http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/deer...outh-hunt.html

this should answer the question

What a Great Day. My Daughter shot a great 8 point at 8:30 this morning. Saw 10 deer total. 8 does. A Big 10 pt that was out of range, and the 8 pt that she took at 120 yrds with a .223 T/C. Perfect lung shot and only 30 yrds down. She killed her first deer a spike last year at 6yrs old and today at 7yrs old an 8pt.

Awesome picture! That's one happy little girl right there, and I'd bet Dad had a pretty big silly grin too!

As far as the .223 or .243 debate.....I'd say she should shoot what she can shoot accurrately. I'm not advocating hunting deer with a .22 long rifle, though many have been killed with one. The way I see it, if they develop a flinch from the recoil, it doesn't matter how much more energy they would transfer to the target....a marginal shot is a marginal shot. I have 2 daughters that hunt. The oldest is 10 and has now killed 3 deer. The first two she killed with a .22 hornet.....a .22 caliber centerfire round. Both dropped in their tracks from well placed shots at close range...furthest was about 70 yards. The last one was a small spike taken with a .243. Again, 70 yards or so broadside. She made a perfect heart shot and the buck piled up within sight of the stand. My youngest daughter isn't big enough to handle the recoil from a .243 out of an ultralight youth model single shot. She shoots a .223. Loaded with nosler partition bullets, I'm very confident it will kill a deer. We've established her effective range of about 80 yards for her with it. Again, accuracy is the key.

GH

GH

Long time thread it looks like so I better get in on it! Everyone is entitled to opinions and we get to express them on here, so thanks to Huntingnet forums for that!

I believe that a .223 is an ethical deer hunting cartridge. You must be a little bit choosier with your shot selection and a lot more careful with bullet selection. I would never take a shot at the shoulder with one, but a lung shot is perfect for that caliber. I do the same thing archery hunting, I do my best not to put my arrow through their shoulder, but a bit behind it into the lungs because I use expandable broadheads. It is the same idea, you put that bullet into its lungs and heart, it will drop that deer.

A well placed .223 is better than a .338 Winchester Magnum in the deer's haunch!

My first two deer kills were with a break action .223. Granted the first one was a poor shot right through both front knees and it had to be put down with a neck shot later on. but the other was close to a 110-130 inch 8pt shot right behind the shoulder with a 64 grain partition. took the hit like he didn't care, ran thirty yards up hill and collapsed into a cactus. probably weighed about 150 lbs. little partition blew a .22 size hole in one side and a quarter out of the other, perfect clean behind the shoulder shot.