Is a .223 enough for deer???

[Otokiak]

My opinion was that the 70 gr TSX would need a 1:7 twist, has that been your observation?

It calls for a 1:7 or 1:8 twist on the box but I've tried a friends winchester model 70 HV bolt action(not sure what the twist is on this rifle) as I don't think my Sig Arms would shoot them well???(has 1:10 twist I believe) ... I do want to build me a 223 with a 1:7 or 1:8 twist soon(deciding on barrel, receiver, etc). I am new to reloading and a friend here is helping me with varget, cci primers, mixed brass and these TSX barnes bullets.

Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA

 

[dizzy]

They work great on pigs up to 600 lbs and max 300 yards, ok stretched one to 325 yards, dropped like a rock, most are 250 lbs, never had one walk more than 12 ft. Of course the 223 works on deer and works well, especially in the right hands. Do others work better? Not in the wrong hands

As for evil haze, I think you bit off more than you can chew with eagleye. May I suggest you have a shoot off for your house titles? I'll happily be the adjudicator.

223 is an underrated cartridge and if it were used for hunting more, it would be very well respected. We don't use it much in Canada so we just don't know what it's real world hunting potential is.

 

[Manitobahunter]

Wish I could have read something like this 35 yrs ago when I first started hunting. Would have thought twice about using my first deer rifle, as Savage model340 in .222, to fill the freezer with deer meat every year. I guess thats the great thing about being uninformed, if you don't know it's not good enough then it's good enough. No one told me then it wasn't enough gun for deer. But then that rifle was used all year. From clearing gopher, skunks, crows and magpies all summer to fox and coyotes all winter and deer in the fall.

 

[remington jim]

223 for deer

The Answer is NO
For any shooter.
It would be cruel to shoot at any deer with less than 120 grain bullet.
You can't guarantee a kill even with a perfectly placed shot. Deer are pretty tough buggers.

Edit. I remember a post a while back of a man finding somebody elses .243 bullet in his steak after he killed the deer with a proper caliber. Poor animal musta been walking around wounded for quite some time.

Are you saying that a deer shot through the lungs with a 223 etc 60-68 gr bullet will not die or near a fast as a deer shot through the lungs with a 243-257 120 gr bullet ? Please explain s

 

[mbogo3]

Wish I could have read something like this 35 yrs ago when I first started hunting. Would have thought twice about using my first deer rifle, as Savage model340 in .222, to fill the freezer with deer meat every year. I guess thats the great thing about being uninformed, if you don't know it's not good enough then it's good enough. No one told me then it wasn't enough gun for deer. But then that rifle was used all year. From clearing gopher, skunks, crows and magpies all summer to fox and coyotes all winter and deer in the fall.

That's the same gun I sent to my Dad in Ontario to hunt WT's and he dropped over a dozen with my handloads 55gr/24gr -Win 748 all one shot kills............Harold-------oh and 3 black bear!

 

[1899]

It calls for a 1:7 or 1:8 twist on the box but I've tried a friends winchester model 70 HV bolt action(not sure what the twist is on this rifle) as I don't think my Sig Arms would shoot them well???(has 1:10 twist I believe) ... I do want to build me a 223 with a 1:7 or 1:8 twist soon(deciding on barrel, receiver, etc). I am new to reloading and a friend here is helping me with varget, cci primers, mixed brass and these TSX barnes bullets.

Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA

The T3 has a 1:8 twist.

 

[pharaoh2]

That's the same gun I sent to my Dad in Ontario to hunt WT's and he dropped over a dozen with my handloads 55gr/24gr -Win 748 all one shot kills............Harold-------oh and 3 black bear!

Well that can't be, if the .223 isn't good enough the .222 obviously couldn't do it either.

 

[SuperCub]

Whew that's a relief, I thought I was starting to slip and wasn't keeping up with the times.

A Fudd would use a 22/250 whereas a Ninja would tend towards the 223 for those Desert Recon Spec-Ops Extreme deer hunting missions.

.

 

[Jay_519]

Depending on the distance of the shot, .223 is enough.

 

[SuperCub]

Depending on the distance of the shot, .223 is enough.

With the 223, proper bullets is the wild card, far more so than distance.


.

 

[RememberTheSomme]

223 is legal for Deer in NB and Maine for sure, any centerfire is. .22-250 is fairly popular for it here at home. Rocket Surgery is right, with the right loads, you can get by. its not ideal, and shot placement is a bit more critical, but it can be done.

.........it's not ideal, but it can be done. Yea,.....just like running the Daytona 500 in a stock Chevette. Those words always make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, when I have an oppurtunity to plan in advance to give myself the edge, oh and yes I read "The Most Dangerous Game", but will not limit myself to the Professional Hunters choice of firearm used in his island hunting perversions.

To the OP,.... you planning on deer hunting, get a deer class rifle. The .308 Winchester you can use as your benchmark. Adjust up or down carefully noting your benchmarks energy at 300yds, call this minimum for reliable penetration to the vitals of any deer and with enough oomph to cause rapid incapacitation.
Look at other calibers up and down the food chain from your bench mark choice(.308Win@300yds), noting this energy level at the range you will never shoot beyond and presto, you have your minimum.

Just for somewhere for you to start, you say you are new, launch Winchesters online ballistics calculator.
Select a .308 with 150gr Xp3 from the drop down menu
Select a .223Rem with 64gr PP from the menu.

Press shoot, and compare ballistic stats.

You will note the ,308 has 1649 ft-lbs of energy remaining at 300yds. This is your minimum.
You will note the .223 has 1249ft-lbs at the muzzle.

So unless you can get the deer closer than the muzzle touching his hide, it falls off your list.

So when you are more experienced with your scaphel, then you can start performing the feats of a surgeon. Until then, use a bigger stick.

Good luck with your choice, and shoot often.

 

[sobo4303]

You will note the ,308 has 1649 ft-lbs of energy remaining at 300yds. This is your minimum.
You will note the .223 has 1249ft-lbs at the muzzle.

So unless you can get the deer closer than the muzzle touching his hide, it falls off your list.

So when you are more experienced with your scalpel, then you can start performing the feats of a surgeon. Until then, use a bigger stick.

WOW!! Now this is a thought provoking post and says it all in a nutshell. No need to think about ever again. Save the .223 for the coyote and gopher. Use a 308...I got two!

 

[kman300]

Lol oh snap!

The unfit 100gr bullet from a 257 wby at 3650fps has 1750 ft-lbs at 300 yards. Now what?

 

[The Kurgan]

223 isn't even enough for the battlefield! Leave it for the critters and carry something bigger.

 

[homer76]

I may have a nice 223 up in the EE soon.

I'd be happy to take that Stevens 200 off your hands and take it deer hunting.

 

[Raton57]

Since 90% of hunters probbably can't shoot where I come from even a 300 mag would be to small.I have run into guys who thought a 308 was to small for deer.This was from them having shot a deer perfectly with one and it ran off with no blood trail what so ever.So they just got a bigger gun so when they hit the deer perfectly it would drop down dead in it's tracks.

 

[bobjoe]

A little of topic. I know a guy that killed a moose with a 10-22 many moons ago.

As for a .223 being good enough for deer. The 44 wcf has only about 700 ft pounds of energy. Much less that the 1300 for factory 223 ammo. So if the 44 wcf has been used out to 200 yards and beyond I see no reason why a 223 would not work. Shot placement is everything. If you can't put it in the right spot with a 223 then you wont do it with a larger cal. IMO.

 

[bobjoe]

Try this I'm sure it will work!

Not with FMJ. lol. Nice rifle.

 

[Boomer]

The minimalist approach to big game cartridges is something I've never understood. If a .22 Hornet is called for, grab your .243, if you think the 6.5 will work, use a .30/06, if you think you "need" a .375 get a .458. A big(er) rifle can often be used for the same duty as the small one, but a small rifle will never be capable of doing what the big gun can. Within limits, the solution to recoil is more range time combined with the mindset and determination to dominate your rifle. Most hunters recognize this and choose from the various .270, 7mm and .30 caliber cartridges that are available for use in their general purpose big game rifles.

 

[Jeromeo]

The Answer is NO
For any shooter.
It would be cruel to shoot at any deer with less than 120 grain bullet.
You can't guarantee a kill even with a perfectly placed shot. Deer are pretty tough buggers.

Edit. I remember a post a while back of a man finding somebody elses .243 bullet in his steak after he killed the deer with a proper caliber. Poor animal musta been walking around wounded for quite some time.

Hmmmm..... Bullet manufacturing does play an important task. Frangible bullets aren't good for deer hunting in any calibre. Nosler is now offering accubond bullets in 6mm that an individual can load up for the .243
The .243 shot at the boiler room is just as capable as any cartridge. I have shot a fair share of whitetails with the .243 and they've all come home with me. All done with 95gr. bullets.