Originally Posted by
vermont bowhunter
223 for deer or bear is a joke,,,the whole point here is ethical shots,,sorry but 223 dont cut it,,if i was lost and all i had was 223 or bow at 40 yrds ,,come on get real,,,some of these coments border on stupidity,,how many bear have you shot with a 223,the us military took on the 5.56mm because it was easy to shoot with little or no recoil.that dont make it a bear or deer bullit.why would someone buy a 223cal rifle to use for big game when a 243 or larger firearm cost the same...come on boys grow up and step up
I believe you're incorrect about the US military's reason for going with the 5.56. I believe it was primarily because the ammo was lighter and allowed a soldier to carry more ammo in the field. I think it was a secondary strategy to incapacitate the enemy (still being ultimately lethal) causing their comrades to care for them rather than have them continue fighting as they would when more immediate kills were achieved with the bigger 30 cals. One more thing; lets not distort the OP. I don't recall any discussion about bear hunting wiith a 223, but rather only deer