Opinion on the 223 as a deer hunting cal ?
 

I know that if you shoot a deer in the boiler maker that you can kill him with a 22 mag......but my question is in your opinion is a 223 cal an ethical and effective bullet to use when hunting deer that weigh up to 200lbs?

dd

RE: Opinion on the 223 as a deer hunting cal ?
 

Never had or seen a WT or Mulie make it ovet 50 yards lung hit with a .223 or the .222 I handloaded 55gr bullets for dad either.Range should be kept under 100 yards IMO.Many articals on this using 55-63gr bullets X and the like.I've always used 55gr Hornady's .Oh and 3 black bear! [one bull moose I know of] Harold

RE: Opinion on the 223 as a deer hunting cal ?
 

I don't know where people get crazy ideas like this. They make deer out to be some sort mythical creature that can't be killed with anything but a 30-06 or bigger shooting heavy bullets. Next thing they will say is they need silver bullets;).

You could kill a deer with field tipped arrow if you really wanted to, but a broad head is more effective. If you want to argue that bows kill differently than guns (which they don't in my opinion) then I know plenty of people that have taken deer with a .410 slug gun. I might even try one this year, I have a winchester 9410 just itching to kill something.

To think that any high powered rifle is incapable of killing a deer is just ignorant. With the proper bullet, proper shot placement and keeping range in mind a .223 is plenty capable of killing a deer. They are just not that tough of an animal. I wouldn't try shooting one in the shoulder at 200 yards with varmint ammo though. I think that is where people mess up, they don't take the limitations of the weapon into mind.

Here in Michigan we have pretty lax requirements for hunting weapons, especially up north. I bet plenty of deer have been killed with AR's using 223 ammo. I know of a few people that hunt with AR's and SKS's.

I'll be honest and say it wouldn't be my first choice, but I wouldn't be afraid to use if that's all I had.

Paul

RE: Opinion on the 223 as a deer hunting cal ?
 

Well, it would be, with a few "provideds!". 1. Must use a proper (NOT VARMINT) bullet. A bullet like aNosler 60-grain Partition or one of the Barnes "X" bullets. 2. Must be willing to limit shooting to a good broadside, standing shot. 3. Must bea VERY GOOD SHOT!! 4. Must be willing to limit thedistance at which a shot will be taken.

RE: Opinion on the 223 as a deer hunting cal ?
 

DD I know its been boring around here, but you have been here long enough you know exactly what can of worms you just opened.

RE: Opinion on the 223 as a deer hunting cal ?
 

No doubt it kills them. I handloaded some 60gr Nosler Partitions a few years back, and shot a few does with my AR15 out to 175 yards.

I came to these conclusions:

Deer shot behind the shoulder, thru the boiler room showed no sign of being hit, and ran anywhere from 75-250 yards. They all stopped, looked back, and tipped over.

Head shot does, fell in their tracks and didn't even twitch.

I'm not going to touch on the "ethical or effective" as I don't feel like opening that can of worms already this morning. ;)

RE: Opinion on the 223 as a deer hunting cal ?
 

NOW NOW Rugar YOU KNOW ole dd would NOT start anything :eek:...my reason for posting this Q is that I have found a rifle I think I would like to buy ...its a TCR87 but is chambered in a 223 ...I am not a target shooter and if I bought it would use it to deer hunt ..I have shot a couple of deer before with a 223 but it left the insides looking like jello ....I am fairly proficant with a rifle but have no desire in just wounding an animal ...so I was wondering if the 223 with all the "ifs" was a heavy enough cal. to realisticaly do the job ...so I posed this Q to my buddy's on here .....

dd

RE: Opinion on the 223 as a deer hunting cal ?
 

I kill hogs with mine all the time using 55gr. Sierra Gamekings.

RE: Opinion on the 223 as a deer hunting cal ?
 

NO, Tom.

RE: Opinion on the 223 as a deer hunting cal ?
 

Ditto...