So you hunt with a 223...

H

HALLAUSTIN

New member
What bullet are you using, where do you hold, and what are you hunting? If you're here to say that poodle shooters don't work on deer or hogs please move along. Not looking to debate that, just here to learn and see what other hunters like from the .224 projectile selection. I'll start.
62gr soft point or 60gr Vmax- deer and hog, vmax only neck on deer and ear shots on hog. With the soft point I just hold behind the shoulder.
60gr Vmax- coyote, groundhog, fox. I hold for heart/lungs.
 
I use 60 gr Partition. I don't shoot varmints with it.

The 64 gr solid base bonded is another excellent one for game animals.
 
I'd choose the 55 or 62 grain Barnes TTSX and neck shoot them or double lung them. Next year I'll carry my .22 Nosler with a 62gr TTSX. I don't see a problem in dropping deer with that combo assuming its accurate enough to hunt with.
 
I don't use mine exclusively, but do take it out when it is a steady rain. I poke around in the laurel and rocks for close shots. I use Hornady 55 gr V-MAX. I would not use those bullets for long range or try for a through shoulder shot. Front or rear neck shot is OK, they work great into the lungs.
 
While a 55gr V-max might kill a deer it would be at the bottom of my list. It is a varmint bullet designed for rapid expansion. Using that type of bullet on deer is were the 223 got it's reputation as a poor choice.

Most any softpoint bullet 60 gr or heavier should be acceptable. Some of the tougher bullets such as the Partition would be a good choice. Any of the copper bullets such as Barnes will work just fine even in the lighter 50-55 gr weights.
 
I never hunted with a .223, but my daughter has and I always had her use 55 grain TSX bullets. Actually use Barns Vortex ammunition loaded with 55 grain TSX. I think any mono metal bullet, or bonded bullet in the 55 grain and up would be ideal for the .223 Rem.
 
Thru the warm months of the year. If I happen to see yote/s or woodchucks in my pasture. 223 is ideal for their elimination. My rifle (early 80s model 7) has a poor twist for shooting those heavy weight 69s and is a bit finicky with 64s even. But 55 gr. & 52 gr HPs are the cats meow. Spot on bullet placement out to 200-yrds. "No Problem!"__ {non of my rifles are sighted with the 6 o-clock hold}__ I use to use a 22 WMR for the same purpose. But once my neighbors got use to the 223s noise report {no longer calling me on my cell asking what I was shooting at} and quickly realizing how cheap & easy it was to reload the 223. I was immediately drawn to lifting it out of the gun safe verses the old straight shoot'en Marlin mag.
Although I do have a much better scope on the 7 (leupold) than on the Mag. (Weaver) may have swayed that decision just a little. ;)
 
all copper

I also use the factory barnes 55 grain tsx vor-tx ammo. Its pure murder on deer. I think its much more effective than the winchester soft points i previously used. Maybe the 64 grain version, cant remember the exact grain. Price is the same at my bass pro as well, 21.00$. Definitely a larger exit hole. they are more accurate in my savage 11 as well. Especially after i cut the barrel to 17 inches. :)
 
I've killed a few deer with my 223 and 220 Swift, but personally don't think either is a great caliber for deer or hogs. But, if I do hunt with the 223, I'll use 60 gr Partitions, 65 gr Sierra GK, or 64 gr Nosler BSB's. None of those will stabilize in my 220. I just use the 260 these days. Works every time.
 
Guess I am not very special, if I hunt with one of my .223s it is usually loaded with either a 60 grain partition or a 55 gn TSX. Within 100 yards they hit within an inch of where its normal diet of 55 gn HP do.
 
Sierra 65 grain BTS in reloads, Federal Fusion for factory. I've killed numerous hogs with the Sierra bullet, but no deer. I've killed four deer with the Federal, but no hogs.
 
Any of the heavier rounds should work well provided they are designed for hunting and are loaded warm enough.
 
40gr vmax with a near max charge of TAC makes prairie dogs go to pieces. Makes a real mess.

55gr soft point in my AR, mid range IMR 4895, has been good on jackrabbits and coyotes. Doesn't make a mess of the hide so far and hits hard enough.

Experimenting with:
50-52gr match HP's and soft points in my bolt rifle, loaded to low 221 fireball velocities with Blue Dot for an all around predator/pelt saver. I want it to leave fox and bobcat hides manageable.

Tossed:
40gr Vmax loaded to low 221 fireball velocities with Blue Dot. The Vmax is too explosive for fox, made a mess of the hide.

Will eventually experiment with:
64gr Bonded and 68gr match HP for all around predator work, I'm thinking neither will be too hard on pelts.
 
My son used my ar to kill 3 deer this year all with my handloads using a 75gr hornady. I was going to load him up some 70gr tsx but after seeing the performance of the 75gr pills on coyote I figured they would work just fine with good shot placement. Work they did on the second deer he pulled the shot a little forward striking the shoulder ball joint and the bullet did come apart a little but it still shredded both lungs and both fragments ended up stopping in the hide on the far side. Cant ask for much more from a 223.
 
bonded and match

Bamaboy shot his first two whitetails with federal Federal Tactical bonded ammo, I don't know whose bullet Federal used for that load, I wanna say Bearclaws. Bullet weights were 1 w/ 55 gr, and the other with a 62 gr. Both shots were double lung, broadside, one was a pass thru (62) and the 55 we recovered just under the hide on the off side. The shot on which we recovered the 55 was very close, about 30 yds, and I suspect the little pill expanded a bit more due to higher velocity at the closer range. The bullet that did not exit gave zero blood trail, though the deer ran less than 50 yds and was easily recovered. I had no doubt he had hit her right. We moved on to a .243. and now, if he goes, he snitches my .308 Hog Rifle.

I prowl about the local acreage with a .223 Mini Mauser, and my load for that is a Sierra 52 gr Match King. My velocities are only a bit above what one might get with a fast Hornet, but accuracy is better than other "hunting" bullets. The crows and lone coyote I've nailed really didn't know the difference, but there was not a lot of expansion. I load the same slug in 22-250, and back in the day, shot a lot of ground hogs with that combo. I hold on the shoulders/chest of 'yotes and ground hogs, and simply center crows.
 
I do not hunt with a .223 because I think it is a poodle shooter.:D. My 6 year old son hunts with one. 62 grain fusion. He shot a five point buck at 120 yards, a 10 point at 95, and a doe at 190. That poodle shooter was impressive. All three were heart shots. All three exited with exit wound the size of a dime. 5 point piled up DRT. 10 point and doe ran about 30 yards. I am quite impressed with Federal fusion and with the poodle shooter.:D Might even hunt with it myself eventually.
 
I do not hunt with a .223. I own one in a Mini 14 Ranch rifle, but never have I hunted with it. If I owned one in a bolt rifle I would probably limit it to varmints. Without a doubt it will kill deer sized animals, but I will use larger calibers for that work, that's just me.
 
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