Whitetail with .223?

6.5x55swm said:
Anyone using a 338 or 375H&H is not hunting for meat or doesn't know how to shoot.
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Is it mushroom season in Shediac already? :rolleyes:

Ever hunt with or shoot a 375Magnum?

I too have shot deer with a 22/250 loaded with 70gr Speers and there was a surprising amount of bloodshot meat. Big, heavy bullets don't ruin meat, high velocity does!



sc
 
Westicle said:
hunting with a .223 is as ethical as hunting with a crossbow ;)
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Tha's a pretty bold statement .
There a many bullets on the market that are designed for hunting deer in the 22 cals.

I remember years ago , when people were trying to shoot deer with varmint bullets there was some big controversy then also.
What they didn't realize was the fact that the bullets they were using were unsuitable.
A deer hit with a Barnes or one of the many custom shop bullets will go down just as ethiclly as with a 30/30 or .303 Brit, etc.
dead is dead, that the little calibers do will in the dead department for deer.
I don't hunt with them, just offereing an unbiased opinion.
Cat
 
BIGREDD said:
Hey Cat... please explain "going down ethically"..... I'm confused.
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You know...one shot , one kill, dropped where it stood, super secret sniper school stuff..

I have shot deer with the Canadian tire calibers as I don't reload....308, 30-06, 270, and 243.

I had to shoot twice a doe I hit with the 270, and had to trail a small buck I hit with the 30-06 for 1/2 hr to retrieve it.....

Am I guilty of downing a deer "unethically"..

I just picked up a model 7 in 223, had no intention of using it for deer, but I might now...just to see....
 
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I have shot deer with 308,223,30/06,12ga with slug....

all droped on the spot but the 12ga....poor bugger ran 3 feet


Jamie Barkwell
 
SuperCub said:
Is it mushroom season in Shediac already? :rolleyes:




sc
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LOL:D

I don't own anything larger than the .30 cals, but from what I have read here (maybe Bone-Collector said it) the bigger the bore (at optimal range) destroys less meat because of the lower velocity. The bullet still does its job but the size of the round replaces the velocity thus reducing energy which reduces spolied meat.

Red, Gate help me out here.
 
coltfan said:
You know...one shot , one kill, dropped where it stood, super secret sniper school stuff..

I have shot deer with the Canadian tire calibers as I don't reload....308, 30-06, 270, and 243.

I had to shoot twice a doe I hit with the 270, and had to trail a small buck I hit with the 30-06 for 1/2 hr to retrieve it.....

Am I guilty of downing a deer "unethically"..

I just picked up a model 7 in 223, had no intention of using it for deer, but I might now...just to see....
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You are a little offbase there.
If you don't reload, don't even think about using a .223 for deer, because the bullets you can buy at Canadian tire won't cut it.
By "going down ethiclly" I mean shooting an animal with a caliber or cartridge with is going to kill quickly and as reliablelly as possible.
Shooting a deer with a 50 grain varmmint bullet is not a wise choice in a .223.
Neither is shoting a deer with a 90 grain varmint bullet from a .270.
Shooting a deer with a .223 and a 55 grain Barnes X or other bullet designed for such purposes as deer is, if it is legal in your Province or State.

Cat
 
I'll keep saying this each and every time this comes up...

22's are for this

gopher.jpg


NOT THIS!

Whitetail-731295.jpg
 
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If you don't reload, don't even think about using a .223 for deer, because the bullets you can buy at Canadian tire won't cut it.
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someone better phone winchester and tell them thier 64gr load which they sell as a deer hunting load is inadequate then....
 
There are many areas of the country where a lot of legal deer hunting is done with the .223, both here and in the U.S.
Just because some of us haven't done it, doesn't mean it should not and can not be done.
Shooting a deer at 500 yards with a 300 mag when a person can't handle the rifle and has never shot the rifle at those distances is no better than shooting a deer at long distance with a .223 with varmint bullets.

I wouldn't use one, but I lnow of many that sucsessfully do every year.
I 257 Roberts wouldn't be my first choice for a Grizzly rifle either, but I have been in Grizzly country with a 30/30 and had no worries.....

Cat
 
If your going to hunt deer with a 223 then at least do your reserch on the what projectile your going to use. The projectiles in use fall basicly into 4 categories: varmit, target, deeper pentetrating bonded, and fmj. The varmit and target are going to probably mushroom or fragment too early into the deer to do much damage to the vitals. The fmj is simply not legal for hinting in most places and often won't expand or perform well when fragmenting for big game. The bonded bullets that expand but hold most of their mass is your best option. I recomend Barns, Sierra Gameking 65gr, or Winchester's 64gr Power Point or Power Point Plus. If you reload all these projectiles are available. I believe all of them but the Gameking are available from ammo makers in loaded rounds. I would load the Gameking and have seen exit wounds from this bullet shot from a 22-250 pass through the vitals and exit the deer with a loonie size exit!

Moe
 
Why bother using a .223 on deer if you are going to wonder if its enough?:rolleyes:

Use a something that you know will do the job and keep your ethics anxiety at rest.

There will be no wondering with a 6mm, .243 .257, 25-06, .260, .270., .280 and any of the .30's and on and on..........:)
 
Back to the thread...
Your Dad is wrong in the sense that .223 Rem is PLENTY for Whitetails. It isn't. I would consider it marginal for all purpose deer hunting.

You are partly incorrect in stating that the bullet would fly apart. Thin jacketed light varmint bullets will fly apart on big game(this includes most .223 and .22-250 factory ammo). Heavier jacketed .224 cal bullets designed for big game such as 60 grain Nosler partition, Barnes TSX copper hollowpoints and the Speer 70 grain semi-spitzer will not fly apart any more than their larger counterparts designed for the same application. These are available to my knowledge exclusively for reloaders. One must have a barrel designed to stabilize these heavier bullets, as many slow twist varmint barrels were designed for lighter gopher bullets and won't handle heavier bullets (eg. 1:14 twist). Otherwise you get poor accuracy and keyhole entry by the bullet.

I have no experience with .223, but the 70 gr. semi spitzer handloads in my .22-250 Savage 116 26" barrel with 1:12 twist will stabilize these bullets nicely for sub MOA accuracy at around 3300 fps. I have killed a whitetail buck dead in his tracks at 210 paces with a solid rest. I have known others to use 22-250's and .223's on deer with good results, but all of these people were very proficient marksmen. Is it adequate? Yes, provided you can hit a vital spot. A 7mm mag or 300 WSM is not terribly effective on deer if you don't hit a vital area.

Is it optimal? No. I have other calibers which provide better stopping power on big game. Should you use it? Up to the shooter. If you KNOW you can drop that animal 10 out of 10 times with that shot, go for it. Otherwise use something you have more confidence with. Like most other types of rifle hunting, success is about choosing a bullet and load designed for the job at hand, in a caliber and rifle which you have confidence you can make that shot EVERY time.

BTW, the use of .22 centerfires for big game is legal here in NB.
 
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