Are 224 Bullets Too small for Deer Sized Game?

[nocannons]

A lot of discussion about 224 bullets being to small, too low penetration, too explosive, etc for varied deer sized game at "reasonable distances", so of the below bullets, which is unsuitable for deer and similar sized game and why?View attachment 166189

Okay I know I will probably get booed but here goes. 223 or 22/250 I have used both and had good luck with both. any of the first three are capable. Another bullet that has worked is berger 70vld. One shot behind shoulder and insides are mush. also have used sierra 63 gr. smp. Not a fancy streamlined wind cutter that everyone thinks you need nowadays but they work even if you have to take a shoulder shot. more than once both shoulders broken with bullet on hide far side.

 

[358 Guy]

While I have killed 6 deer with the 224 cal. using either the 60 gr. Nosler Partition (22-250) or the 55 gr. Barnes TTSX. (223) I do not consider them to be reliable killers under anything but ideal conditions. I personally think that reliable deer size game calibers start at the 6.5's. I personally hunt with a 270 Win. loaded with 150 gr. Nosler Partitions. The 224's simply don't have the bullet mass or frontal area to be counted on when the conditions are not the best. One of the best analogy's that I have ever heard is that I don't want a gun that works when everything goes right, I want a gun that works when everything goes wrong. Now this is just my own personal opinion, but it is based on 50 + years of hunting.

 

[JarHeadTim]

Why do we keep having these kinds of debates? They kill hogs with air rifles. As long as you can shoot them in the head, it doesn't maker what you can shoot them with AS LONG AS YOU GET ADEQUATE PENETRATION AND HIT THEM WHERE YOU WANT TO HIT THEM. Now, if you're trying to make head shots at 100-300+ yards like the situation presents itself many hundreds of times a year for us making head shots, on a nervous animal gets significantly more challenging. So as not to pee on your .224 bore question I will give you facts about a larger caliber. We shoot them in the boiler room with 6.5 Creedmoors (the magic cartridge, right? ) and they run for the horizon 70% of the time. From nylon tipped hollow points (so as to not offend any bullet manufacturer) to all copper bullets. Step up to .30 cals and the DRT rate increases and the distance they run decreases. Pigs don't bleed well so the bigger PERMANENT WOUND CAVITY you inflict pays dividends.

We have similar results with whitetail. You can get away with more fragile bullets on whitetail than pigs to cause more trauma with what is in essence bullet failure, but that's a risk reward proposition as well. Catch the femur bone on a whitetail with a fragile bullet, you get bullet fragmentation on the surface and inadequate terminal penetration. We had a client cull a young buck from the herd earlier this week with just that situation, he was on 3 legs.

So will a quarter bore kill whitetails, sure. Is it optimal, not in my professional opinion. Can you hook a Tarpon with an ultra-light rod and reel, sure...

 

[Arctiv Bob]

Why even use a .223? The following, is why using 'toy' guns (actually designed to wound) bothers me. In the high arctic an Inuit, co-worker shot a rare 'barren ground grizzly bear', with .223. How? Shoot it, wound it, then chase with ATV, repeat for 2 hours. Skin now hangs on his wall, has 20+ bullet holes.

 

[Arctiv Bob]

I have witnessed Inuit, using .223 on caribou, during migration. they either chase on a snowmobile or hid behind boulder and shoot over & over (100+ rounds) then go & pick up their 30 or so that died. wounded, hobble on. You see that & you will never carry a .223 for big game. Animal deserves more respect than that!

 

[Donnie Spradling]

I use a 62 grain Nosler Partition regardless of bullets being used the shot placement is very crucial. The round is not for inexperienced shooter. I have killed several deer with my Savage 22-250. Most of the time I kill Does with a head shot inside of 200 yards.

 

[Gibbshooter43]

Well, well, well. I'm sorry to say that I haven't "kilt" The 100's of deer many of you have. Didn't kill my first till in my teens; not grade school age. That first one was with an old single shot 16 gauge. I've since acquired and sold and acquired lots of guns in varying calibers. Will they all kill? That's the plan. Growing up in Maryland, we'd kill lots of BIG hogs at butcher time with 22 shorts. But if my 76 years has taught me anything (an issue my wife will debate you on), it's taught me what to use on what and when, and not to try to convince everyone else that my what and when is best for them. Happy hunting everyone. Gibbs...

 

[Fedwell]

Before you grab your trusty 223 Cal Rifle and head for the woods, Better check the Hunting Proclamation. UTAH and Colorado are just 2 States that you MUST have .243 (6mm) or larger to Hunt Big Game....

 

[zb338]

I would say that the guys that are in this blog would mostly all be
qualified to shoot deer with .22 centerfire rifles. There are a lot of
yahoo's out there that can't hit a barn with any rifle. I would hate
to see every kid in Pa. running around with an AR-15 and shooting
at deer. Spray and pray!
Zeke

 

[PawneeStrider74a]

A lot of discussion about 224 bullets being to small, too low penetration, too explosive, etc for varied deer sized game at "reasonable distances", so of the below bullets, which is unsuitable for deer and similar sized game and why?View attachment 166189

People kill deer with 22 long rifles and 22 Magnums. I have lost a few deer shot with Army issue 5.56 ammo in my youth. We had a 12 or more point white tail hanging around our farms a few years ago. Someone shot it with a 220 Swift; it was never found. I don't think the 22s are adequate for most deer hunting but then the 22 Hornet with a 46gr soft point under 100 yards is something else, eh? You know that from the time it was commercial available until after WWII the Natives in Alaska hunted everything with this round.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

In free states you can hunt with a .22 caliber center fire.

 

[Jluck]

This threat is like a Rorschach test / we all tend to see what we each are predisposed to see. Perhaps the post sought benefit from the exercise more so than the answers.

Pmscc60 nailed it. Too many variables still undefined to reach a defendable selection/answer (unless many assumptions are made).

IMHO, maybe the most fundamental variable that needs to be defined is the anticipated impact velocity. That number will strongly influence so many of the other variables discussed here like distance, shot placement, shots thru cover, etc.

Absolutely! All of these type posts are started in moral doubt or to incite controversy.. One day its... "A 6.5 Derp-Derp for elk?".. The next day "A 6.5 Derp.. for moose?"... Tomorrow it's cape buffalo.... Yea I have a paint sprayer but I think I'll paint my house with a 1.5" brush. A buddy did it and it worked!!

 

[Deleted member 48126]

Derp derp derpity derp lol

 

[halfmile]

Anyone using varmint bullets for bigger game needs to go have their lobotomy checked because it probably didn't take.

HM