.223 reload for deer

You're about to see a real feces storm on this topic. This one tends to get... interesting. I hope you brought your flame suit.

In any case, most .223/5.56 bullets are made for varmints and/or target shooting and either don't expand at all or disintegrate on impact. Neither is a good thing for deer hunting.

However, there are some good choices and I personally know of several people who hunt deer with .223.

Long story short, my first and best suggestion in the Barnes TTSX. The Hornady GMX would be the next thing, in distant second for this caliber.
 
Ya i know peple get worked up. I reload alot but mainly hornady vmax and a max. Thats why im looking for opinions on best bullet choice from people who actually relaod 223 and deer hunt with it
 
"...vmax and a max..." Former is a varmint bullet. Latter a match bullet. Neither is suitable for deer. However, Hornady(et al) make lots of suitable .223 calibre bullets. A 70 grain GMX would do. Or a 65 grain GameKing.
All of which assumes it's legal where you are. Isn't everywhere.
 
Nosler Partitions,
Barnes X,
Winchester 64 Gr Power Point
and Speer 70 grain semi-spitzers.

I have used the 70 grain Speer in the past with good success and my friends have used the 64 Gr Winchesters. They worked out well too.
I have no doubt the Nosler Partitions and the Barnes Xs would be just as good if not better.
 
I'd start with 55 grain TSX or TTSX bullets, they've worked well for my daughter on white tail deer in Oklahoma. The TTSX/TSX is the only bullet I've ever had experience with on deer. In my experience with larger calibers you can't ever go wrong with a Nosler Partition. I've heard good things about the 64 grain Bonded Performance by Nosler as well.
 
I've only used the 65 grain Sierra bullet, but it has worked very well in killing deer and hogs. I have a lot of confidence in that bullet.
 
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I like the 75 grain Hornady HPBT for deer, and find that the 70 grain Barnes Triple shock works best on large hogs.
 
It's been obvious for several years that the bullet-makers' R&D has changed the game for the .223. Sure, certain caveats, but it's become effective.
 
I killed a few deer and pigs with the Sierra 63 gr SMP bullet. Killed a few with the Sierra 65 gr GK. Killed a few with the Nosler 55 gr Ballistic Tip. Present opinion: don't use the 55 gr BT on deer or hogs.

If I had to deer hunt with my 223, I'd use one of three bullets - Nosler 60 gr Partition, Nosler 64 gr Bonded Solid Base, or the Sierra 65 gr Gameking. Of those, the Partition has been the least accurate, but is still accurate enough. The 65 gr Sierra GK, in my rifle, has been very accurate. The Nosler 64 gr BSB also was very accurate, but I don't have any personal experience with using it on game.

I think I'd choose the 65 gr Gameking. But if it was all about penetration, which it isn't, I'd go with the Partition.
 
I would not risk hunting deer with .223, but if I had to I would use my CAR-15 .556 NATO pumped up to the maximum safest powder load with Hornady 75 grain A-Max bullets.
 
Reload to duplicate the WIN 64gr Powerpoint..

in the late 80's the NRA magazine American Rifleman authoe, Finn Aagaard, wrote an article for deer hunting in Texas.
He concluded that the .223 was capable due to low recoil and the ability to contribute to excellent shot placement, using the Win 64gr powerpoint bullet.

In the early 70's the state of Michigan was allowed centerfir .223 cartridges in the southern area, due to the population increase that was stopped and the shotgun only zone was applied.

Its your decision consider carefully. Good Luck.
 
I'm going to second the recommendation for the 64 gr Winchester Power Point, with the caveat that an average deer in my part of the world probably weighs 70-80# on the hoof, putting them more into the "varmint" weight range than the "game animal" range.

I buy them in 100 ct bags and load them in whatever brass is on hand, generally LC or Winchester.

This particular load isn't as stylish as some of the new monolithic bullets, but with a healthy dose of Varget, it's reasonably accurate in my wife's rifle. She takes heart/lung shots out to about 200 yards, and I can't remember one that has taken more than a few steps before dropping. This leads me to believe that the terminal performance is more than sufficient.

That said, I wouldn't take that load to Saskatchewan to hunt either. Smaller deer = smaller bullets, at least for us.
 
probably your best bet would be either a bonded bullet or a guilded metal bullet. I've been in the process of testing the 55gr barnes ttsx for hunting but my 223s are all... not hunting material... with that said, back when one of them was still worthy of hunting, it took a pretty nice buck with an off the shelf remington 55gr soft point at 200 yards so... go figure.
 
Finn

I read that article closely, and then clipped it to store it in my vintage "file" literally.....an old file folder box. Still have it (article). Aagard was the real deal......and his writing was always authorative and down to earth, based on his experience and use with little to no speculation.

I watched bamaboy as a lad, kill his first two whitetails cleanly with a .223 bolt rifle, Federal factory 55 gr Tactical Bonded" ammo (not sure whose slug), hit just right through the lungs. One bullet exited and the deer bled like a stuck pig, and ran about as far as any other deer might, 50 yds or so as I recall. The other went only about 30 yds, the bullet did not exit, but the deer did not bleed hardly a drop. We moved to heavier rifles as soon as he aged just a wee bit. Thus it can be done.....but their are better rounds for the job.

I have some of the 60gr Nosler Partitions, their short blunt profile is intended to let them stabilize in rifles with the slower twist rates,and what little work I have done with them seems to prove that out. Our YZ Mini Mauser, with its slow 1-12" twist, does pretty well with them. That'd be the route I would go.......but I'm not inclined to take a whitetail w/ .223.
 
i need some opinions from people that reload and hunt with .223 on what bullet works best for hunting deer?
Click to expand...


It's been obvious for several years that the bullet-makers' R&D has changed the game for the .223. Sure, certain caveats, but it's become effective.
Click to expand...

It is refreshing to see specifics both in question and in responses instead of the usual "will a .223 kill a deer" arguments.

From OP's question, I get the impression that he is aware of the limitations of the round, and that with this caliber in particular, the bullet selection that makes the difference between adequate, and sketchy. A lot of the hunting bullets in .223 have varmints in mind, and rapid expansion to almost explosive as a goal. I don't hunt deer with this caliber, so I won't make any recommendations, but your best choices for good penetration with be those bullets designed with limited and controlled expansion, and with a core bonded to the jacket. The Nosler Partition is one of the gold standards, and I'm sure several other modern serious larger game bullets are also up to the task as well.

It's also important to keep in mind that regional deer might be 80 pound dog size in one region, and 250lb bruisers in another region.
 
At one time I thought about hunting with my 223 as it is undoubtedly lighter in weight than my 270. And so at the time I read Hornady had just started marketing 69 gr HPs for the purpose. "Well alright!!" So I hurriedly went and bought a box of the 69s and loaded up a few to re-sight my rifle with. Drove 30 miles one way to a gravel pit. 69 gr >Horrible accuracy. Shot a few 55s> great accuracy. Left the pit with a frown and depressed those 69s didn't shoot well out to the distance's I needed them too.

Went to work and had a conversation with my Garou (he who knows everything gun related.)_ Yep faster twist rate required than what my Rem Model 7 has and so stated on the box label I ignored i.e. (for barrels having a 1-7 twist rate) _"At that time I didn't even know what a twist rate was? " _ Back to the drawing board. Gave those Winchester P/P 64s a whirl. They shot OK but not well enough to brag about. Took my colt sporter out to the pit. Wow!! a whole different story concerning 64 & too 69 grainers. Very nice groupings it shot at 100 & 200 yards. But the colt is cumbersome and really noisy when shooting out of my enclosed deer stand. So much noise that rifle actually shuts down both my hearing aids.:mad:

So today the colt shoots those 64s Power Points I bought from Lock Stock & Barrel at the time of their closing. (2000 of them) The model 7 is fed 55 gr, BT HP's Red box Feredal's these days that topple yote & wood chuck as far as I can see & shoot. Those deer. Heck they get thumped with what ever I have along for the purpose. 270 300 sav 25-06 32 special & my little model 7 when I'm wanting too >keep the noise down to a minimum back there in those woods of mine. ;)
 
My go to killing ammo for my AR hunting carbine is the Winchester 64gr Power Point. In past 4-5 years I've killed over 70 hogs from 50-250 lb. and 2 deer both about 90-100lb. with this ammo. It's the only widely available factory .223 hunting ammo I've found that works well for hunting hogs and deer. First deer DRT as it was shot in the neck from 20 yards...it severed the spine and exited. Second deer was shot through the heart from 100+ yards and dropped within 30 yards. The bullet did not exit and was not recovered. On hogs I only take head (brain) or neck (spine) shots and it works very well. It usually exits when taking head/neck shots so I don't recover the bullet. It's rare to require second shot when the initial shot is well placed. The larges animal I've taken with this ammo in a AR carbine was a 252 lb. hog that I shot just below the ear into the brain from 30 yards. That boar dropped on the spot as if it was hit by a lightning.
Which brings to the importance of shot placement...you can kill pretty large animal with small caliber bullets when that bullet is placed properly. BTW the ammo I've used to kill largest number of hogs is the cheap 55gr FMJ...over 300 in last couple years. A shot to the brain and spine drops them on the spot.
 
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