All Weather 223 Deer Rifle

The .223 for medium game naysayers days are numbered, just too much success out there to ignore with fast twist barrels and heavy modern bullets.
I was enlightened years ago by a buddy shooting 55gr Hornady SP's in 12" twist in both .223 and 22-250 flattening mule deer out to 200 yds.
 
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Sun_and_Steel_77 said:
The .223 for medium game naysayers days are numbered, just to much success out there to ignore with fast twist barrels and heavy modern bullets.
I was enlightened years ago by a buddy shooting 55gr Hornady SP's in 12" twist in both .223 and 22-250 flattening mule deer out to 200 yds.
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If I wasn't so set on monos, I'd be lookin no further.
 
The ridiculousness of grown men shooting big game with the smallest possible cartridge is almost as bad as long range shooting animals for pure distance gratification.
 
Buckmastr said:
The ridiculousness of grown men shooting big game with the smallest possible cartridge is almost as bad as long range shooting animals for pure distance gratification.
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I'm a "guilty as charged" .223 stunt shooter/hunter but 218 Bee and 22 Hornet is just a bridge too far! Who would ever even consider that?
 
Sun_and_Steel_77 said:
I'm a "guilty as charged" .223 stunt shooter/hunter but 218 Bee and 22 Hornet is just a bridge too far!
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Hahaha pretty much.

Funny how the "smallest possible cartridge" (as you said, it ain't) does MORE damage than "classic" deer cartridges like 30-30 and 257 Roberts.

Hmmmm....

I guess doing less damage is fine as long as its a big enough cartridge to make you feel more secure about your junk or something.
 
OR, maybe, just maybe, it’s about maximizing the efficiency of a particular bullet/cartridge combination versus minimizing the efficiency of a particular cartridge/bore size.

In what universe is 3 feet of penetration, moose humerus (or femur) breaking, lung crushing capability, NOT enough to successfully hunt a deer? Especially when wrapped up in a package that uses 25gr of powder, is pleasant to shoot for extended sessions from awkward field positions, doesn’t separate your retina’s from your eyeball, and will result in faster kills and short to non existent tracking jobs?

Seems like a pretty reasonable concept to me.
 
Buckmastr said:
The ridiculousness of grown men shooting big game with the smallest possible cartridge is almost as bad as long range shooting animals for pure distance gratification.
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100% agree on that! Not saying 223 or the like won’t work cause they did and still do, but ain’t my cup of tea! Same with the mon range/sniping on game animals, sure people do kill some and even recover some, but ain’t for me!
 
conor_90 said:
Funny, that's the blued gun that collected rust last time.

Poor machining and polishing really shows their flaws in wet weather.

It's good to know that stainless can rust, and 223's can't kill deer though
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Admittedly the bluing on the standard models seems meh. I dunno what Ruger coats the Ranch with but mine have held up fine from +35 to -40 and plenty of rain in between. Plenty Accurate and Kills whitetail just fine too. :stirthepot2:

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YMMV
 
Buckmastr said:
The ridiculousness of grown men shooting big game with the smallest possible cartridge is almost as bad as long range shooting animals for pure distance gratification.
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I would agree generally. I have done most of my hunting with 338 wm, 270 and 8x57 in that order. My retinas are still attached and everything

Haida Gwaii blacktails are the size of a German shepherd or small to middling domestic sheep though

I have seen interior mulies get rocked by 22-250 soft point ammo to be fair, but I would not choose it over a 200-225 grain 338 cup and core or 130 grain bonded 270 load.

Joel seems to have killed a lot of game with SMK, maybe he can share his spreadsheet
 
I've used my CZ 527 carbine in .223 last time on Haida Gwaii. It almost checks all the boxes but twist rate is 1:9 and it's not stainless.

I've used 60 grain Nosler Partition (handload) and kept the gun well oiled. No sign of picking up rust or damage to the stock.

At the end of the trip I took the action out of the stock for a thorough cleaning just to make sure it wouldn't develop any rust on the underside of action/barrel while sitting in the safe.
 
^ Nice !

The 60 partition is almost "overkill" for the Sitkas there. IMO, a regular cup and core 50 grainer would do just fine. Furthest shot was maybe 70 m.

I chose to go with the 60s partition, just in case we would have to deal with a pesky black bear while field dressing...
 
I ordered the new at the time 223 nosler bsb 64 grain noslers but they never showed up (they may still be sitting on a shelf at corlanes knowing those guys). I ended up using federal fusion 62 grain in the 223

I wasn't aware that TMKs rival woodleigh 300 grain 338 round noses in terms of straight line penetration and bone smashing chaos or I would have gotten some of those :dancingbanana:
 
I've been fantasizing about a Tikka scout build with a skinner rail and wildcat stock.

Too many build ideas, not enough money...
 
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