Deer hunting with a 223

[tyvw]

Ok if I remember correct in Feild and Stream they answered this with in the past year. It was a .223 I believe and not .243 but I can't be 100%. The author actually supported it for the simple reason of low recoil for better shot placement. If you want I can find out the issue since I save them and read them again. The author actually killed them for the government I think. Hell the army uses it to kill Humans I think it can handle a deer just my .02

 

[NWSharpshooter]

I'll step up and take the contrary position. Will a .223 kill a deer? No doubt. Is it one of the best tools for the job. No. I do not doubt the folks on this forum have killed deer with it, but you cannot tell how effective it is with only the "success" stories.

Precise shots will work with just about anything, but there are plenty of readily available calibers that have been proven for years to be not only effective at killing whitetails but even have a little extra, just in case the shot is not perfect.

Some super-experts might be so good they "never" fail with a .223. Personally, I pick my hunting caliber/firearm based on the worse end of my range of abilities not my best.

I submit this to you; If the .223 was a proven effective tool for constantly and humanly harvesting deer, you would know it to be true and not have to ask the question.

223 is illegal for use on deer in many states for a reason. Many states require 243 or larger.

 

[pitdog]

I didn't think it was legal to use .223 in GA

 

[Sargent]

I didn't think it was legal to use .223 in GA

223 is illegal for use on deer in many states for a reason. Many states require 243 or larger.

In GA it is legal.

In states where it is illegal, I think that decision came about from people who don't understand ballistics of projectiles going in excess of 3000 ft/sec. They also don't understand hydrostatic shock.

 

[NWSharpshooter]

In GA it is legal.

In states where it is illegal, I think that decision came about from people who don't understand ballistics of projectiles going in excess of 3000 ft/sec. They also don't understand hydrostatic shock.

Or maybe most states don't have these dogs that people in the south call deer. a 223 may work great on a 90 lb eastern white tail. Try that on a rocky mountain mule. Hydostatic Shock ?!?! your not serious are you?

 

[gkatl]

I didn't think it was legal to use .223 in GA

I think the law in GA is you have to use a round larger than .22, so .223 should be OK.

 

[Sargent]

Hydostatic Shock ?!?! your not serious are you?

With expanding bullets more than fmj, yes. When any projectile, whether it be a bullet or a baseball, impacts a denser medium, potential energy is turned into kinetic energy. The kinetic energy then resonates within the new medium.

 

[JHV2]

Ok if I remember correct in Feild and Stream they answered this with in the past year. It was a .223 I believe and not .243 but I can't be 100%.

Much more than a .02 difference - .243 is a better dear cartridge IMHO.

 

[Laufen]

Originally Posted by Lineman73
Is there any feedback about the Hornady 75 grain TAP round? My son and his buddies in the 1st Stryker Brigade (stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska and currently deployed to Afghanistan) claim this round is the best .223 round there is for hunting and "social work". Has anybody in Georgia tried these yet?

Youhad better be using a 1x7" twist barrel to stabilize a 75 gr bullet however. The TAP rounds have worked OK for me, but I have gone back to the 62gr PP and Nosler partition. Just food for thought.

 

[medicoc]

Youhad better be using a 1x7" twist barrel to stabilize a 75 gr bullet however. The TAP rounds have worked OK for me, but I have gone back to the 62gr PP and Nosler partition. Just food for thought.

I've shot 77gr sierra match kings out to 600 with a 1 in 9 twist barrel with excellent results.