.223 Remington hunting loads for whitetail
- Thread starter TK-Hryciuk
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IF it were me, I’d drive one right through his shoulders and not even think twice about it if he was broadside. If he was quartering away, I’d break his off side front leg. And if he was quartering in, I’d probably stick it in front edge of the close shoulder and pop his lungs.... of course, I don’t think killing deer is rocket science, and I have a basic grasp of deer anatomy....YMMV.
200 yards with a good bullet is well within the effective operating parameters of the .223. There hasn’t been a whitetail OR muley buck born and grown that will shake off a good bullet through the vitals.
Deer aren’t bulletproof, nor do they wear kevlar.
However, the OP asked about a pretty specific set of circumstances. 100 yards, 62 or 64 gr factory rounds (which are designed and marketed as DEER BULLETS), and whether anyone had used them. I have, 2 out of 3 of the options that were mentioned. I may pick up a box of the Remington specified, and have the kids shoot a deer or three down in the okanagan if time allows this weekend, in the interest of R&D.... The outcome will be exactly as predicted. Dead deer.
bearkilr
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That seems to be a common theme with the "is this enough gun" threads. Personally, I don't like to test minimalist cartridges on live animals. Last time I checked there's no award handed out.
Thanks Kodiak for your input and constructive advice. I will use the 62gr Remington I have picked up. You are completely correct in regards to deer not being bulletproof and I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough how effective these rounds will be on WT. Thanks!
Fortunately, Remington has done all the testing required to ensure that this ammo is an effective killer of deer.
bearkilr
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Where legal to do so.
I’m sorry but I have seen inexperienced hunters and poor hunters lose game that were shot with much bigger calibers. There is so much more to making an ethical and humane kill than caliber. I don’t care what anybody tries to say, shot placement trumps everything.
By using a marginal caliber, the chance of loosing one is greater, using enough gun is the sensible thing to do, a few persons i know, lost mooses even if i cautionned them that a 243 was pretty entry level tool to hunt moose... JP.
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the spank
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Maybe you could just call in an airstrike? Oh wait! I’ve watched many of those videos on youtube and seen alot of insurgents walk out of the smoke and dust cloud that looked like solid hits on the infrared imaging requiring follow up rounds. Ok scrap that idea as you are not allowed use of a drone and probably don’t have a thermal imaging device to track the deer with anyways?!
Comments like this are EXACTLY what I am referring to in one of my other posts in this thread about folks that are too tied in knots about the possibility of a deer getting away.
Yeah. What if? What if I was minding my own business in the forest and a helicopter carrying a Ferrari crash lands, while a Playboy bunny picnic is going on and...and..and...
Makes a swell game to play as a 12 year old I guess, but it pretty much just amounts to trying to find an excuse to do or not do something based on purest supposition.
So, how about this as a 'what if'?
What if a hunter knows his or her own capabilities, understands that there are always more deer, and it isn't a survival of the family equation if the deer walks away because a shot doesn't present? Hows about that?
Cheers
Trev
True. Currently 34 out of 50 states list the .223 as legal for deer. Of the remaining, several of those are shotgun only states. And some more have rules about only allowing cartridges over a certain age, or only pistol cartridges in rifles, or only straight walled cartridges. And some have lower minimums than 22 cf, like Maine, which lists the 22 Magnum Rimfire as the minimum for deer (according to a recent article by Craig Boddington at any rate - I don't care enough to look up that particular state's hunting regulations) So you can see that lots of places have different rules based on some differing set of criteria than lots of other jurisdictions.
But where legal, tens of thousands of hunters every year use 22 centerfires very effectively, while still other hunters can't use their new 338 Win Mag effectively to kill whitetail deer.....
I got sucked into this debate thread and tried looking online.....
The .223 Remington (5.56mm NATO)
By Chuck Hawks
".223 Remington
Illustration courtesy of Hornady Mfg. Co.
The .223 Remington has become our most popular varmint cartridge and one of the best selling of all rifle cartridges. It has been adopted for military use by nations all over the world. Military style .223 ammunition is widely distributed and inexpensive. Unfortunately, military style ball ammo seldom delivers the gilt-edged accuracy demanded by varmint hunters and it is dangerously ricochet prone. Reserve it for practice at the rifle range or other safe venues.
Some .223 Remington factory loads, however, are extremely accurate, much better than military style ball ammunition. One of these is the Remington factory load with the 55 grain Power-Lokt bullet. This is a hollow point spitzer bullet designed specifically for varmint shooting. It has been reported that this bullet will usually group into .5 to .75 inches at 100 yards from a .223 varmint rifle. Most handloaders would be hard pressed to load more accurate ammunition.
The same is true of the Hornady Varmint Express 55 grain V-Max load. This load shoots so well in my .223 rifles that I have largely stopped reloading .223 varmint hunting ammunition, except for high volume shooting.
Current factory loads drive a 55 grain bullet at 3,240 fps at the muzzle. Muzzle energy is 1,282 ft. lbs. The figures for the Remington 55 grain HP Power-Lokt bullet at 200 yards are 2,352 fps and 675 ft. lbs.
Factory trajectory tables show that a scope sighted .223 shooting the 55 grain spitzer bullet and zeroed at 200 yards hits 1.5" high at 100 yards, 1.5" high at 150 yards, 0 at 200 yards, 3" low at 250 yards, and 7.9" low at 300 yards. The .223 is a 235+ yard varmint cartridge.
Most serious varmint hunters with .223 varmint rifles will handload the cartridge for maximum accuracy and performance. The most common bullet weights run from 40 to 60 grains, with the 50-55 grain bullets being the most popular for varmint hunting. Widely recommended powders include H322, H335, BL-C2, W748, Benchmark and IMR 3031. Here are some specifications .223 reloaders should keep in mind: bullet diameter .224", maximum COL 2.26", maximum case length 1.76", MAP 52,000 cup.
The fifth edition of the Nosler Reloading Manual shows that 24.5 grains of Benchmark powder gave the Nosler 50 grain Ballistic Tip bullet a MV of 3285 fps, and 26.5 grains of the same powder drove that bullet to a MV of 3540 fps.
23.0 grains of H335 powder behind the 55 grain Nosler bullets produced a MV of 2920 fps, and 25.0 grains of H335, the most accurate powder tested with that bullet weight, gave a MV of 3140 fps. These Nosler loads were developed in Winchester cases using Remington 7-1/2 primers and were chronographed in a 24" rifle barrel.
In a Savage Model 12 Low Profile varmint rifle we reviewed on Guns and Shooting Online, the 60 grain Hornady SP bullet in front of 22.8 grains of IMR 3031 powder delivered top accuracy. This is a maximum load. The MV of this load is given as 3000 fps using Winchester cases and WSR primers.
Remember that the .223 Remington is a varmint cartridge. Despite its success as a military cartridge (where it produces "casualties," not necessarily quick kills), it is not a big game cartridge and should not be used for hunting deer and antelope. Shooting a 55 grain bullet, the bullet weight for which the cartridge was designed, its optimum game weight is only about 19 pounds at 200 yards."
Note: A full length article about the .223 Remington can be found on the Rifle Cartridges page.
The .223 Remington (5.56mm NATO)
By Chuck Hawks
".223 Remington
Illustration courtesy of Hornady Mfg. Co.
The .223 Remington has become our most popular varmint cartridge and one of the best selling of all rifle cartridges. It has been adopted for military use by nations all over the world. Military style .223 ammunition is widely distributed and inexpensive. Unfortunately, military style ball ammo seldom delivers the gilt-edged accuracy demanded by varmint hunters and it is dangerously ricochet prone. Reserve it for practice at the rifle range or other safe venues.
Some .223 Remington factory loads, however, are extremely accurate, much better than military style ball ammunition. One of these is the Remington factory load with the 55 grain Power-Lokt bullet. This is a hollow point spitzer bullet designed specifically for varmint shooting. It has been reported that this bullet will usually group into .5 to .75 inches at 100 yards from a .223 varmint rifle. Most handloaders would be hard pressed to load more accurate ammunition.
The same is true of the Hornady Varmint Express 55 grain V-Max load. This load shoots so well in my .223 rifles that I have largely stopped reloading .223 varmint hunting ammunition, except for high volume shooting.
Current factory loads drive a 55 grain bullet at 3,240 fps at the muzzle. Muzzle energy is 1,282 ft. lbs. The figures for the Remington 55 grain HP Power-Lokt bullet at 200 yards are 2,352 fps and 675 ft. lbs.
Factory trajectory tables show that a scope sighted .223 shooting the 55 grain spitzer bullet and zeroed at 200 yards hits 1.5" high at 100 yards, 1.5" high at 150 yards, 0 at 200 yards, 3" low at 250 yards, and 7.9" low at 300 yards. The .223 is a 235+ yard varmint cartridge.
Most serious varmint hunters with .223 varmint rifles will handload the cartridge for maximum accuracy and performance. The most common bullet weights run from 40 to 60 grains, with the 50-55 grain bullets being the most popular for varmint hunting. Widely recommended powders include H322, H335, BL-C2, W748, Benchmark and IMR 3031. Here are some specifications .223 reloaders should keep in mind: bullet diameter .224", maximum COL 2.26", maximum case length 1.76", MAP 52,000 cup.
The fifth edition of the Nosler Reloading Manual shows that 24.5 grains of Benchmark powder gave the Nosler 50 grain Ballistic Tip bullet a MV of 3285 fps, and 26.5 grains of the same powder drove that bullet to a MV of 3540 fps.
23.0 grains of H335 powder behind the 55 grain Nosler bullets produced a MV of 2920 fps, and 25.0 grains of H335, the most accurate powder tested with that bullet weight, gave a MV of 3140 fps. These Nosler loads were developed in Winchester cases using Remington 7-1/2 primers and were chronographed in a 24" rifle barrel.
In a Savage Model 12 Low Profile varmint rifle we reviewed on Guns and Shooting Online, the 60 grain Hornady SP bullet in front of 22.8 grains of IMR 3031 powder delivered top accuracy. This is a maximum load. The MV of this load is given as 3000 fps using Winchester cases and WSR primers.
Remember that the .223 Remington is a varmint cartridge. Despite its success as a military cartridge (where it produces "casualties," not necessarily quick kills), it is not a big game cartridge and should not be used for hunting deer and antelope. Shooting a 55 grain bullet, the bullet weight for which the cartridge was designed, its optimum game weight is only about 19 pounds at 200 yards."
Note: A full length article about the .223 Remington can be found on the Rifle Cartridges page.
sounds like some people are really talking bullet weight rather then caliber. i have a 1:8 twist barrel .223 and can shoot 90gn bullets. Same as a standard.243 load which everyone agrees is fine for deer. so is my .223 undergunned?
i think 62 corelokt's will be fine, as you said shot placement trumps caliber.
i think 62 corelokt's will be fine, as you said shot placement trumps caliber.
Nope, I'm a fella with better reading comprehension than you.
I understood exactly what he meant by shooting the offside leg. He meant it was an aiming point through the deer.
I was simply pointing out that your righteous indignation and accusations were ill thought out and made you look rather like a twot.
Cheers
Trev
Its a mixture of things. Bullet construction being the biggest factor IMO. The 243 does shoot a wider bullet faster, so it's not all about bullet weight either. Besides do they even make hunting bullets that heavy in. 224? Or are they all target bullets?
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