Here we go again! I know I have probably stated my opinion on this subject too many times but I'm going to say it again. I believe, as many others do on this forum, that hunting whitetails with any .22 is foolish, irresponsible and unethical. I'm sure that many deer have been killed with the .222 and .223 but I suspect that most were killed at night, under a spotlight. Of course when some foolish, irresponsible and unethical "hunter" brags about the buck he killed with a .22 he's probably not going to mention the time of day or night that he killed it. He also is probably not going to brag about the number of deer he wounded and did not recover.
Now, before some nimrod points out that I am relativly new to this forum I would like to point out that I was killing deer, ethically, when most of you were in diapers.

Deerslayer,
As long as it is legal, use whatever you want and don't pay any attention to those that disagree with you. You could pick just about any rifle in the world, and there would still be people who would disagree.

Go to the Sierra bullet website, they have a new .224 bullet for sale, marketed just for deer sized game. It is a 65 grain Gameking, BT. I'm going to try some.

My favorite load for .223 Rem. varmints is;

24grains of IMR3031, Winchester brass, CCI 400 primer, and a 50 grain Nosler ballistic tip. I get 3/8" groups with this load.

Good luck and have a nice day. MH

edited to add, EMLAUR, saying that if a deer was killed with a .223, it must have been killed at night, is ignorant.

I just did a quick search of the game laws on the PA Game Commission website and discovered that, according to the information posted there, ANY centerfire rifle is legal for hunting deer. This is just another example of how something that's legal isn't always right.

Mainehunt,

Because apparently any CF rifle is legal in PA regardless of caliber, would you say that it'd be ok to hunt deer with a .222Rem? How about a .22Hornet? .204Ruger? Or why not just go super light and hunt deer with a .17Rem? As ethical hunters, where do we draw the line on what's ethical and what's not? Your logic (if it's legal it's ok) would suggest that a .17 Rem is a good cartridge to hunt deer with simply because it's legal in PA, but I don't think you'd find a lot of people who'd agree with you on that.

Mike

hey driftrider,
Suppose a deer is at 50 yards, you have a choice between a bow/arrow or a 223.

Which do you shoot?

I'm sure that many deer have been killed with the .222 and .223 but I suspect that most were killed at night, under a spotlight. Of course when some foolish, irresponsible and unethical "hunter" brags about the buck he killed with a .22 he's probably not going to mention the time of day or night that he killed it. He also is probably not going to brag about the number of deer he wounded and did not recover.


I have never poached. I am not going to poach either. Poaching is for dumba$$'$. And about not recovering deer that's never been a problem with any deer i ever hit with my 223. You just have to keep your shots within 100 yards and stay away from the front shoulder and try for a lung or heart shot and you have no problems knockin a deer down. You can keep w/e opinion you want about low powered centerfire rifles. Ill keep my opinion also. We all have our own opinions on guns. [:@]

Using a 17 rem on deer is dumb. My opinion is the smallest i would consider using is a 222. I know u all disagree on them being capeable of takin a deer just my 2 cents.[:'(]

Neither...I'd let it get closer and take it with the bow, let it walk away.

Not to mention the fact that I wouldn't be hunting deer with a .223 in the first place. And we're not talking about the ethics of bowhunting, we're talking about hunting with various caliber rifles. It's apples and oranges anyway, considering that the two are completely different in terms of terminal ballistics. The powerful enough bow with decent broadheads is more than capable of penetrating most bone and shooting through a deer, and creates a large wound when doing it. I wouldn't bet that that little 60gr .223 with its pitiful sectional density would penetrate better than that arrow can or create nearly as large of a permanent wound channel doing it.

You didn't answer my question about whether you think it's OK to shoot a deer with a .17Rem as long as it's legal. What say you about that?

Mike

Well, I'll offer up the load I use for ground hogs, WW brass, Federal small rifle match primers, 27.8 gr of 748 pushing a 50 gr hornady SXSP. I also use this load with 50 gr Vmax's.

drift,
I wouldn't personally use a 17 on deer. But I have shot deer with a .223, so has my father and a couple of friends. Never wounded any, all one shot, all of mine have been pass-throughs. Dad shot his at 80 yards with factory Remington, 55 grain PSP. Broke both shoulders and scrambled the lungs. What more can you ask of it? Of course, you were not there as I remember. You should have been, maybe then you wouldn't think it was so unethical of my arthritic father. It made his whole year he said, never could hunt deer because of the pain of recoil, so this first deer of his was killed when he was 62 years old.

It was awesome, except that it was "unethical" according to you.

I gotta agree with you 100% mainehunt. I Agree that the 17. is to small for deer. Like u said about the 223 making mush of the lungs that has been 100 true for me. I have used 55grain remington Sp and had complet pass through's. I have also used 55grain ballistic tips they did not pass through but it made a mess of the organs. I also gotta agree maybe drift shouldve been there when i shot my deer also and just see how unethical it was. I mean it's so unethical to shoot a deer and have it drop and die instantally with little pain that's very unethical dont ya think?