What can't .223 kill?

[436]

Humane kills every time...??? doesn't really happen that way. No one that I've ever hunted with could claim a humane kill every time, myself included, "with or without" the "biggest & best" shooter in the woods.
In a perfect world'..., I'm sure we all wish we could make a ethical kill everytime for the animals benefit... but'…, I've never seen, met or known anyone that good; that has, ever hunted "big game" for any length of time make that claim either. That emotional path is a little Pollyanna in my book.
Back to the question; can a .223 Rem kill big game? Yep
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[justgoto]

Back to the question; can a .223 Rem kill big game?

Actually, that isn't the question. The question is, "What can't .223 kill?" The answer is, Humpback whales.

Watch someone come back with a 223 humpback whale story. :O

 

[J E Custom]

Humane kills every time...??? doesn't really happen that way. No one that I've ever hunted with could claim a humane kill every time, myself included, "with or without" the "biggest & best" shooter in the woods.
In a perfect world'..., I'm sure we all wish we could make a ethical kill everytime for the animals benefit... but'…, I've never seen, met or known anyone that good; that has, ever hunted "big game" for any length of time make that claim either. That emotional path is a little Pollyanna in my book.

Exactly !!!

That is why A larger caliber should be used on large game and not at all on dangerous game.

In the earlier post I stated that the 223 could kill anything on earth, But so could a 577 T Rex
but why kill P Dogs with a 577 and why kill any thing larger than a yote with a 223.

It is not a perfect world and you should use the rifle that would at least have a chance of a
ONE SHOT KILL every time so when that not so good shot is made it can still turn out well.

I realize that this is an argument that cannot be settled so I have stated my opinion just like
everyone else and the choice is yours.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Miller Outdoors]

Sounds like we're actually in agreement - it *can* kill about anything. The question that this type question always seems to morph into is "should" it be used for this or that - then the debate starts to turn messy. I dislike anyone wanting to apply their belief system, or their perceived right and wrong on others. When I see this it comes across to me as hearing "you're not smart enough to make your own decision, so here's my judgment - use it in place of your own". That may not be the intent most of the time, but I believe it's why these sort of discussions morph into what they do.

In my opinion, so long as someone is within the game regulations they're a-ok in my book. There is a time and a place for every gun we own, and it's up to the shooter to use his discretion.

As for my personal experience guiding - I'd MUCH rather have a guy come on a deer hunt with a .223 that he knows how to shoot than a guy show up with a .338 cuz he likes to look cool at the range. I've experienced too many misses with big guns and very few with the smaller caliber hunters.

 

[436]

Ok... here the deal… I very much enjoy yakking with all of you over your points of view; as well as expressing mine. And I agree, these types of discussions have the ability to morph into something else in a hillbilly heart beat.

Everyone has made some very interesting and informative comments in this area. No one is wrong, their views are like any other persons view; it all depends on where you're standing in the world when you make the comment, right in one spot; wrong in another spot.

If I've stilted anyone, I apologies; it was not intentional. I take other peoples points of view very serious, they've taken their valuable time to set down and make them known and the very least I can do is respect them.

Of late I've seen a trend in the AR's world to push the platform with (hunting diameter over .22 cal) but I the .30 30 power range. At the same time I see the bullet guy's coming out with more and better .22 cal bullet that can be used for hunting things like deer hunting where legal… kinda sends the hunter a mixed message perhaps.

Don't get me wrong'…, I have no problem with AR's as a hunting platform, and I sure don't want to start that conversation (can you say; Zumbo) I guess what I'm saying is more and more hunts are taking AR's into the field in other calibers, they are also taking quite a few afield in .223 Rem, and the after action reports are pretty good on there performance. Be then its back to ethical or not and what can't or can a .223 Rem kill.
Perhaps it's something of a trick question… and all roads lead back to home (the hunter) and what he feels about what he is hunting and what he's hunting with.

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[theodore]

A 223 is capable of killing humpback whale. With help from technology, bullet selection is better than ever. Along with shot placement that is needed for each different specie.

Larger caliber simply have less margin of error if shots are good placement.

Key is the right bullet at the recommended impact velocity with good shot placement.

quick fact- Hogs have a thick armor plate and has stopped 30-06 from penetrating in less than 100yd. Resulting in a wounded hog that most likely survived because of bad shot placement or could've been prevented with a different bullet.

I would be amazed if anyone can kill a coyote with a boat tail non-expanding .223 bullet while not hitting any nervous system (brain/spine).

Good luck!

 

[FAL Shot]

The .223 Remington can be loaded with varmint bullets or with big game bullets such as a 75-grain Swift Scirocco II. That bullet could kill a Cape Buffalo, but maybe not before the buffalo killed the shooter. A killing round and a stopping round are not the same thing. A mule deer at 200 yards and a cape buffalo ready to charge you are two different things.

The original question is hard to answer because it was poorly asked. Being able to kill and being able to kill quickly and reliably are two different things. I would use a .223 Rem cartridge, provided it had the right bullet, up to about 300 yards on an average size mule deer, under good shooting conditions. How soon do you need the animal stopped and dead, and under what conditions?

For really long distances and windy days, you should move up to a 6.5mm to 7mm bullet, and bigger than that for really big game like elk and buffalo.

However, at short enough ranges where you can definitely place the bullet properly and where you have a clear shot at vital organs, a .223 Rem with a heavy-for-caliber and tough bullet should be able to take game bigger than mule deer quite reliably.

This only applies to those who will hold the shot if everything isn't right. In situations where you feel you MUST shoot at any opportunity that comes along, or where you may be in danger, then a bigger cartridge is called for. I live in a state with no caliber restrictions on big game, as it probably couldn't be enforced anyway. If anything, it seems most people use too heavy a cartridge to cover up their inadequacies. Automobiles do most of the killing of big game that is not recovered and thus wasted, so that is a bigger concern than subcaliber firearms.

 

[270 lefty]

It can't kill any big game animal in wyoming unless you don't mind breaking the law. I was dissappointed my first draw tag for antelope in wyoming, I had to take my smallest legal caliber @ the time a 30 06

 

[klf]

Anyone that has shot for any length of time has learned that so many little things can go wrong when you squeeze the trigger. An inadvertant flinch; a last second drop in your sight picture due to an inadequate rest; that one round of ammo that becomes a flier; a sudden gust of wind; the unexpected movement of the target; yada-yada-yada. You name it - and if you shoot long enough - you will experience it for yourself. That's why we practice. We learn from our mistakes.

To me, there was little in this world more satisfying than taking large game with a small caliber. My prowess as a marksman was made manifest by the animals I took. Likewise, I learned there was nothing more sickening or heart-wrenching to me than shooting large game with a small caliber and hitting the quarry but missing the vitals. All the deer and other game that I have successfully shot with a small caliber cannot erase the memory of the one doe that I hit, but failed to kill. She ran into dense cover and balled and squeeled for the next 15 minutes. When I crossed the canyon to finish her off, she would struggle downhill and I could not get off another shot. This went on for another 10-15 minutes as she proclaimed loudly to the entire world what I had just done to her. While I was probably the only one in the forest that could hear her, I felt my shortcommings had been laid bare to the entire world. The good news is - I learned from that experience. I now take enough gun into the woods to humanely take down the animal I am hunting, even when things don't go right.

Well put Sir, I had a similar experience while bow hunting. It only takes one to spoil the memory of many. I'm here to eat them not torture them. Master your craft and take a weapon that enhances your skill and doesn't rely on it.

 

[Jinx-)]

I've heard stories that 223 killed Kodiak bears to moose, then what it won't kill probably dinosaurs, or anything else extinct.

 

[436]

So.... what couldn't a .223 kill? Well I'm pretty sure it couldn't kill me; if I saw them first.
Time to lighten up, it's getting to philosophical
I think most everyone here knows what .223 might and might not kill. And understand under what circumstance. I watched an Inuit on a hunting video years ago kill a "very large polar bear" on the open ice... with only his dog's and a .222 Remington rifle...
He walked up to it, while the dogs kept the bear busy and killed it with one shot to the head; he was so close, it looked like he was shooting up hill. The cameraman looked like he was quite always back; I'm sure with a back up rifle. But never the less the .222 Remington put the bear away. I think we all know that the .222 and the .223 are pretty much in the same class in the power and performance curve. Is the .222 Remington a Polar Bear rifle? I don't believe so. Can it kill a Polar Bear? Yep. So could a .223 kill a Polar Bear? Yep again. I don't really think there's anything living today a .223 can't kill under the right circumstance and proper bullet martial, with the exception of a great gray whale; which I believe someone has already said; do to the amount of penetration you'd need to get to the brain.
So… what couldn't the .223 kill, like I said; me if I see them first.
Cheer's
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