223 VS Deer... 3 years of bullet tests and data..

**Ring** · 11-24-12, 13:21

good reads...

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/138...ad_update.html

links to the past years in that thread...

**packinaglock** · 11-24-12, 16:05

I just tagged, that is a cool thread. Thanks

**jmnielsen** · 11-24-12, 16:44

Pretty good thread, shot placement is everything. All his shots were lung shots, had they been gut shots he would have probably been chasing those deer for a while.

**Stangman** · 11-24-12, 17:28

That thread was ultimately why I was ok with hunting with my AR this year. Just put down a nice 6 point with a 70gr barnes, loaded via ASYM today actually. He took a step I didn't want him to take so it messed up the shot I wanted. Still yet, he only ran for >50 yards & dropped.

**arthury** · 11-24-12, 17:39

Just in case you have not seen the effects of the 5.56mm on humans, here's one but be warned ... these are human injuries and are pretty graphic.

http://www.timawa.net/forum/index.php?topic=17111.0

**packinaglock** · 11-25-12, 01:14

Originally Posted by arthury

Just in case you have not seen the effects of the 5.56mm on humans, here's one but be warned ... these are human injuries and are pretty graphic.

http://www.timawa.net/forum/index.php?topic=17111.0

Holy crap!!! Thats brutal

**S. Galbraith** · 11-25-12, 09:19

I have taken a number of white tail with the .223, and the caliber seems to do just fine provided that shot placement is good. I have hit a few in the gut though and I spend a long time trying to track them down. However, as the OP in the linked thread observed, the lighter grain, higher velocity loads seemed to have more rapid incapacitation effects on the deer.....particularly if my shot placement was less than ideal. This seems to be a very common observation with those of us in the hunting community regardless of rifle caliber.

**200RNL** · 11-25-12, 12:13

I think that we are learning that bullet integrity is the key, regardless of caliber. The larger caliber bullets held together better than the smaller calibers and hunters of the past tended to favor them for big game.

Now we have some pretty sturdy small caliber bullets that if given enough velocity, can get to the vitals that no varmint bullet could reach on other than broad side shots.