223 with Barnes TSX 55gr works great for deer.

M

Mystro

New member
Had a extra doe tag to fill so I took my 223 loaded with factory Barnes TSX 55grain hunting today. My Savage 223 is my predator rifle but can be pushed into action for deer size game with the right bullets. A nice large doe at 130yards fell quickly to a broad side shot. Took out top of the heart and both lungs with a total pass through. She ran 70 yards and went down. No drama, no nothing. Shot placement is always the key regardless of caliber but especially with a lite one like the 223. Pretty much a textbook kill. The only thing the 223 didn't have was that instant knock down power of a larger caliber but as far as being effective and penitration, it was as good as you could ever want will very little meat loss. These bonded bullets that don't blow apart are a real game changer.
 
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Yes the TSX works in a 55 grain, but it may or may not leave a blood trail. My daughter took a whitetail at 116 yards this year with the Barnes Vortex ammunition, but didn't have an exit or blood trail. While it works I don't think it is the right bullets for all hunting situations.

FYI the TSX isn't a bonded bullet but an all copper bullet which is refered to as a "mono metal".
 
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Barnes bullets have changed my thinking when it comes to cartridge selection. There was a time I would never consider the .223 enough for deer sized game but my experience, along with what I've read, has changed that. The penetration those little hollow point solids provide is second to none, and all the game I've shot with them the terminal ballistics have been outstanding. I've not used the .223 myself for deer but would not feel under gunned if I did using Barnes bullets.
 
I am not one to use iffy calibers and have more than enough bigger calibers to use for big game but I really wanted to see if my predator rifle with the right bullet would be adequate for feeding whitetails in my fields. I am sold. It will make a nice first gun/caliber when my kids are old enough to hunt. No recoil, low noise and flat trajectory makes it a great do-it-all caliber from predators to deer. I had a total pass through on a nice mature doe so its hard to say what it might do on a big buck. I also purchased some 62gr HOG Hammer ammo from Remington. If they are good for big hogs, they should kill any size deer as well.
The 223 and 243 have really been improved with these newer bullets.
 
I bought a .223 recently that will see some use next deer season. In the off season I'm going to do some experimenting with the 62 gr TSX, 60 gr partition, and 65 gr Sierra Gameking. I'm kinda leaning toward the Gameking though because it's a lot cheaper and I could hopefully make it a do-all range, varmint/yote, and deer bullet. I wouldn't mind putting any of these bullets behind the shoulder of a whitetail, but a lot of the time I take neck shots unless it's a big buck that I might mount. A good neck shot and they're dead before they hit the ground.
 
.223

Bamaboy took his first two whitetails with well placed .223 bonded bullets and a Mini-Mauser bolt. One we got a classic kill with about a 50 yd bloodtrail. Thru and thru double lung. About 75 yd shot.

The other was a 35 yd shot, and went about the same distance and did not bleed a drop. No exit wound either. Much closer shot, bullet expanded a good bit more, (recovered same under the hide on the off side, due to the higher velocity (I think). This deer made it to thick cover and could have been a problem if we had been stupid and not followed up carefully. I knew he'd hit it...solidly, but it was foot prints through the thicket to the carcass.

The load was Federal Tactical bonded, 62 grain. .....I don't know whose slug they use, ....maybe their own...I dunno. Two pretty dead deer. We moved to 7.62x39 for the next one, and then .243 pretty quickly.

Dudes taller than me now and carried a .308 this PM...man time flys.
 
I took a big bodied buck last year with a .223 and Nosler 60 grain Partitions, loaned the ammo to a friend for his son to use during youth hunt, he killed a nice doe with a high just behind the shoulder shot DRT. I am about out of the partitions so have bought a box of 55 grain Tac-X bullets which for all I can tell are the exact same thing as the Barnes TSX. Will try them next year, have no doubts about their lethality though if I do my part.
 
That's the key with these small calibers. You must do your part and make a good shot . The 223 is more than enough for a clean kill on a whitetail. A gut shot is bad enough with any caliber but with these small calibers, its going to be a real bad day for you. If you think about it, if you can't make a good shot with any caliber, you probably shouldn't be taking the shot anyway.;)
 
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