Nosler Partitition .223 Rem

KYE-OAT

New member
Got your attention, didn't it???
Well, does anyone have tales of tough bullets on deer out of Center-fire 22's?????
Don't hafta be Noslers.....can be Swift A-frames, Barnes X's...or whatever............
 
64 Grain Remington PP minimum, but......

Even a .220 Swift with a 70 Grain bullet is under powered for the task.
 
I hesitate to post this because I'm not endorsing 22s for deer hunting. There are so many better choices, from the 243 on up. That said, I have used the Trophy Bonded and the Barnes X on some small deer. Both work well if you put the bullet exactly where it needs to go. The Trophys retained about 90 percent of their weight and looked like classical mushrooms if recovered. They are also very expensive. The X bullet (I’ve only used one) penetrated farther but was not recovered. I like Nosler Partitions but haven’t tried them in 22. I suspect they would work like the other two mentioned.
I’ve seen others used, 64 gr. Winchester, the old 55 gr. Nosler solid base (out of production) and the 70 gr. Speer SP. While all resulted in dead deer, the penetration was lacking. They would not consistently exit a small bodied deer on an easy broadside shot. To me that’s not good enough.
If I HAD to use a 22, I would go with the Barnes X, or if my gun didn’t shoot them well, the Nosler Partition.
 
The attached picture is of a deer taken by my six year old son with a Federal 55 grain soft-point - one shot. This was a neck shot, so perhaps that doesn't say much. The rifle is a cut down H&R Handi-Rifle.
He took another deer the following year at about 125 yards with the same load, also one shot. This deer was taken through the lungs and went about 15 or 20 yards before keeling over.
Both deer were taken with me backing him up with a more substantial rifle.
I'm sure a premium bullet would be a better choice but I just don't shoot much .223 and I'm not set up to reload for it.

Anyway, a .223 can be an effective deer caliber if you're careful. I just don't think it's a good idea unless you've got a physical impairment or you're a kid. There's just no reason to use to push the envelope like that.
 

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KYE-OAT, Trophy Bonded makes a 55 grn .224 bullet. Ive tried this one and it works good. Ive shot alot of deer w/ a .223 (mostly PMC 55gn sftpt) and have yet to have an experience that would make me think a .224 bullet isn't completely adequate for whitetail deer. In fact, Ive seen deer shot through the heart/lungs w/ a 30-06 go much farther than deer shot through the heart/lungs w/ a 55gn PMC. However, Texas heart shot w/ .223 is totally out of the question ;) ....................as it should be w/ any rifle...


m16
 
The problem with any "what caliber/bullet for deer" is to define "deer". Here in the south one can find small ones in over populated areas and large ones in areas that have good land/deer ratios. Big difference between a 90 lb. South Carolina coastal deer and a 175 lb. piedmont deer. Deer in thick cover need more (IMHO) of a whack than beanfield deer in order to recover them.

That being said, shot placement is still 90% of the game.

Giz
 
Giz said it when it comes to shot placement. I guess this goes with do as I say not as I do :D but I have dropped em in their tracks with a heart/lung shot with the Speer 70 grain semi spitzer in my 22-250. These were river bottom deer with some going near 200#, not the marsh deer where a big one is 125#. Now this was rye grass field shooting, if it was in the woods, or ahead of the dogs then its time for an 06 or something along that line.
 
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