is 223 enough for east coast whitetails?

whatever rifle you are using, you must be sure what is behind the animal you are shooting at, if you miss (can happen to anyone, but some miss more than others) most bullets will travel several kilometers (.22lr <2km. 30-06 <5km) this have resulted in many nasty situations.
 
This input has been great fellows.
Followups re: various queries,
AT this point it will be the 303 or 308
most likely 303 since the other is a Remmy LTR( heavyrifle but has an adjusted trigger)
I thought the 06 was a bit much gun since the 303 or 308
have nearly the same performance at the short-medium ranges
I will encounter. As for the bullet carrying too far due to misses:
I have been cost effectively pracicing my marksmanship from various non bench positions with my 22lr so that when the time comes I won't miss, also our farm is in a valley so I have a 450 yard backstop free of inintended bullet recipients.From the bench I've been fairly consistent at tagging soda cans out to 400 yards from my bipod so I'm not a greenhorn to shooting. I've been keeping an eye out for fresh droppings and fresh trails so I have a better idea of their habits and due to the lack of snow so far, so good with the lack of damage. You guys are a really valuable resource.
Oh, Salt: I've promised myself that I'm buying a reloading press before I buy another gun.
 
I personally don't like the 223 for hunting deer, but I will say that a young boy whose father is on my deer lease (he lives there) shoots deer at 250 yards (verified with range finder, distance from cliff to feeder) on a regular basis and has never lost a deer in the 5 years I have hunted there.

I don't know what ammo he uses, but he shoots heart/lung shots at 250, and ear or neck shots 100 yards and in.

I personally would not use anything smaller than a .243, and I shoot a 7mm Rem Mag for those distances.

Btw we hunt in an area of Texas that 250 yards is an average shot, and you could (I wouldn't) shoot 500 yard shots or more.

I want my animal to drop as quickly as possible, nothing hurts me more than to walk up to a deer who suddenly tries to scramble to his feet only to have to shoot him again:(
 
I've killed quite a few deer. Most were one-shot kills.

I lost one in 1973, and can still give you chapter and verse of the whole scene...:(

Art
 
...nothing hurts me more than to walk up to a deer who suddenly tries to scramble to his feet only to have to shoot him again
Click to expand...
But thats the only part of the hunt when you get to pull out your Ruger Redhawk... ;) :(
 
Thats a topic I almost brought up a few days ago "UnClean Kills". I've seen it with Small game and heard plenty of Deer Hunting Stories. Clean Kills are always better :)
 
If you are culling deer, and there might be folks living close, then use a .30-30,or try a 12 gauge slug. If people aren't a concern, then use whatever you please. It is real simple. If you have to cull deer and worry about people, use 12 GA. 00 buck.
 
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For years I hunted with a 22-250 on deer. i have never lost one and almost always dropped them within a few feet of where they were hit. I have plenty of friends who use the .223 it is marginal but if you put the bullet in the heart/lung area it will kill them.

The farthest I ever had to track a deer was after I shot one with a 30-06.



Just remember that people drop deer in their tracks all the time with a bow and arrow. A .223 is fine if used responsibly and with in its limits, just like a bow and arrow.
 
OH the great debate.
It never ceases to amaze me how folks will advocate the .223 as the ultimate battle cartridge for 150 + lb. humans dress in battle gear but will not accept thte same performance on a 75 to 100 lb. deer running naked.
Varmit size cartridges with well designed fast bullets will kill deer like hot lighting with a well placed shoot. With a poorly placed shoot there is no future in anything more powerful or larger caliber.
I, myself, mainly use the 6.5 X 55 or the 25-06 for deer but I have cleanly killed deer with rounds as anemic as the .22 LR (behind the ear) and as powerful as a .60 muzzle loader at 15 yards (chest shot). Both deer dropped on the spot.
This brings to mind the writings of a Christain missionary to the Cree Indians of northern Canada. The folks hunted caribou twice a year when the great herds passed thru their territory. You can be sure a cartridge or a weapon that did not perform would not last long. We are talking survival food here. Their favorite weapon for these 400 to 500 lb animals was the Ruger Mini-14 in .223.

Perhaps the question here is not;

"Is the .223 good enough for eastern deer?"

But;

"Why would I intentionally use a .223 for eastern deer when there are so many better cartridges?"
 
Well, riddleofsteel, I prefer the .308 for either deer or human. Although I have known a half-dozen guys who use .223 Mini-14's on whitetail all the time....never more than one shot (they know their business) and I don't argue. I have seen the deer bodys, they damn-near fell dead. I have to admit that though I am from the school that bigger is better. On hogs on up, bigger is better, on deer and such, a better shot is better, no matter the caliber. don't mean to agree or argue....Just what I have seen....
 
Been using an '06 since before there was a .308. I started out with it because my father gave me an '06. How easy can it get? "That's what my daddy uses," said the sixteen-year-old.

As I learned more about the whole deal, I came to the conclusion that "overkill" is sort of like insurance. I'm not always going to make that perfect hit that makes a deer DRT. A cartridge which is more than some minimum capability can still anchor an animal, even if it's a bad hit.

Further, a clean kill is important to me because of what I have come to see as a requirement for ethical behavior on my part. That is of no concern if the problem is dealing with a Bad Guy.

Dunno. It all seems simple, now. Of course, it only took a few decades for me to become the all-wise, all-knowing sage that I am. :D

Art
 
Originally Posted by Riddleofsteel:

"OH the great debate.
It never ceases to amaze me how folks will advocate the .223 as the ultimate battle cartridge for 150 + lb. humans dress in battle gear but will not accept thte same performance on a 75 to 100 lb. deer running naked."


Well, probably most people are not worried about a "clean kill" while in Battle as I would not either.

That is a totally different scenario.

When in peacetime and hunting a defenseless animal, I want that animal to die as quickly and painlessly as possible.

If I am in a war fighting for my life, I could care less If I had to gut shoot someone..... at least in the heat of Battle.. I'm sure afterward I would not be overjoyed of someone elses suffering
 
"Why would I intentionally use a .223 for eastern deer when there are so many better

Quietest, cheapest ammo, most lightweight rifle fastest follow up shot if we have more than one deer to eliminate. I simply asked a question from a nonhunters position. I've decided on my grandfathers enfield, for the record.
Riddle of Steel do you usually hunt from your high horse as well?
 
HKLVR,
I think that you have made an excellent decision. I recommend Federal 180 grain Tropy Bonded Bear Claw ammunition. It generates 2680 lbs of energy at the muzzle, and when sighted in at 200 yards is only 2.4 inches high at 100 yards and 4.0 inches low at 250 yards with 1610 lbs of energy retained. An impressive cartridge for up to 250 yards. Good luck.
 
223

A young man at my Church(18) did not like the recoil of his 270. He traded for a NE rifle in 223 and loaded the Hornady 60 grain SP. He shot and killed two deer in the N GA mountains and both went but a few yards. Range was about 65 yards.
 
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