Best deer bullet for 223

[Waynard]

Trickymissfit, you really don't like the 223 for deer ? How far are your shots on deer? A friend of mine has killed a lot of deer with that 223 and a 55gr bullet. In fact one year he shot a nice 9 point white tail at 176 paces thru the woods, hit it behind the shoulder and it dropped right there. That buck weighted about 170 lbs. Now, I could see your point if you had to take a 500 yard shot. I would feel under powered at that point too. Most of my shots are under 100 yards where I hunt so the 223 for doe hunting will be enough to get er done.

I like one shot kills where possible and prefer to do all my hunting before I shoot. Elmer Keith

 

[hunterbob]

I have an AR-15,,,,I don't even like it for coyote hunting though I use it at times. My Grandson killed a hog with it , shot it high, but was lucky , got a spine shot ..... I have shot deer behind the shoulder with a 308 and a 270 before and they run for at least 50 yards. Neck shots put them down where I hit them... Shot a deer with a 243 one time in the heart, it went 50 yards and dove into brush..... As far as your friend telling you about the 170 lb deer, lol , maybe he got lucky, but I don't believe it. You'll find out sooner or later.... about hunter ethics and the reality, that you hit a deer in the body somewhere and have to track it , then cannot find it.... and you will know its going to die slowly somewhere.... As you gain more hunting experience you'll understand what I'm talking about.... I just had the same situation recently with a neighbor who said he was a hunter. He went out and bought an AR-15 for hunting. when he had the perfect rifle already a 243 Savage.... I'm not even going to relive the three trips I went on. He cost me coyotes , busted our position, turned tail and ran when the yotes were around us the last night..... My grandsons love the AR-15, but I tell them the same thing that Old Infantry Soldier told me, (their Great Grandfather) ,,, a rifle like that is made for shooting people with, not hunting ..... I'm done here

 

[Jim in Cali]

60 grain Nosler Partiton, the Barnes will probably just make little holes through the Deer.

 

[Waynard]

Wow, hunterbob, you really sound like you know what your talking about. To bad you really don't know what you are talking are about ...

 

[Waynard]

Jim in cali, thanks, I was leaning towards the 60 gr. Nosler bullet but also wanted to try the 65 gr Sierra. I think something a little more than the 55gr. bullet would be better, although my friend swears by the 55gr bullet and he has shot enough deer to back it up. gun)

I like one shot kills where possible and prefer to do all my hunting before I shoot. Elmer Keith

 

[mountainman56]

Hi guys, anybody have a favorite bullet and loads to use in a 223 Ruger American Rifle. I'm looking at something for doe hunting so I don't destroy a lot of meat.

I like one shot kills where possible and prefer to do all my hunting before I shoot. Elmer Keith

I'm pretty sure Elmer Keith never condoned deer hunting with a .22 calibre. Where I grew up in Canada the smallest legal calibre we could hunt with was .23 which was done to specifically rule out small 22 centerfires.

Now living in Texas amongst the "anorexic" deer population obviously a 223 is large enough for small does.........however, if the trophy buck of a lifetime comes along while you are hunting does I'm pretty sure you will wish you were packin something more substantial.


"Use enough gun" Robert Ruark

 

[Gray R]

I'm in the pro 223 camp. I've killed 5 or 6 whitetails with a 223 and none of em went farther than 30 yards while most of em dropped. I've also killed several pigs in the 150-200 pound range from up close to several hundred yards out and it never left anything to be desired. Did I use vmaxs? No I didn't I used an appropriately constructed bullet and shot where it needed to go and everything was fine. I would load the 55 grain ttsx and not worry at all. Good luck

 

[Pdvdh]

Sounds like you're getting to a consensus on several good bullets. Nosler partition, Barnes TSX and TTSX, Sierra 65gr Game King. It seems you already know that with good shot placement, these bullets will kill deer cleanly at the closer ranges you're planning on. I've read that at ranges past 200-250yds, the .223 can lack power and velocity to cause substantial/sufficient tissue damage for body hits on large game. So I wouldn't be surprised to hear about disappointing experiences past 250yds. But inside 200yds really not lacking at all with good shot placement.

I know a guy that's shot a lot of deer at closer ranges (generally less than 75yds) with a .22WMR. He takes quite a few head shots, but also kills them with body shots into the ribs with the factory jacketed hollow points. These deer are killed for food, and he minimizes meat damage his way. He's done this for years, and wouldn't continue with the .22WMR if he was wounding and losing deer. Any a good bullet from a .223 dwarfs the .22WMR in speed and energy. Even the varmint bullets punched into the ribs behind the shoulder muscles will kill deer cleanly at closer ranges.

 

[Waynard]

Phorwath, that is what I'm talking about ,shots inside of 200 yards and most shots 100 yards or less on does that weight 100 to 140 lbs. Like I said I've seen my friend put up the numbers on deer with his old Remington ADL 223 and a 55 gr. bullet. gun)

I like "one shot kills where possible" and prefer to do all my hunting before I shoot. Elmer Keith

 

[Kansaswoodguy]

I have been using the humble .223 rem on deer for many years and not little deer I grew up in northern Wisconsin and now reside in SE Kansas and have come to like barnes 55 tsx or ttsx the best. The 62 grains are also good if your gun has a fast enough twist to stabilize them. I would stay away from 70 grain barnes in the 223 unless hand loaded at the max load data it can't move the bullet fast enough to fully open reliably. My brother has a tikka t3 light with a 1/8 twist I hand loaded him some 70 tsx at min load ifrom my barnes reloading manual #4 22.5 grains of Varget 2627 fps per manual with 24" barrel the tikka has a 22.3" barrel. He and his boy shot several deer with that load and all where pass threw's but one a smaller basket buck around 140 lbs his boy took a poor shot straight up the backside at 60 yards the bullet was recovered just under the skin of the neck so yes I mean full length of body penetration. The bullet however did not fully open the petals. We then tested that load in bulistic gel and had some others not fully open we then loaded the remainder of the 70 tsx at max load data 24.5 grains of varget at 2840 fps and had no more issues with them not opening fully in the gel. We desided that the 55 or 62 grain are best in the 223 rem for reliable opening to occur at most ranges that we are comfortable taking deer with the .223 rem. All that said very good shot placement is a must with the 223 and we love the Barnes tsx and ttsx bullets but they love speed to work there magic on game.

 

[hunterbob]

Sounds like you're getting to a consensus on several good bullets. Nosler partition, Barnes TSX and TTSX, Sierra 65gr Game King. It seems you already know that with good shot placement, these bullets will kill deer cleanly at the closer ranges you're planning on. I've read that at ranges past 200-250yds, the .223 can lack power and velocity to cause substantial/sufficient tissue damage for body hits on large game. So I wouldn't be surprised to hear about disappointing experiences past 250yds. But inside 200yds really not lacking at all with good shot placement.

I know a guy that's shot a lot of deer at closer ranges (generally less than 75yds) with a .22WMR. He takes quite a few head shots, but also kills them with body shots into the ribs with the factory jacketed hollow points. These deer are killed for food, and he minimizes meat damage his way. He's done this for years, and wouldn't continue with the .22WMR if he was wounding and losing deer. Any a good bullet from a .223 dwarfs the .22WMR in speed and energy. Even the varmint bullets punched into the ribs behind the shoulder muscles will kill deer cleanly at closer ranges.

What you have just posted is illegal phowath. 22 rim fire is illegal to shoot dear with.

 

[Michael Courtney]

What you have just posted is illegal phowath. 22 rim fire is illegal to shoot dear with.

It depends on the state and the circumstances. When we killed dozens of deer each year on damage control permits in an overpopulated area, we could use anything we wanted. With good placement, you do not need tons of energy to kill deer. The fellows who played the role of sharpshooters at a nearby park were also allowed to use whatever they wanted.

I co-authored a paper last year with Joe Caudell of the USDA on terminal effectiveness of sub-sonic loads in deer. The USDA is keenly interested in sub-sonic loads because a lot of deer and hog culling has to be done close to populated areas and they are trying to reduce the disturbances. I guess at some point they need to decide if they'd rather the disturbance of a suppressed super sonic crack or deer that reach suburban back yards if they run 100 yards or more from where they are hit.

 

[Waynard]

Kansaswoodguy, good info. on the Barnes bullet. That is what I like to read {Real Talk From Real Experience}. I've a friend that also favors the 55gr bullet, he has killed a lot of deer with the 55 gr'er over the years.

I like one shoot kills where possible and prefer to do all my hunting before I shoot. Elmer Keith

 

[Gray R]

If you can find any of the trophy bonded bear claws that federal loaded that's what I used to use and it worked well but they may have been discontinued