.223 for deer?

A

Adam F85

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I have no experience hunting what so ever, just handgun and rimfire. Curious if .223 would be sufficient for deer or if I would need to step up to a larger calibre?
Any input is appreciated
 
In a nutshell no. You should go up to a 243 diameter bullet to get one that is properly constructed to penetrate and kill humanely. Most 223 caliber bullets are too thin and are meant to hunt varmintsw.
 
.223 is big enough to kill deer. The problem is that it has a very high possibility of not killing the deer. You don't want to leave an injured deer running away to suffer & die later. At close range it works but I recommend a .270 or 30-06 for better kill rate.
 
I don't own a .223, never have. I probably will one day, but I wouldn't hunt deer with it if I didn't have to. Personally, I wouldn't go less than a .243 unless I had to.

Use good bullets, I think they make more of a difference. I'm sure guys do it successfully but I like a little bit more insurance and it doesn't have to be overkill either.
 
Adam F85 said:
I have no experience hunting what so ever, just handgun and rimfire. Curious if .223 would be sufficient for deer or if I would need to step up to a larger calibre?
Any input is appreciated
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There are many better cartrdges out there, but a 223 or 22/250 will work on deer. You will need to handload and the bullets will have to be good ones. I've used 70gr Speers and am trying this summer 60gr Partitions. I'd think that one of the 22cal TSXs would work fine as well.

The trouble with most factory 22 centerfire ammo is that is is loaded with bullet designed to expand on varmints, not deer. A deer shot in the ribs with this ammo might very well suffer a slow painful death. I would never use it.

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Im a big fan of "use enough gun" I agree with the others the 223 is more a varmint gun, here in MB it is the smallest permitted caliber, but is not recommended.

Im going to buy a 243 for my wife to use, but if she misses or doesnt make a clean shot I will be right there with the 165gr SST's in the 30-06.
 
SuperCub said:
The trouble with most factory 22 centerfire ammo is that is is loaded with bullet designed to expand on varmints, not deer. A deer shot in the ribs with this ammo might very well suffer a slow painful death. I would never use it.

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Huh??? What about handloading or PSP's? I've taken my .223 and shot 1/4" thick mild steel gongs out to 300 meters. My PSP's pierced the metal with no problems, actually all have gone through. Last time I checked, deer didn't wear body armour or have metal ribs. A Hornady A-max OR a V-max or any other premium bullet (other than the varmint grenades or FMJ) will kill a deer with proper placement. A missed or improperly placed shot, regarless of caliber is still a mis-placed shot. Now that being said, I wouldn't do it. I have larger calibers that I use, BUT if I didn't have a choice, I'd use a .223 on deer if it was legal in my area (shotgun only around here) and that's all I had or could afford.

FLAME AWAY!

-Jason

PS- If you need pics of the plates let me know, I have them in the garage. R:d:
 
thebuckhunter said:
Huh??? I've taken my .223 and shot 1/4" thick mild steel gongs out to 300 meters. My JHP's pierced the metal with no problems, actually all have gone through. Last time I checked, deer didn't wear body armour. A Hornady A-max OR a V-max will kill a deer with proper placement. Now that being said, I wouldn't do it. I have larger calibers that I use, but if I didn't have a choice, I'd use a .223 on deer if it was legal.

FLAME AWAY!

-Jason

PS- If you need pics of the plates let me know, I have them in the garage. R:d:
Click to expand...

Follow these instructions on your keyboard:

CTRL + ALT + DEL.............. and then repeat.

Thanks. :)
 
thebuckhunter said:
Huh??? I've taken my .223 and shot 1/4" thick mild steel gongs out to 300 meters. My JHP's pierced the metal with no problems, actually all have gone through. Last time I checked, deer didn't wear body armour. A Hornady A-max OR a V-max will kill a deer with proper placement. Now that being said, I wouldn't do it. I have larger calibers that I use, but if I didn't have a choice, I'd use a .223 on deer if it was legal.

FLAME AWAY!

-Jason
Click to expand...
If you want to shoot deer with a 22cal varmint bullet, go ahead. For me there are far better game bullets than that and the game I hunt deserves it.

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