77 gr .223 big enough for deer in Manitoba?

i would pick, for SMALL deer at 50-75 yrds, a clean shot with a Win X223R2 (64 gr. Power-Point). My question is: why limit yourself? Buy a another gun. They have lots of nice Winchester levers that are affordable and real nice to keep in the family.

Oh ya, your original question: i shot a full gallon water jug, with a .223, 77gr bthp and it went through the jug, through sheet metal satelite dish and into the berm. it made a about a one inch square hole in the metal. So in conclusion, the round is very lethal on Bell Expressview dishes :D
 
Trotter said:
i would pick, for SMALL deer at 50-75 yrds, a clean shot with a Win X223R2 (64 gr. Power-Point). My question is: why limit yourself?
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Light recoil. I've got a back injury and sold all my 308s because of recoil. I'm going down to 243.
 
Just because a .223 match bullet can kill a deer does'nt mean that you should use it. Match bullet performance on game is unpredictable. Sometimes they drill right through without expanding,sometimes they expand,and sometimes they just blow up. Manufacturer's do have caveats about not using match bullets on game.

There are a gazillion excellent deer cartridges and bullets available. I've shot deer with all of a .25-06, .270,.280,7x57,.30-30,.308,30-06,.303,.348,and .50cal ML and they were all very effective. I own several .223s and like them a lot. But I confine them to shooting gophers and other varmint size animals.
 
jasonn said:
ive got a 30-06 but the XCR is almost always with me when im out.
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It would be foolish to take the 223 when you have a 30/06. The 223 may work on a 100 lb doe at 100 yards, but what happens when you encounter a 300+ lb. buck of a lifetime at 250 yards ? Would you pass him up? I'd hope so.

I'm not trying to start a flame war, but consider the above statement, for the animal's sake.
 
.224 caliber match bullets often fragment, but you would be very surprised to find how some of them mushroom in a very controlled fashion. I have personally tested Nosler 69 grain match boat tails and a variety of media and found that they mushroom 2x or so and penetrate surprisingly well. I had to shoot a black bear with this load and it was DOA with one shot. I also know for a fact that the Nosler 77 grain match are very, very effective rounds. Not only are they very aerodynamic, they also expand reliably in tissue. When handloaded at good velocity, these rounds will perform well on deer. If that doesn't tickle your fancy, load up the Winchester 64 grain power points and have at 'er. These bullets really hold together and will shoot through broadside deer leaving an impressive wound channel. The 60 grain Hornady soft point performs much the same. Don't listen to all the blah, blah 1000 lbs of energy stuff. Face it, anything with a half dollar size hole in its heart/lungs will drop. Hunt with your black rifle, it really messes with the Lieberals. In SK, I have to use my CZ858 because we aren't allowed to use a .223 here.
 
"...using a 77 grain match bullet for deer..." No match grade bullets for hunting anything but small game. They're not made for hunting. Little or no expansion with a match bullet.
"...usually designed for..." Other way around.
 
sunray said:
"...using a 77 grain match bullet for deer..." No match grade bullets for hunting anything but small game. They're not made for hunting. Little or no expansion with a match bullet.
"...usually designed for..." Other way around.
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Thank you for that.....BUT I'll defer to Saskcop's real life experience instead!!

I'll take an informed opinion any day of the week.
 
saskcop said:
Hunt with your black rifle, it really messes with the Lieberals. In SK, I have to use my CZ858 because we aren't allowed to use a .223 here.
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Get yourself a Robinson Arms XCR-L in either 6.8spc or 7.62X39 and you can hunt with a black rifle or an OD green rifle or a Dark Field Earth (tan) rifle... :D

I have a OD green XCR-L in 223 for plinking/predators and have now decided to add a 6.8spc conversion kit to it for hunting deer/bear etc and if Wolverine brings in the XCR pistol I want five 10 round 6.8 pistol mags when they are finally available... :cool:
 
Brutus said:
Thank you for that.....BUT I'll defer to Saskcop's real life experience instead!!

I'll take an informed opinion any day of the week.
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Thanks. Talk to anyone who has shot the tactical ammo issued to designated marksmen on two legged predators, etc. and they will tell you how effective it is. I just know from handloading these bullets and using them on game. They work.
 
All the regs say is that a CF round of 0.23 or less is not recommended.

But remember, there can be some pretty big deer in Manitoba.
 
This topic comes up how many times a year? .223 for Deer, x39 for moose, 22lr for yotes....If you are not confident enough that you have to ask, then dont use it for gods sake. The fact that you are asking shows you that you are not confident in your shooting abilities to hit the target and get a clean kill. Bigger is never bad, hell I could kill a deer with a rock at 5 yds, but it doesn't mean I should.

The simple answer is, for any game animal, when in doubt, go bigger.
 
A .223 could probably kill a deer, but when you have a chance at taking a once in a lifetime buck do you really want to depend on it?

I would say since you seem unsure of your ability to take down a deer with a .223 you should probably stick to a little bit larger caliber.

If the recoil of the larger caliber is a problem then stick with something just a little bit bigger like a .243, spend the time to find one that is weighted nicely and has a good recoil pad. Find a gun that really fits you well.
 
I don't imagine that the deer are any smaller in Manitoba, but in Alberta it is illegal to use .223 for hunting big game. It is deemed to be grossly underpowered for any big game hunting.
 
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