AR 15 in 5.56 cal.for deer hunting?
- Thread starter Hot Shot
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reynolds357
New member
Gunplummer, the problem is not what a bullet will and will not pass through. The problem is deflection after the impact. Sometimes the bullet will keep traveling straight. Most times the bullet is deflected.
Last year I missed a yote a 75 yards because I hit a twig at 12 yards. 150 gr out of a 7WSM. Bullet got there, but deflected enough to miss. It dug a hole in the ground about 8 feet away from the yote. The reason I knew I hit a twig was because my wife was spotting for me and saw it fly.
Having said all that, lathe turned 50 BMG bullets do a pretty decent job at avoiding severe deflection.
Last year I missed a yote a 75 yards because I hit a twig at 12 yards. 150 gr out of a 7WSM. Bullet got there, but deflected enough to miss. It dug a hole in the ground about 8 feet away from the yote. The reason I knew I hit a twig was because my wife was spotting for me and saw it fly.
Having said all that, lathe turned 50 BMG bullets do a pretty decent job at avoiding severe deflection.
tahunua001
New member
I'd say it's pretty effective if you know what you're doing with it.
A lot of bullets will "bust through brush" but none of them will continue in the same direction after doing so. The closer it is to the gun barrel, the more it will affect final destination. The lighter the bullet, the more it will affact final destination. A single blade of grass 12" in front of a 30.06 muzzle will throw a bullet off several feet at 100 yards.
tahunua001
New member
can you please cite your source for this comment? I'm not saying that shooting in tall grass wont change the trajectory of a bullet, but claiming a single blade of grass will cause several minutes shift in trajectory is pushing it. I've fired everything from 22s, through 30 cals in tall grass and in the most extreme cases I've seen a foot or so deviation at 100 yards, but that was a light, slow bullet, and I was shooting through a lot more than a single blade of grass.
Lots of people say it's perfectly fine but you will never catch me using that small of a bullet on anything bigger than a Coyote. Stop being a cheap ass and buy a 308 AR if you want to hunt deer with it. Not worth the risk if you care about the suffering of the animal.
A 22lr CAN kill a deer, but SHOULD you use it? Hell no. That's exactly how I feel about the 223 for deer. Lots of guys do it for a "told you so" effect, to which I say, "cool story man now get the hell out of the woods city boy."
To the OP: I wouldn't sell the 30-06, it's arguably one of the best deer cartridges of all time.
To the guy with the photo: if it's ethical why did you cut your face out of the photo? See my comment above and stop being a cheap ass.
A 22lr CAN kill a deer, but SHOULD you use it? Hell no. That's exactly how I feel about the 223 for deer. Lots of guys do it for a "told you so" effect, to which I say, "cool story man now get the hell out of the woods city boy."
To the OP: I wouldn't sell the 30-06, it's arguably one of the best deer cartridges of all time.
To the guy with the photo: if it's ethical why did you cut your face out of the photo? See my comment above and stop being a cheap ass.
tahunua001
New member
well first of all, I cut the face because it's not me, it's my brother and I have not been authorized to post his face all over the interweb. it was my gun though, so I felt free to leave that in the picture.
second, because if 7 years of working in the information systems analysis and information technology fields have taught me anything it's to not go spreading your face for everyone to see, hence none of my pictures have my face, even the ones other people find ethical.
and third, that AR15 cost me twice as much as a decent bolt action in an "ethical" caliber so really being cheap has nothing to do with it. I have also killed deer with 9mm AR15s which cost just as much, and my personal favorite, the "unethical act" of hunting grouse with a 22LR instead of a 12 gauge like a "real sportsman".
now please, keep your personal attacks to minimum, follow your own ethics, and let other people follow theirs.
EDIT: 22LR can kill deer, it may not be ethical by most people's standards but it can. now I am not advocating the use of 22LR, but the average .223 bullet weighs 37.5% more than the average 22LR bullet, is traveling 200% faster and generates 1000% more energy at the muzzle, so really it is impractical to compare the two based solely on the fact that they have roughly the same diameter. it is like comparing 300 blackout to 300 weathery magnum because both are 30 calibers, would you call hunting an elk with a 30 carbine ethical because it is the same diameter as a 30-06? same basic principle.
second, because if 7 years of working in the information systems analysis and information technology fields have taught me anything it's to not go spreading your face for everyone to see, hence none of my pictures have my face, even the ones other people find ethical.
and third, that AR15 cost me twice as much as a decent bolt action in an "ethical" caliber so really being cheap has nothing to do with it. I have also killed deer with 9mm AR15s which cost just as much, and my personal favorite, the "unethical act" of hunting grouse with a 22LR instead of a 12 gauge like a "real sportsman".
now please, keep your personal attacks to minimum, follow your own ethics, and let other people follow theirs.
EDIT: 22LR can kill deer, it may not be ethical by most people's standards but it can. now I am not advocating the use of 22LR, but the average .223 bullet weighs 37.5% more than the average 22LR bullet, is traveling 200% faster and generates 1000% more energy at the muzzle, so really it is impractical to compare the two based solely on the fact that they have roughly the same diameter. it is like comparing 300 blackout to 300 weathery magnum because both are 30 calibers, would you call hunting an elk with a 30 carbine ethical because it is the same diameter as a 30-06? same basic principle.
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Wow I have some friends who are going to be shocked to find out I am a "city boy". Gotta love it when someone speaks vehemently from their opinions instead of facts. Not many years ago a lot of people believed the .243 wasn't capable or ethical to deer hunt with. I think nearly every reply was more or less that while the .223 will kill deer within it limits, it's certainly not on par with the .30-06.
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
I've messed around with bunches of cartridges over many decades. Until around 2003 or 2004, I was as negative as anybody about using a .223 on Bambi. Somewhen around 2004 or 2005, folks started talking about a differently designed bullet.
Worked nicely on Bambi, within limits. Part of it is distance. Part of it is the point of aim on a deer. R&D by the ammo makers has changed the .223 utility to more than "Just a varmint cartridge."
Still, I'd limit myself to neck shots or cross-body heart/lung shots, and probably not on big heavy deer. Adequate penetration can always be problematic.
Worked nicely on Bambi, within limits. Part of it is distance. Part of it is the point of aim on a deer. R&D by the ammo makers has changed the .223 utility to more than "Just a varmint cartridge."
Still, I'd limit myself to neck shots or cross-body heart/lung shots, and probably not on big heavy deer. Adequate penetration can always be problematic.