Have you Killed Whitetail with the 223Cal. rifle?
- Thread starter sureshots
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I haven't personally, but I know folks that swear by them. I just feel that you should hunt deer with a larger caliber, at least a 243. It's just more "sportsmanly". There's always a chance that that little 22 caliber bullet, traveling so fast, might explode rather than penetrate - causing a cripple.
I just don't have faith in the small calibers.
I just don't have faith in the small calibers.
.223 Remington with a 55gr bullet is a very accurate and deadly whitetail round. Here's the deal: you either take good aim or you may be tracking without a decent blood trail for quite a distance. A head or neck shot from 200 yards is perfectly easy if you have a decent scope or decent iron sights and practice a little. Your deer will be dead before the sound gets there. Heart/lung shots usually result in a 3-4 second dash-n-crash, but a whitetail can cover a lot of ground in that time. There may not be any blood trail. Gut shots may take overnight to kill and that deer is not going to be fit to eat, even if you do find it before the coyotes get to it.
EBR with military sights are generally not up to the task because of poor quality sights. Beyond 200 yards, the round does not impart enough energy for a clean kill with a lung shot and the cone of probability is too large to bother with a head shot.
The vast majority of whitetails killed by hunters are taken at a range of 100 yards or less, so mostly I am of the opinion that in a quality rifle capable of 2MOA or better the .223 Remington is adequate. My sons and my dad all shoot .223 or .222 Remingtons and tag out every year without losing wounded animals. I carry a .222 Remington now and then and have never had a deer take a step after I pulled the trigger. But that's not fair because I grew up killing deer with a .218 Bee and iron sights.
rr2241tx
EBR with military sights are generally not up to the task because of poor quality sights. Beyond 200 yards, the round does not impart enough energy for a clean kill with a lung shot and the cone of probability is too large to bother with a head shot.
The vast majority of whitetails killed by hunters are taken at a range of 100 yards or less, so mostly I am of the opinion that in a quality rifle capable of 2MOA or better the .223 Remington is adequate. My sons and my dad all shoot .223 or .222 Remingtons and tag out every year without losing wounded animals. I carry a .222 Remington now and then and have never had a deer take a step after I pulled the trigger. But that's not fair because I grew up killing deer with a .218 Bee and iron sights.
rr2241tx
DoctorXring
New member
I have killed many Texas whitetails with a .223 Remington.
All inside of 200 yards. About half were head shots on does.
The others heart/lung shots. Total, I would estimate around
30 head. None went far. None lost.
Until the Nosler 60 grain Partition in this caliber came out,
I used the Nosler 60 grain Solid Base. Today I would use
the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw.
If you are going to use the 223 Remington on deer I would
only use a Premium bullet. Right now the best bullet in
this caliber available is the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw.
The Nosler Partition is also very good. If you cannot use
a controlled expansion type bullet, FORGET ABOUT THE
.223 Remington for deer, unless it is a chipping wedge distance
head shot on a doe and you are a good shot.
Limit your range to inside of 200 yards. Make a good shot with a
good bullet and the deer will be taken cleanly.
dxr
All inside of 200 yards. About half were head shots on does.
The others heart/lung shots. Total, I would estimate around
30 head. None went far. None lost.
Until the Nosler 60 grain Partition in this caliber came out,
I used the Nosler 60 grain Solid Base. Today I would use
the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw.
If you are going to use the 223 Remington on deer I would
only use a Premium bullet. Right now the best bullet in
this caliber available is the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw.
The Nosler Partition is also very good. If you cannot use
a controlled expansion type bullet, FORGET ABOUT THE
.223 Remington for deer, unless it is a chipping wedge distance
head shot on a doe and you are a good shot.
Limit your range to inside of 200 yards. Make a good shot with a
good bullet and the deer will be taken cleanly.
dxr
ClassicSWC
New member
IMO, it dishonors the animal and the sport to use such a cartridge for deer. The .223 was not designed or meant for deer hunting. There are plenty of other sensible cartridges out there.
RockyMtnTactical
New member
There's not much of a chance it will "explode" if you use the proper bullet for the job.
I'm a firm believer in "use enough gun". Having said that, I have killed two does and a 200 # hog W/an AR and did not feel a bit handicapped. All were within 125 yards. The does were shot in spine and the hog behind the ear; as expected, all dropped in their tracks.
Not my preferred whitetail medicine, but under the right conditions, the .223 is ample. Shot placement is primary concern.
Regards,
hps
Not my preferred whitetail medicine, but under the right conditions, the .223 is ample. Shot placement is primary concern.
Regards,
hps
Swampghost
New member
As said, placement is everything. A .22 Mag can drop most anything that we run up against.
Back in '77 we hopped up the rounds enough to crack the reciever on a Mini-14. They were also VERY fatal to local deer (small) and had exit wounds that scattered good meat all over the swamp.
Using factory rounds inside of 100 yds. with good placement should drop any deer. With the very low recoil, placement shouldn't be a problem. Yeah, I pull a shot or two on the range just because I know what's coming with big bores. When hunting, I'm dialed into the animal.
Back in '77 we hopped up the rounds enough to crack the reciever on a Mini-14. They were also VERY fatal to local deer (small) and had exit wounds that scattered good meat all over the swamp.
Using factory rounds inside of 100 yds. with good placement should drop any deer. With the very low recoil, placement shouldn't be a problem. Yeah, I pull a shot or two on the range just because I know what's coming with big bores. When hunting, I'm dialed into the animal.
There is good reason many states do not allow .22 cal for deer
For every sportsman out there willing to take the time to take only a good shot, spend the money to use a bullet built for the game, and do their best to kill cleanly, there are the "slob hunters" who will take any shot offered, use the cheapest ammo, and seldom adhere to the general rules of sport hunting.
For decades, .22 cal rifles (centerfire) were only varmint rounds, and bullets suitable for deer were few and far between. Many states decided that while it could be done well, it was seldom done well with a .22 CF, and people being what they are, if allowed there would be a lot more crippled and wounded deer dying without actually being harvested. So they chose to mandate a larger caliber round for sporting use. Most states have a minimum of .24 caliber for deer.
Game laws have nothing to do with what will actually work to kill the animals, they have everything to do with what is considered "sporting".
I have not personally taken deer with a .22 centerfire, as I have not hunted anywhere it was legal to do so. There is no doubt in my mind that any .22 with the rigfht bullet for the game, and within its effective range will cleanly kill a deer with correct shot placement. If I had to hunt deer with a .22 Hornet, I would, and have no worries about it failing, so long as I did my part. I wouldn't be taking no 300 yds shots with it though!
For every sportsman out there willing to take the time to take only a good shot, spend the money to use a bullet built for the game, and do their best to kill cleanly, there are the "slob hunters" who will take any shot offered, use the cheapest ammo, and seldom adhere to the general rules of sport hunting.
For decades, .22 cal rifles (centerfire) were only varmint rounds, and bullets suitable for deer were few and far between. Many states decided that while it could be done well, it was seldom done well with a .22 CF, and people being what they are, if allowed there would be a lot more crippled and wounded deer dying without actually being harvested. So they chose to mandate a larger caliber round for sporting use. Most states have a minimum of .24 caliber for deer.
Game laws have nothing to do with what will actually work to kill the animals, they have everything to do with what is considered "sporting".
I have not personally taken deer with a .22 centerfire, as I have not hunted anywhere it was legal to do so. There is no doubt in my mind that any .22 with the rigfht bullet for the game, and within its effective range will cleanly kill a deer with correct shot placement. If I had to hunt deer with a .22 Hornet, I would, and have no worries about it failing, so long as I did my part. I wouldn't be taking no 300 yds shots with it though!
globemaster3
New member
Sureshots, some friends and I used nothing but .223 in a range of weaponry from bolt to autos to depredate hogs in FL when I was in hs and college. Since the hide there is tougher than deer, I can only assume better results.
If we put the bullet where it needed to go, the hog went down. There was the errant snafu once in a while that required a follow up shot or some tracking,
but those were rare, and we never lost one that was hit.
Its all about knowing your equipment and capabilities. Personally, I carry a .243 or .308 nowadays to have a little more power and insurance when I fall short of delivering my part of the equation, which doesn't happen very often.
Pay good attention to cartridge selection. Work toward the heavier bullets, but also ensure you've got a twist rate in the barrel that will stabilize them for accuracy. If you are unsure at all about your ability to be exacting in bullet placement or patience to wait for that shot, I'd suggest going bigger.
If we put the bullet where it needed to go, the hog went down. There was the errant snafu once in a while that required a follow up shot or some tracking, but those were rare, and we never lost one that was hit.Its all about knowing your equipment and capabilities. Personally, I carry a .243 or .308 nowadays to have a little more power and insurance when I fall short of delivering my part of the equation, which doesn't happen very often.
Pay good attention to cartridge selection. Work toward the heavier bullets, but also ensure you've got a twist rate in the barrel that will stabilize them for accuracy. If you are unsure at all about your ability to be exacting in bullet placement or patience to wait for that shot, I'd suggest going bigger.
DoctorXring
New member
.223
This is an interesting article about bullet penetration
and defeating bones on impact.
There is a section about the 60 grain Nosler Partition
bullet.
http://www.gunsandhunting.com/Bullethitsbone.html
I'm not recommending the use of the .223 Remington for deer
for all, just saying it will do the job. If I did not think it would and
there was any chance of failure, I would not have used it on
all those deer I have shot. When I anticipated any shot longer
than 150 yards, I would take my 6.5x55.
"Killing Power" of firearms is more about accuracy than
caliber and raw velocity. Bullet construction is also primary.
i.e. A .223 Remington loaded with 40 grain varmint bullets
would be a poor choice indeed.
This is an interesting article about bullet penetration
and defeating bones on impact.
There is a section about the 60 grain Nosler Partition
bullet.
http://www.gunsandhunting.com/Bullethitsbone.html
I'm not recommending the use of the .223 Remington for deer
for all, just saying it will do the job. If I did not think it would and
there was any chance of failure, I would not have used it on
all those deer I have shot. When I anticipated any shot longer
than 150 yards, I would take my 6.5x55.
"Killing Power" of firearms is more about accuracy than
caliber and raw velocity. Bullet construction is also primary.
i.e. A .223 Remington loaded with 40 grain varmint bullets
would be a poor choice indeed.
Personally, I'd rather have at least a 7mm, to give myself room for tree limbs, thick grass, wind, etc. I mostly use a 30 cal. for deer hunting. Here in Mississpi, I usually don't have a "perfect" shot. Too much brush.
Big and slow will win out over fast and light, I also shoot BPCR. The BIG bullets will go 1000 yards + with predictability.
Big and slow will win out over fast and light, I also shoot BPCR. The BIG bullets will go 1000 yards + with predictability.
freakshow10mm
Moderator
Wrong. Michigan allows ANY centerfire cartridge for deer hunting. Read the regs.
I have killed numerous deer with a .223. I use Win 64gr PP and they do a great job.
The .223 has at least the same KE as the .44 Magnum, a cartridge suggested for deer by many hunters. A .223 (5.56) will kill a 200 pound human as well as a 200 pound deer. You can kill both quickly with a well placed shot.
armedtotheteeth
New member
I killed 4 deer with mY Ar-15 last year. All head shots, all died right there where they stood. I use Vmaxs, shoot them in the ear, or top of the skull. my other workhorse rifle ( Ar-30) tends to tear up many many tasty pieces of meatses. Know your regs. know your shot. 1300 foot pounds of energy is plenty plenty to kill a deer. A 223 has about 5 times the energy of a bow. Bows have killed deer for millions of years.