr TSX should too given the penetration and weight retention..

The 45 grainer will work...Im getting routinely complete penetration with the 53 grainer, so 45 will work. In fact a shooting buddy used one on a deer last year in his .222
"One" is the operative word there...
Ingwe

I think I will be picking up some of the 45grain TSX's to experiment with.

I know Steelhead and others have used the Win 64 gr Powerpoint to good effect on deer. None of the gunshops around here have those in stock but they do have the Federal 64 gr Hi-shok - anyone used this on medium game or is it too fragile?

I have not yet heard of the Federal 64 Grainer...and I thought I kept up with these things...gonna have to go do my homework!
Ingwe

Some of us just require bigger holes than others!

Ingwe, I have to admit I'd never heard of them either. It is in Federal's blue box budget/standard line (which I've had good results with in all calibres that I've tried).
Guess I'll pick some up and give them a try. I will be sure to post results when available.

Well, as I'm sure MikeNZ can confirm, down our way the .222 was one of the default deer rifles (along with the sporterised Lee Enfield .303) for decades so no reason the .223 won't work - just takes a bit of care.

...which is not to say that I have anything against bigger holes in animals either.

We have tried many bullets in 223 for caribou. I worked on the .223 for a few years as my wife used this caliber when we lived in the Baffin. In a fast twist RWS makes a 74 grain Cone Point that's brilliant. Very nice blend of expansion and penetration and it works well at longer ranges too. This was my my favourite game bullet in 223.

In a slower twist barrels we find the 60 grain Nosler partition makes wider wound channels than the Barnes X Bullets. It penetrates a bit less but still normally exits on side shots of 300-350 pound caribou. The 64 grain Win PP is very good as well, and cheaper. It's a good 1 bullet choice if you can get them to shoot well in your rifle. I used the 53 X on a few caribou and found the wound channels a bit narrow for my liking. They did however out penetrate all other bullets even the 74 RWS!

We started our adventure in .223 using the 60 Hornady, 63 Sierras and 70 Speers and they all work but are a bit too frangible at close range. The Hornady is likely the best of the three. Now that the 60 Nosler Partition is on the market these cup and cores are no longer what should be used IMO. 223 is marginal at the best of times and the best bullet available is what is needed.

As for killing power, up to 150 yards with good bullets the .223 is pretty good. When ranges get longer than this I found the wound channels and killing effect get marginal fast. When down to energy levels in the 22 Hornet range it's time to pass up the shot. For this reason my wife switched to a Rem 600 in 6mm and it's a lot more rifle for deer size game, especially at 200+ yards.

More on the .223. Last summer I went through several hundred pounds of wet newspaper testing from 22 Hornet to 358 Norma. One of the studies I did was .223 vs 30-30. I figured I'd compare these two as the 30-30 was considered by many to be a minimal standard for deer.

My 30-30 was a Stevens 325B and I used bullets from 125-170 grains. The .223 was my wife's micro medallion a rifle that had about 5 caribou to it's credit. My hypothesis was that these two calibers would be similar in their terminal performance

In the following picture the two center bullets are the 60 partition and 64 PP surrounded by various 30-30 bullets. The bullet with the lost core is actually from a 358 Norma.



Both the Nosler and Win PP penetrated nearly 10" and began expanding immediately on impact. After 3" of penetration the 30-30 bullets had caught up and wound channel width was similar. Past 3 ' the 30-30 left a considerably bigger hole. All told the wound volume in newsprint of the .223 was from 60-75% of the 30-30. The first half wound channel volume was similar. The second half closed to maybe half as much.

30-30 pnetartion was as low as 8" with the 125 grain Sierra Spitzer to 12" with the 170 Hornady. The 130 Speer FN penetrated the same depth as the .223.

I'll let you draw your own conclusions from this test. You could argue that 75% of good is good enough. You could also argue that we are at some sort of a threshold here. I think used carefully the .223 can be very effective. Your margin of error is small. Good bullets make it acceptable in the hands of a careful, and calm hunter.

If I was forced to use a 223 or 22-250 I would use the 62 grain TSX or partition. Lou

Tested the Federal 64 grainers the other day at the range - two 3 shot groups at 100m of about 1.2 inches - not quite what the norm is with the lighter projectiles but definitely 'minute of deer/chamois' Would have quite likely shot even better if I'd had warmer fingers and less coffee with my breakfast.

They will do until I get my reloading gear set up again to keep working on the 60grain partition and various TSX's.

Thanx for report on the Federal 64 grainers....
Ingwe

I chronographed moly 62TSX's out of my 21" 223AI yesterday. 3,350fps was not a problem with H335 and I'll be sure to stick something with them this fall. I've gotta give them a try....

Thats really excellent Velocity out of an AI with that weight boolit.....you'll love it.
Since the TSXs came out Ive been shooting the 53 grainer in the .223 and .22-250 for deer and antelope. Ive only used one other rifle to kill one deer since then..the .22s have been getting all the hunting time....
Dare you to recover a 62 grainer...
Ingwe

I have used 45 Gr. TSX on whitetails in Canada.
Used only neck and head shots though roughly within 120 yards.

I have a 1:9 that really likes the Federal Blue Box 64 grainers: �" groups at 100 yards.

My only on-game experience with 'em was last March on a < 100 lb. hog at 110-120 yards: a pass-through with an exit hole maybe 2� to 3x bullet diameter. She went down pretty quick. And so did the loins, hams, and sausage!

For deer hunting, I'd sooner grab my 7x57. But if I was holding the .223 and a nice buck presented himself inside 200 yards... yeah, I'd take a poke at him.

FC

I'm liking the 62gr TSX enough that I may have to build a sporter-weight 223AI to go with my varmint-weight version. I hunt a few spots where the longest shot will be 200-250yds and I'd not be afraid to run that little bullet on our whitetails.

I ran 75g Swifts this year in my sporter .223ai. Impressed with the damage it did on the buck I took. Ran about 40yds and expired.

Nice buck and a darn good looking rifle.

deleted

Think these semi-pointed 63s would do well in an old, slow-twist 788 .22-250, Mark? Seen some on sale, thought I might get a bunch for my son to zap coyotes and deer with for the next few years.

just out of curiosity, why is it that many people feel comfortable shooting hogs with 22's and not deer? They are general in the same size catagory and in my limited experience with hogs, they are constructed much heavier than any deer? shouldn't the argument be the other way around? Or is it that people don't care about hogs?
Just asking?

I'd bet that's it. Hogs = vermin in a lot of places.

I have no problem shoot deer with a 223.

ColdCase

I shot these in a old savage 340 and I believe the twist was 1 in 14". It would shoot these very well and I had one I recovered that looked like the one Steelhead shows of the 64 grain PP on a knife blade.