Ok I need some advice. I have a .223 for yotes I shoot 55 grain Black Hills ammo. Well for the first time here in Minnesota a .223 is legal for whitetail, my wife will be going with me for her first time out and I was thinking that might be a better choice for a gun since she is very small. First what ammo would be the best for a whitetail I obviously don't want to use .55 grain hollow points and I assumethe caliber issufficient enough to make a quick kill since the Dnr made it legal. It just seems too small of a caliber fordeerin the hands of anyone besides those that are a great shot. Any help or opinions would be great. Thanks.
I dont know if the velocity is too much for holow points but I use a .22 Hornet with 45 gr HP's (2700 fps) on deer with no problemo. They leave some nasty damage.
Unless you're planning on making head/neck shots on deer, I'm not sure if I would use a .223. Here's my reasoning:
When I was 12, I had a doe come out in front of my stand at about 50 yards.I was setupright beside a ditch that was about 8 foot deep. All of the dirt was piled up into a hill beside the ditch, so one side was actually about 12 feet deep, if you get what I'm saying. The stand was on top of the hill, so I was about 20 foot up in the air. I had a .223, using 75 grain FMJ. I put the cross hairs on her vitals, squeezed the trigger, and she dropped. She kicked and thrashed on top of the hill for about a minute until she slid into the ditch, just out of my sight. I waited for a good hour before I got out of the stand. I walked over to where she dropped into the ditch, and she was GONE. I looked all over for blood, but didn't find a damned thing. I looked until it got dark, and my dad came walking up to my stand to come get me. I told him what happened, so we continued to look. We together searched for any trace of the deer. Making circles, walking up and down the ditch, everything you could think of. It had been about two hours, and nothing. We called my sisters boyfriend to come help us out. He rolled up there at about 9pm, and we covered every inch of ground within 500 yards of where I shot that deer. At 2am we called it quits; we never found the deer. It was tragic for me, because I was so excited that I thought I had finally got my first deer, and because the deer was wounded and roaming around the woods with a bullet in her... she probably fell prey to a bobcat or something...
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I guess Mn wants wounded deer. You know, for quite awhile the triple deuce had a rep as a deer poacher hereabouts, and it has a little less pop than the 223. It will kill with the right placement, at the right range. Doubt that the average Mn 223 toter will be that skilled tho. Sooo, I would say it depends on how good the wife shoots, and if she knows her range. It has following in Tx but then, the deer are smaller there than what I have seen in Mn.
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a .223 will kill just as quick as any other other rifle.
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Unless you're planning on making head/neck shots on deer, I'm not sure if I would use a .223. Here's my reasoning:
When I was 12, I had a doe come out in front of my stand at about 50 yards.I was setupright beside a ditch that was about 8 foot deep. All of the dirt was piled up into a hill beside the ditch, so one side was actually about 12 feet deep, if you get what I'm saying. The stand was on top of the hill, so I was about 20 foot up in the air. I had a .223, using 75 grain FMJ. I put the cross hairs on her vitals, squeezed the trigger, and she dropped. She kicked and thrashed on top of the hill for about a minute until she slid into the ditch, just out of my sight. I waited for a good hour before I got out of the stand. I walked over to where she dropped into the ditch, and she was GONE. I looked all over for blood, but didn't find a damned thing. I looked until it got dark, and my dad came walking up to my stand to come get me. I told him what happened, so we continued to look. We together searched for any trace of the deer. Making circles, walking up and down the ditch, everything you could think of. It had been about two hours, and nothing. We called my sisters boyfriend to come help us out. He rolled up there at about 9pm, and we covered every inch of ground within 500 yards of where I shot that deer. At 2am we called it quits; we never found the deer. It was tragic for me, because I was so excited that I thought I had finally got my first deer, and because the deer was wounded and roaming around the woods with a bullet in her... she probably fell prey to a bobcat or something...
The problem using a full-metal jacket bullet is it won't expand at all as it passes through deer. That style of round was made for piecing armor at 300 yards. Hornady makes a 75 grain boat-tail hollow point that, with good shot placement, should do just fine. Here's a link to cabelas webpage:
A 223 will work with a well placed shot. Ive used a 204 to get a couple deer. I know im going to get crap about it but it worked and they all dropped in their track with head or neck shots. I wouldnt have risked it if i didnt feel i was good enough with the rifle though.
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I think this article shows a .223 is capable of taking deer. I would agree it's not a cal. for inexperienced hunters. Federal makes a Nosler Partition as well. Stay away from FMJ's and ballistic tips. Shot placement is also important. Boiler room shots and neck shots are the ones you want to make. Good luck to you and your wife.
Thanks for the opinions. We are not talking 100+ yard shots here. More like 50 yards here in the timber of Minnesota.I want to make sure it's as good as most guns with a decent placed shot. I figured a nosler partition or a good expanding tip butI just have little experience with a .223 for deer.
Thnaks for all your feedback.
.223 for deer?
