.223 for everything, the gunnutz version

Bare said:
It seems all the Sierra game kings in .223 are great. I ran the 55gr a good deal and it’s just a great bullet. Nothing fancy about it but it performs really well
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I've had extremely good accuracy with the 55 sbt in 22-250. I don't think ive shot anything alive with them though but im sure they'd work fine. I also had good luck with the 63gr sierra semi point but haven't seen them for sale in a bit.
 
Sierra really does seem to have quite a few viable options. I’d be interested to see how some of those game kings perform. They definitely should disrupt quite a bit better than the TSX. Although I would like to try the 50gr TTSX still.

I do always try and avoid raking and especially a$$ shots particularly with little rifles. But I was blown away by the penetration from that Barnes.

Thanks for the suggestions
 
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Ungrateful said:
The biggest advantage of “223 for everything” is being able to just buy ammo in cases for under a dollar a round and not needing to keep a dozen different calibers stocked on a shelf. It also means that if you keep up with ordering 1000 round cases online as needed you’ll never be out of ammo for any one of your guns. I know tons of guys who have to buy ammo at the range or stop at he store on the way to the range because they never seem to have ammo for the rifle they want to shoot that day. I know guys who have to stop at a store on their way up north on a hunting trip because they only had a couple rounds left over after their last hunting trip. These guys are usually only buying a box or 2 at a time and they will always want to tell you how much they just spent on the last box they bought. You can order a couple cases of cheap fmj for the range when it goes on sale and a case of sp hunting ammo and not have to worry about ammo for any of your guns again at all for a long time.

In the us “223 for everything” turns into “ar for everything” for many and it makes sense. With the price and availability of entry level ar’s, they are becoming very popular for hunting.

I live in SW Ontario and there isn’t much centrefire hunting down here. Certainly no big game. If you live below Sudbury, 223 for everything makes perfect sense. Anywhere else in the country, “308 for everything” has many of the same advantages.
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They have had the closest thing to a universal rifle in Europe for 100 + years, legal in South Western Ontario, 6.5 x 55; you can load 85-100 gr. for varmints or up to 158-160 gr. for pretty much everything big in North America.

Will .223 work? Theoretically, yes. But, just because something can be done, does not mean that it should be done. Just wait until you experience a nice buck shot with a high velocity light bullet in the spine, bellowing, flailing and dragging itself in the weeds (I have, I was able to get close enough to finish it with the 6.5 a head shot. The guy who shot it gave me schidt for f***ing up his Trophy.

I never hunted with that a-hole again.
 
leveractionjunkie said:
Sierra really does seem to have quite a few viable options. I’d be interested to see how some of those game kings perform. They definitely should disrupt quite a bit better than the TSX. Although I would like to try the 50gr TYSX still.

I do always try and avoid raking and especially a$$ shots particularly with little rifles. But I was blown away by the penetration from that Barnes.

Thanks for the suggestions
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Sierra has always been my go-to for everything from .223 up to 30 cal. I have always gotten more consistent results on both accuracy and terminal performance from Sierra bullets.
 
Meroh said:
They have had the closest thing to a universal rifle in Europe for 100 + years, legal in South Western Ontario, 6.5 x 55; you can load 85-100 gr. for varmints or up to 158-160 gr. for pretty much everything big in North America.

Will .223 work? Theoretically, yes. But, just because something can be done, does not mean that it should be done. Just wait until you experience a nice buck shot with a high velocity light bullet in the spine, bellowing, flailing and dragging itself in the weeds (I have, I was able to get close enough to finish it with the 6.5 a head shot. The guy who shot it gave me schidt for f***ing up his Trophy.

I never hunted with that a-hole again.
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Experienced something similar just yesterday but the buck was wounded with a .270Win. Monday I spent a few hours tracking a moose wounded with a .308 (we got it). In both cases I am sure a .223 in the vitals would have been decisive.

You like the 6.5x55. I love mine too, but they don’t posses magic that any other mid capacity 6.5 lacks. It’s no better at killing, nor significantly more versatile, than a 6.5CM, .260, 7mm-08 etc. I can’t think of any hunting mistake I have committed or been around that was headstamp related (except one incident on a warthog with a .22lr), problems have always been caused by poor placement.
 
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Meroh said:
They have had the closest thing to a universal rifle in Europe for 100 + years, legal in South Western Ontario, 6.5 x 55; you can load 85-100 gr. for varmints or up to 158-160 gr. for pretty much everything big in North America.

Will .223 work? Theoretically, yes. But, just because something can be done, does not mean that it should be done. Just wait until you experience a nice buck shot with a high velocity light bullet in the spine, bellowing, flailing and dragging itself in the weeds (I have, I was able to get close enough to finish it with the 6.5 a head shot. The guy who shot it gave me schidt for f***ing up his Trophy.

I never hunted with that a-hole again.
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That was the result of a bad shot not a bad cartridge choice.
I have seen the same thing happen with bigger cartridges.
Cat
 
Figured I would add my experience to this thread. Picked up a used tikka .223 1:8. Shooting 77 TMKs at 2800 fps. Shot this buck at 17 yds. First shot took out back lungs and liver. Trotted 20 yds and stopped. 2nd follow-up shot to back of neck put it down. 2nd shot not needed, but was easy to re acquire target in scope and was still on feet. Use the right bullet and these things can kill. Will put my kids on this gun when they can hunt in a couple years. They are already shooting it and gaining confidence.
 

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leveractionjunkie said:
lots of interesting information here and that Rokslide thread is a great wealth of information. I’m only about ten pages into that one so far though.

One question I have but I may have missed is what’s the most popular bullet for a medium twist 223?

I have a 1:9” Savage that I’ve used on many coyotes and one whitetail. That deer was over ten yrs ago though and I used a 55gr Barnes TSX. The bullet performance was both impressive and underwhelming at the same time. First shot lungs/boiler room, buck turned and was headed for private so I tried to put one base of neck but he did a whitetail flag as the bullet entered just right of his natural hole. That bullet was found under hide that the base of throat. Great performance but this discussion has me thinking of better ballistic coefficient bullets and more in animal disruption.

After that experience I had bought some 50grTTSX’s hoping for more rapid expansion but I’ve not loaded them or tried them. 75gr A-Max is borderline stable from what I remember but could possibly be an option. What is the consensus bullet for a 1:9”? I know there’s a lot of options, just curious what those using these on game have to say.
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Could try 62 gr Speer Gold Dots. I have no experience with them, however I have read that from those who have used them, they work well.
 
No pics, but saw the results on a big calf moose a couple weeks ago. Tikka T3, .223 73ELDM hand loads at 2,850fps. The moose was ~50 yds, quartering away, bullet smashed 2 ribs on the way in, shredded the liver and one lung and it fell over. I am a believer, and have a supply of 77 TMK’s to try next. I’ll be outfitting my kids with Tikkas as well.
 
CamV said:
Over on R0kslide there's an evidence based thread on using the .223 with a 77gr tmk or or a few others for everything in north America out to 400 yards.

The main points of the thread are:
Bullet placement kills.

Bullet construction matters a LOT.

Headstamps don't matter.

You've been lied to by bullet manufacturers and magazine writers.

Let's hear from you guys :)

Edit: I know a few of you are on there too, back me up please :)
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Equipment, shooters skill level, then. well..... No never..... big game . Who would take that chance and stand proud after? If it didn't? Those that can take those shots are not typical.... No cheers this time!
 
270WSMXBolt said:
Equipment, shooters skill level, then. well..... No never..... big game . Who would take that chance and stand proud after? If it didn't? Those that can take those shots are not typical.... No cheers this time!
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A lot of people are using a setup like this, and without dramas too.
Last week Saturday evening buddies twelve year old son tipped over another nice bull moose at 320 yards.
Double lung, walked 20 yards after being hit and flopped over.
He took the shot and told his dad "good hit" as he watched the impact through the scope
That's two for that family this year.
 
270WSMXBolt said:
Equipment, shooters skill level, then. well..... No never..... big game . Who would take that chance and stand proud after? If it didn't? Those that can take those shots are not typical.... No cheers this time!
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Lots of people also wound and don't recover animals every year with big cartridges as well as smaller ones.
Life goes on...........
Cat
 
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CamV said:
He took the shot and told his dad "good hit" as he watched the impact through the scope
That's two for that family this year.
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Seeing your impact and not losing your sight picture during recoil is an underrated benefit.


This bull took an 88, and there wasn’t any question of where the bullet landed at 311 yards as he trotted broadside. (Albeit this was a 22 Creed.)
“Nothing but lungs. Thats a dead bull.”
 

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leveractionjunkie said:
What is the consensus bullet for a 1:9”? I know there’s a lot of options, just curious what those using these on game have to say.
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todbartell said:
.224" 62gr Gameking BTSP too
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☝️ This is a great little bullet.

The 60gr Nosler Partition is a touch more violent, but the Gameking seems to fly a little better and gets the job done with controlled expansion and surprisingly good penetration.

It's been a very popular bullet for a long time 👍
 
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