.223 for Deer Hunting
10-31-2009, 07:46 PM
#131
Fork Horn
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Huntsville, Arkansas
Posts: 249
11-01-2009, 03:54 AM
#132
Spike
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Franklin, Tn
Posts: 7
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.
11-01-2009, 06:22 AM
#133
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Southeast Missouri
Posts: 968
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
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
Last edited by Grasshopper13; 11-01-2009 at 06:25 AM.
11-01-2009, 08:24 AM
#134
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Paducah, Kentucky
Posts: 146
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!
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!
04-09-2013, 06:12 AM
#135
Spike
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Bridgeport, Tx
Posts: 16
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.
