Top shelf ammo for hunting deer with a bolt action .223
 

quite honestly, and NOT what I am sure you want to hear a .223 is a very POOR deer hunting caliber IMO
and yes many do use it , and some folks win the lottery too, a TON of deer have been killed with .22 rim fires 's too, but it doesn't make them GREAT deer calibers either!

BUT if you insist to use one, I would look for the heaviest grain bullets your gun can handle in a proven line of hunting bullet design and I would be VERY picky about shots and distance of them!

I agree with mrbb. Not what the caliber was designed for.

Ya there folks who say it is just as dead. Which is true, but might be another 100 yards. Then there are those who say, if you shoot in chest or heart doesnt matter. Which is true. But sometimes you don't see enough deer to pass until it in a field broadside.

I do realize with modern expansion, things have come along way. I was on another site, and they just went on and on, how all the kids were using it.

But unless physical reason, or all you own, I don't see why. If you like the AR platform get an AR10 in 308.

JOSSE, just use what you have but don't use a bullet designed for varmints .

The 223 is not a good caliber for big game no matter what the ammo used.

I have got to agree with everyone above, that the 223 is far from ideal,
but that being understood you might want to hand-load your ammo.

23.5 grains of varget powder to start, 24 grains in most rifles is accurate ,
and this hornady bullet in hand loads ,
have been used rather frequently on small florida deer successfully
stick to heart/lung shots at under 200 yards

https://www.hornady.com/bullets/rifle/22-cal-224-70-gr-gmx#!/

http://www.handloads.org/loaddata/default.asp?Caliber=223%20Remington&Weight=75&type =Rifle&Order=Powder&Source=

and yeah, if its the only rifle you have it works,if your rifles got a 1-in- 7 or 1- in- 8 twist rate.
check your state game laws it may not be legal, and thats important, to know, before use.
its legal here in FLA and theres a 5 cartridge mag capacity limit
http://myfwc.com/hunting/regulations/taking-game/
but seriously a more practical answer is get a real deer rifle like a 308 win, 25/06 7mm08, 257 roberts , or 6.5mm swedish mauser etc.
I think many of the guys Ive hunted with have tried using the AR15 rifles on hog and deer hunts,
theres no question they work in the hands of a decent shot with those hand-loads,
but as stated, get a real deer rifle.
Ive had excellent results with my 257 roberts and 100 grain speer bullets 38 grains of varget
https://www.speer-ammo.com/bullets/r...sptz-sp-bullet
the 100% copper expanding bullets in 70 grain weights will function, but theres obviously better options

What model the American or the Varmint? One has a 1 in 12 twist, the other a 1 in 9 twist.
The guys around here use .223 (or .222) on Roe Deer (small Deer), technically illegal, the minimum allowable size bullet is 6,5 mm (was also that way in some U.S. states).

Most use a 62 grain hunting bullet. The 70 grain had a tendency to expand slow (if at all) in the small Deer,

From what ive read they did use a .311 barrel so i would advise buying hunting ammo with the correct diameter bullets. I think Hornady offers some 123gr hunting ammo using .310 bullets. Sellier and Bellot has some cheaper too. It uses a .311 bullet and seem to get very good reviews. Worth a try for the price. Ive seen them for around $10/20 bullets.