picking a 223 bullet for Deer

Assuming we're being serious, I just checked Hornady's web page, as pretty sure Hornady knows a lot about ammunition. I found https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/rifle/223-rem-55-gr-gmx-superformance#!/ which claims that the 55gr GMX is good for game up to 300 lb (yes). At 100 yards it is traveling at 2875 ft/s and has 1007 ft-lb of energy. While I personally use 300 Savage or 303 British for deer/bear hunting, Hornady does make deer hunting ammo for the 223 Remington.

So for reloading, Hornady has two listed https://www.hornady.com/bullets/rifle/#!/ (I selected .224 dia then application "Medium Game") 70gr and 55gr GMX

YMMV.
 
I have shot mulies with crappy varmint bullets.

It was a wee shock to me how much I actually recovered.

Like, 40 grains from a 50 grain bullet, from the opposite side that I shot from,

Based on my experiences, I gotta say that most folks, have no idea what they are slinging.

At least, as far as actual capability goes.
 
Winchester super x Power point 64gr is pretty commonly available, affordable and seems to have a decent reputation, they are also available as component bullets for reloading. They are designed as a deer bullet, I'd save the varmint ammo for varmints or targets and buy a box of 64gr power points or similar if I had to use a 223 for deer.
 
As someone who has used a .223 on whitetails neither of those bullets would be my choice. Speer's Golddot offerings are a personal favorite and have weights that should stabilize in most twists, although if the Partition will shoot for you I like it just as well. There is a plethora of capable deer bullets and even factory loads for the .223 these days, I know options are slightly more limited this year than in years previous but I can see little reason to reach for the VMax or varmaggedon.
 
trevj said:
I have shot mulies with crappy varmint bullets.

It was a wee shock to me how much I actually recovered.

Like, 40 grains from a 50 grain bullet, from the opposite side that I shot from,

Based on my experiences, I gotta say that most folks, have no idea what they are slinging.

At least, as far as actual capability goes.
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I would agree with you.
Capabilities of 22cal centrefire rounds are very underestimated.
Yes you need to be accurate with placement.
If your off a bit the effects are amplified over a larger 30cal.

But bow hunting I believe has the biggest risk for a bad shot.

Anyway seen a few deer taken with a 22-250 that I loaded with some 60g partitions.
The old farmer said he can’t believe he had been packing a 303 all these years.
He thinks it’s the best deer round he’s ever used.
 
Hey; if a 30-30 is fine... and anything in 7.62 x39 will suffice... so would a Poodle Shooter at that 200-300 yd max range ( heavy bullets though)
22 Hi power is enough historically.
The 40 gr bullet seems a touch light... for the most part; wasn't this caliber designed to incapacitate enemy soldiers? Not to render them DRT... but incapacitate them?
Step it up to some premium ammo fer christ's sake...all I would opine
Gonna get flamed on this by a bunch of Fanboys...but before dropping the hammer on the Flamethrower...re-read the first two lines of this post
 
regulate34 said:
I would agree with you.
Capabilities of 22cal centrefire rounds are very underestimated.
Yes you need to be accurate with placement.
If your off a bit the effects are amplified over a larger 30cal.

But bow hunting I believe has the biggest risk for a bad shot.

Anyway seen a few deer taken with a 22-250 that I loaded with some 60g partitions.
The old farmer said he can’t believe he had been packing a 303 all these years.
He thinks it’s the best deer round he’s ever used.
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I hear 22-250 is very popular in the north among natives.
 
I've taken deer with both the .223 and the 22-250. Use a good bullet designed for deer sized game (and every major manufacturer offers at least a couple of loads in .223 and 22-250 designed for deer sized game) place your shot well and it will work fine.
 
Gatehouse said:
Every deer or black bear I've shot or seen shot with a .22 Centerfire and premium bullets have died as fast as shooting them with a 270.
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It would be an interesting statistic to see - although I have trouble believing people would be truthful in a self-reported study - what cartridges have the highest wound loss. On the one hand, a 300win mag aught to kill better than a 223, but on the other hand most of us have met a guy who deer hunts with a 300mag that can't shoot for ####...
 
223 is classified as a varmint caliber and its illegal to use on big game in many places, so can it kill larger animal ? sure it can ! but so can a 22lr, heck you could kill a deer with a pellet gun given the proper shot !

There is a video of a guy using a 50 caliber rifle and he killed the deer with it but upon examination of the deer he actually completely missed the deer and the concussion from the bullet missing it was enough to kill it !

So sure a 223 can kill deer given favorable conditions but that still doesn't make it a good choice, especially with so many many many other better options. BUT if you are going to use a 223 at least use something that is designed to penetrate vitals and expand because using a varmint caliber while shooting a bullet designed for varmints is just dumb ! sorry but it really is
 
AlbertaJohn said:
How many deer have you .223 users wounded and lost?
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So, interesting thing… I started my kids (still all they use actually) out with a Ruger compact 223, as well as my ex’s daughter.
The first year we had a pretty good set up for kids, solid rest, exactly 101 yards. The kids took 3 whitetails there, and my ex shot her first whitetail there.

Same presentation (EXACTLY the same) quartering in, 101 yards. 3 kids, 55gr gmx, smash front shoulder onside, rake back through heart and lungs. We had 2 exits just behind the last rib, and one caught under the hide just behind the last rib, lung soup and hearts with all the plumbing torn off the top. 2 out of 3 went straight down, one half flopped 12 yards.

Ex had the exact same presentation, except a 7/08 and 139 sst. Pretty solid deer medicine in ANY regard. Deer made in 50 yards, smashed onside shoulder, lung soup, no arteries, bullet hung up in the diaphragm. About 10” less penetration, internal damage indistinguishable from the other 3.

I’ve seen a LOT of deer and black bears killed with a 223/223AI over the last 15 years and at some point enough penetration and internal damage has to be enough to be recognized as perfectly adequate to kill an animal.

Picking the right bullet matters far more than what headstamp is stamped on the case that drives it.
I also realize a lot of guys also don’t understand that, and choose horsepower and displacement thinking it will overcome poor shot placement or make up for a lack of knowledge of what to expect when a bullet meets a body… So if it makes you happy shooting whitetails with a 300wm and some Winchester white box 180’s then you do you, but it won’t make a deer any more dead than a 223 with a 62 TTSX.
 
Ravage said:
There is a video of a guy using a 50 caliber rifle and he killed the deer with it but upon examination of the deer he actually completely missed the deer and the concussion from the bullet missing it was enough to kill it !
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Makes me laugh every time I read or hear about that video. You do realize that you can search up at least a half dozen videos that slow that down and show that the doe was shot through the eye socket and it is just the angle of the video that makes it look like the bullet trace goes past the deer instead of through the deer, right?

Don’t believe everything you see on YouTube…..
 
AlbertaJohn said:
How many deer have you .223 users wounded and lost?
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Of the five that either I shot, or I was witness to, the farthest one went was six steps.

On the other hand, I knew a guy that fully bought in to the horsepower races, shot a moose in the arse with his brand new 7STW, and was astonished that it actually buggered off into the swamp. Never recovered.

Lol, at the fifty caliber 'concussion' hooey. If you buy that crapola, I have a couple bridges and some Florida Waterfront for sale, cheap!
 
KodiakHntr said:
Makes me laugh every time I read or hear about that video. You do realize that you can search up at least a half dozen videos that slow that down and show that the doe was shot through the eye socket and it is just the angle of the video that makes it look like the bullet trace goes past the deer instead of through the deer, right?

Don’t believe everything you see on YouTube…..
Click to expand...

https://youtu.be/6P3uwl5HzzQ

So a 700gr bullet hit the deer in the eye had no exit wound and did no damage to the skull how does that work ? If the bullet entered the head it would have an exit wound and from a 50 cal pretty hard to miss that size of exit sound. A 700gr round to the head would open that head up one would think but if your sure at it was an eye shot with no exit then, cool shot anyways a one in a trillion shot
 
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It’s true. And further more, a friend and I had the same argument, him claiming true. We happened the have a few 50’s kicking around, so we set up a few paper sheet houses like you would with a deck of playing cards and shot for zero through them. Not one blew over, blew up or shredded paper. Bullets are harmless if they miss you.
 
AlbertaJohn said:
Dang here I thought Ontario was .270 country. lol
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6.5 x 55 gets me covered for Ground Hog and Deer... or Moose and black bear if loaded properly; but I don't hunt anything any bigger than ground-hogs anymor. Worked great on deer backin the day.
 
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