.223Rem for white tail?

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BigDotGlock

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Might be a noobish question, I haven't hunted before. In NB you can hunt deer with a rifle "of any caliber", the only rifle I have that's NR is a .223 bolt action. Is 223Rem consitently capable of HUMANE kill shots on deer, if so, to what distances? I know I can shoot a good distance, I just don't want to wound some poor animal for nothing.

If .223 is a go, any preferred loads?

Thank you in advance.
 
It really depends, IMHO.

If you pretend you're a bow-hunter in terms of shot placement (wait for that clean broadside or quartering away shot, avoiding heavy bones and meat on the way to the vitals), keep your shots to sane-ish distances (say inside 200 yards for a rough ballpark), and use an appropriate bullet (Barnes TSX, Nosler Partition, Swift Scirocco, etc) -- you'll have a dead deer every time if you shoot straight.

That's kind of the point though -- with a more appropriately sized gun, you just put the crosshairs in the center of the chest from whatever angle you happen to be presented with and a big BOOM = a dead deer. You'll need to be a bit more careful than that with a 223 -- as a bad hit into a heavy piece of leg bone or the like, and you might be tracking that deer a LONG ways...
 
My friend's brother-in-law learned the hard way. He thought a 308Win would do too much meat damage so he ues his Mini 14 in .223Rem. This was in the pre ban days of large capacity mag. He pump 10 rounds into a deer and it still ran off. He followed the small blood trail and pump 5 more rounds before it died.

He admited afterwards that it was not a good decision to use a .223Rem. There is no guarantee that you will be presented with a perfect position for a one shot kill with a .223Rem.
 
can't use anything smaller then .240 here for big game here.

But I know some other provinces you can use 223 or any of the .22 caliber centerfires for deer.

check your provincial regs.

I would say go with a good heavy bullet, that has nice controled expansion.
 
If the deer are of the smaller variety, you'll be fine, if you use a good quality bullet. A guy in BC shot a good size mule doe with a 221 Fireball using a 45gr Barnes bullet. One shot did the trick. FS
 
if you can shot him right in the ribs with a good bullet it is no prob;lem i know one fellow that has taken many deer with a 222 rem .mostly one shot kills out to 150 yards just be picky about shot placment
 
BigDotGlock said:
I agree other calibers would be more suitable, I just don't have any of them right now.

I was just curious, might want to go on a hunt with a buddy in a few weeks. I guess I'll either borrow a co-worker's .308 or stay in the camp and be the designated drinker.

Thanks guys.
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That bubba'd Mosin of yours would likely do the job quite well if you threw that scope back on and sighted it in with some soft points...
 
TheCoachZed said:
Pretty sure that here in NB you must use a rifle .23 calibre or larger for deer, moose, and bear (or shotgun with buckshot or slugs). Check out the Fish/Hunt booklet. I know I've read it in there many times.
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Deer, moose and bear can be hunted with a centerfire rifle of any caliber, not saying it makes sense but that's what it says.

The only mention of .23 caliber anywhere is that you must hunt small game with a rifle under .23 caliber.
 
I wonder where the deer was hit 10 times with the mini-14.Never seen a deer take more than 1 round from a .222 or a .223? Bang flop or bang 20 yard dash and lipstand.Lung/heart/neck inside 150 yards DOA The old Hornady 55gr with the canalure holds up just fine in either also 3 bears with 3 shots from a .222 Canadian Inuit shot oodles of caribou ,walrus and seals even polar bears with the .222 and the lowly unrespected .22 Hornet .Jack O'Conner's mythical Indian guide was quoted as saying "any gun good gun if you shoot straight.....................Harold
 
If your regs in your area say it's fine ... I say go for it ... I shoot tuktu(caribou) with 223 and they're about the same size ... actually a tuktu may be a big bigger ... :D

Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA
 
BigDotGlock said:
Deer, moose and bear can be hunted with a centerfire rifle of any caliber, not saying it makes sense but that's what it says.

The only mention of .23 caliber anywhere is that you must hunt small game with a rifle under .23 caliber.
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Yeah, I just checked it, you are right. Stupid me.

I do know some guys around here are buying .22-250s because they can only afford one rifle to use all year round . . . and they are using them for whitetails. That is a wee bit more of a rifle than a .223, but guys in NB are indeed using smaller calibers on deer.

I do know that I would have no problems using a .223 on a bear over bait, but the shotgun with slugs just works that much better!:shotgun::shotgun:
 
I'd try to borrow a rifle with a more suitable cartridge / calibre. It will afford you more opportunity in my opinion, less chance of need to track wounded deer, and less time wasted searching out a "premium" bullet. The shelves generally carry varmint hollow points and fmj's in 223rem neither of which are suitable. Sounds like a hassle to me going hunting with a gun that has those limitations. Surely someone you know has a 243, 270, 30-30, 308, 30-06, 303 or something they can lend you.

Otokiak, how close do you generally get to the tuktu?
 
buoff said:
My friend's brother-in-law learned the hard way. He thought a 308Win would do too much meat damage so he ues his Mini 14 in .223Rem. This was in the pre ban days of large capacity mag. He pump 10 rounds into a deer and it still ran off. He followed the small blood trail and pump 5 more rounds before it died.

He admited afterwards that it was not a good decision to use a .223Rem. There is no guarantee that you will be presented with a perfect position for a one shot kill with a .223Rem.
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Your friend's brother in law is a moron and a poor shot...........
 
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