If you have any respect for the game animal you will not attempt to take a .223 deer hunting. "EXPERTS" shouldn't be that undergunned! Hope for the best but prepare for the unexpected....use enough gun.
is a .223 enough for a deer?
- Thread starter Kyler
- Start date
- Location
- British Canuckistan
realistically, because there seems to be a significantly higher chance something will go wrong or not right, using a .223 becomes something that's not ethical for a hunter and being the animal would get wounded and then have to be tracked, meanwhile it's suffering.
from everything the CORE manual goes out to teach you, that seems to break all the common sense there.
from everything the CORE manual goes out to teach you, that seems to break all the common sense there.
I would think in the neck at 100 yards will slow him down.You still have 9 shots to the head left you can take if he moves
WTF newbie
! Go stroke your AIRSOFT. Adults talking here.
The .223 is capable within it's limits (as is any calibre), but not recommended.
Err on the side of caution on this one. The .223 will probably put down a deer given a perfectly placed shot and a premium heavy bullet but why take the chance on wounding and losing a fine game animal. Even with more powerful calibers better suited to big game hunting animals are lost frequently. Take the advice here and use something heavier. The .223 is a varmint cartridge and wil never be a big game cartridge - end of story
LOL i actually understood that jibberish.
I took a .223 out hunting for one season and will not do it again. I managed to get a deer but it was very lucky. First shot went clean thru the midsection and out the other side. Luckily my follow up shot took out it's spine or I would have been tracking it. After that I went out and bought a 308.
Why bother with that punny round for deer? It's best as a varmint round and should be used for that.
Respect the game you hunt by using enough gun. You need to be able to cleanly kill your animal in less than "ideal" conditions that would be dictated if you were using a punny .22!
Quebec too stipulates .243 (6mm) minimum for big game.
Respect the game you hunt by using enough gun. You need to be able to cleanly kill your animal in less than "ideal" conditions that would be dictated if you were using a punny .22!
Quebec too stipulates .243 (6mm) minimum for big game.
londongunguy
Member
- Location
- Transplanted to Ottawa...
I would think in the neck at 100 yards will slow him down.You still have 9 shots to the head left you can take if he moves
"Far better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and prove it"
Thanks for removing all doubt.
The tikka would be about the best choice of a 223 if you wanted to go after big game with it, as Tikka's have an 8" twist, and will stabilize heavier bullets. I doubt you'll have any problems with it if you used a Partition or TSX. It wouldn't be my preference; I believe something like a 260 or 7mm08 would be more suitable for big game applications, but it should still get the job done if placed properly
Tundra Monkey
Member
- Location
- Prosperous Lake, NT
If you dont have alot of money you can pick up a used 30 cal fairly cheap these days, or even a single shot 12 guage for very cheap and loaded with slugs or buck will work great in close up.
As for the bear comment, bears can be very tough, IMO alot tougher then deer. I use a 30.06 220grain for bear, it can be done with a smaller cal but for some reason if it doesn't drop where it stands the fat and hair will soak up alot of blood and if you don't have a good sized hole it'll be very difficult to track.
As for the bear comment, bears can be very tough, IMO alot tougher then deer. I use a 30.06 220grain for bear, it can be done with a smaller cal but for some reason if it doesn't drop where it stands the fat and hair will soak up alot of blood and if you don't have a good sized hole it'll be very difficult to track.
First off can you shoot? Do you have the discipline to pass up less than ideal shots?Do you have a working knowledge of game anatomy?Is you answered yes to all of the above and it's legal where you are your good to go.The naysayers likely never seen or shot one head of game with a .223 just heard about a guy who seen a guy ETC..........I handloaded a .222 with 55gr Hornadys for my dad in Ont. and he ran up a string of 12 one shot kills on WT deer and three bear!Deer don't make it more than 50 yards with no lungs usually 3 body lengths!The Inuit used the .22 Hornet for years on everything from walrus to polar bear..............Harold
Sometimes sport involves doing something in a difficult - maybe even dangerous way - bowhunting, muzzleloader hunting and handgun hunting or dangerous game combinations of these sports.
Just the thought of wild boar hunting with a less than perfect weapon excites a fellow. We may want to prove our virility to ourselves or others - the HOOOOOEY!!! - DIDJA SEE THAT? feeling of having survived, but just barely, is a rush of redneck ecstasy. The time that we "(!!!!!! fill in the blank !!!!!!!!!,)" will have a special place in our memory long after the time that we cautiously and wisely used our common sense and put the gas can and lighter back in the garage when there was a skunk in the culvert out front.
Wounding an animal is part of killing it - poisoning gophers is far nastier than shooting with a .22 - I would think. Maybe wounding an animal that takes an hour to die is better than any natural death of the animal.
One shot from a .22 250 does damage less meat than a 30 06 but the exit hole is much smaller (they do penetrate very well) and leaves less blood trail - the blood stays in the cavity in a heart/lung shot. A well placed shot from either and the animal is dead.
Complaining that the .243 just doesn't have the weight to "buck the brush" is an excuse for missing. We should learn to shoot/turn down the shot, or use that excuse (in a whiny, yet authorative tone.)
Go ahead and use the .223 - but learn to use it well - because if you succeed, you will have honour among guys with their magnums, but if you fail, you and your pea shooter will be ridiculed.
Just the thought of wild boar hunting with a less than perfect weapon excites a fellow. We may want to prove our virility to ourselves or others - the HOOOOOEY!!! - DIDJA SEE THAT? feeling of having survived, but just barely, is a rush of redneck ecstasy. The time that we "(!!!!!! fill in the blank !!!!!!!!!,)" will have a special place in our memory long after the time that we cautiously and wisely used our common sense and put the gas can and lighter back in the garage when there was a skunk in the culvert out front.
Wounding an animal is part of killing it - poisoning gophers is far nastier than shooting with a .22 - I would think. Maybe wounding an animal that takes an hour to die is better than any natural death of the animal.
One shot from a .22 250 does damage less meat than a 30 06 but the exit hole is much smaller (they do penetrate very well) and leaves less blood trail - the blood stays in the cavity in a heart/lung shot. A well placed shot from either and the animal is dead.
Complaining that the .243 just doesn't have the weight to "buck the brush" is an excuse for missing. We should learn to shoot/turn down the shot, or use that excuse (in a whiny, yet authorative tone.)
Go ahead and use the .223 - but learn to use it well - because if you succeed, you will have honour among guys with their magnums, but if you fail, you and your pea shooter will be ridiculed.
I just picked up the DVD for I Am Legend. At the beginning Will Smith is attemting to huint deer from a moving vehicle using an M4 carbine. I had to laugh since 5.56mm/.223 is not an ideal calibre for that hunting application.
- Location
- Lakes District BC
so you dont have a problem with letting an animal suffer for a hour? I guess we have just defined a hunter from some idiot with a gun and a licence!
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Pudelpointer
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Lethbridge, Alberta
Had an older fellow in the store ready to buy a 17hmr, starting to write up the receipt when he asks; "I can use that for shooting a deer, right?".
I explained that in AB 6mm was the minimum. "But I live in BC!". I say it is a rimfire, so no. Well, then I get a 15 minute lecture about how when he used to live in AB he shot "dozens" of big game animals with his 22-250, out to 800 yards no less! So I said that if that was true then he was irresponsible and breaking the law. So he left.
That is why we need regulations on minimum calibers; tools like that.
Sheesh....
I explained that in AB 6mm was the minimum. "But I live in BC!". I say it is a rimfire, so no. Well, then I get a 15 minute lecture about how when he used to live in AB he shot "dozens" of big game animals with his 22-250, out to 800 yards no less! So I said that if that was true then he was irresponsible and breaking the law. So he left.
That is why we need regulations on minimum calibers; tools like that.
Sheesh....
