5.56mm hunting round

A

armoredman

New member
I'm playing with some different bullets here, and was curious what people here might have found with the 5.56mm/.223 round for medium game/varmint? What bullet worked best for you, and on what game/varmint, if you don't mind?
Thank you for any reply.
 
I had amazingly good performance on coyotes with the 40 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. Seems to kill them faster than the 55 gr version does, but testing continues. If you want a bigger tougher bullet, the 65 gr Sierra GK and the Nosler 64 gr Bonded Solid Base might be what you want. I've tapped a few medium sized pigs with the Sierra, but have no actual use info on the 64 gr Nosler (yet). I don't deer hunt with the 223, but if I did, I'd use one of those bullets.

Just to mention it, I did use that 40 gr Nosler on some 60-odd pound pigs. Shot them behind the ear and they went straight down. Wouldn't have been my first choice of bullets, but that was all I had with me at the time.

I use H335 behind all of the bullets mentioned, but AA2230 worked great behind the Sierra in my first barrel on the rifle. Primers are CCI BR's.
 
I use Hornady HPBT 75 gr bullets loaded with 23.8 gr of Reloader 15. My rifle likes this and have been used successfully on mule deer and hogs.
 
Work up an accurate deer(medium game) load and use it for everything. Nothing says you must use a different bullet for varmints. Which bullet weight will depend on your rifle's twist.
 
I got thousands of Hornady 62 gr Tactical and Police bullets when they phased them out in 2004 for 3 cents each.

I tried shooting bouncing white tail does with an AR15, but it did not work.
The bullets missed the deer.
 
I tried shooting bouncing white tail does with an AR15, but it did not work.
The bullets missed the deer.
Click to expand...

Oh, it'll work... you just gotta quit yelling "BANZAI" before you pull the trigger...:D
 
I have a couple of buddies that are .223 hunters. One has gone the route of softpoints. They are inexpensive and get the job done. The other goes with Barnes TTSX for maximum penetration (and for a heftier price). Both are quite happy with their results.
 
For woodchucks here in KY, I really like either of the Hornady or Sierra 52-53 gr Match HP's. Neither company recommends them for game hunting, but the accuracy is so outstanding that pin point precision is possible. Rod
 
I have used 60 gr. Nosler partitions and some 55 gr Barnes X on deer, both worked fine, Nosler was messier, Barnes was the better penetration as expected. Everything else gets a version of 55 grain HP, depends on what was on sale/clearance. All have done well for me.
 
65gr Sierra Gamekings. 60gr Nosler Partition. Pretty much any Barnes solid copper bullet. Ive tried and like the Federal Fusion factory load but dont know if they sell that bullet for reloading.
 
What barrel twist do you use the GameKings in, or have you found it didn't matter?
I've read some reviews that say the Hornaday 60 gr SP are very effective on coyote, and those are showing to be quite accurate in this rifle.



I'll chrono them for more info.
 
For coyote and smaller almost anything 50gr and up is going to be fine. You can get by with smaller too if you want. I think you will be very happy with how the Hornady 60gr SP works on coyotes.
 
I found two loads that are decently accurate with the 60gr Hor SP, one generating 2500+ FPS and a harder to find powder that gives just over 2780 FPS. As incredibly dumb as this sounds - ya think the 2500 FPS one has enough smack-down for coyote?
 
Nosler 60 gr. partitions are my go to game load. They shoot well in my 1:12 and 1:9 barrels. A lung shot on a whitetail puts them down in a few yards. Avoid shoulder shots.

After I get back from AR next week, i will tell you how they do on feral hogs. (shooting 'hogs' in Arkansas may be contrary to their cultural 'norms':))
 
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