.223 for Whitetail, suggestions please...

[buckshot1220]

So I've got a spot for Whitetail thats way off in the woods and really don't want to carry my heavy bolt gun out there. I'm thinking of bringing my carbine (16") out there. I want to know what ammo you would suggest, grain, bullet type etc. I do not reload so if we can keep it to commercially manufactured/availbale off the self stuff I'd appreciate it.

P.S.- Looking forward to hearing from guys who have used .223 on Whitetail, specifically if it didn't go down right away did you have a decent blood trail?

Thanks in advance...

[uscbigdawg]

First thing that came to mind is if you're allowed to hunt (in your area) with a caliber that small and one that holds that many rounds. Sounds stupid, but often times there are restrictions on minimum caliber and max. amount of rounds.

That said, Cor-Bon tends to put everything down on the first shot. ;)

Rich

[ST911]

I've shot whitetail and mule deer with .223/5.56. Most were destroyed because of injury or nuisance, not for sport. Black Hills Ammo 60gr Nosler Partition SP, 68gr OTM, and 60gr JSP, and similar variations of them did fine. Blood trail varied, as did time of effect. The partition was particularly good.

.223 can do the job, but is the bottom end of options. Go heavy and keep ranges short for best results.

[buckshot1220]

Thanks for the replies. I'll heed the advice on the ammo, range will be less than 75yds in this particular area so I think it should be alright. As for caliber restrictions the laws here only outlaw hunting with rimfire (ex. .22). We also have to use five rounders to be legal, which I have.

[hatt]

buckshot, I'd just use the bolt gun assuming it is chambered for a more suitable cartridge. Sure the .223 will probably work but why worry with it. I want a round that I know can get to the vitals at any angle and also break bones and still penetrate deeply.

[markm]

This is a classic ARF notion.... hunting Deer with an AR. There was even a Retard over there bragging about his deer kills with a 22 Mag. :rolleyes:

I don't think it's legal where I am... I wouldn't consider it anyway.

[ST911]

This is a classic ARF notion.... hunting Deer with an AR. There was even a Retard over there bragging about his deer kills with a 22 Mag. :rolleyes:I don't think it's legal where I am... I wouldn't consider it anyway.

It's legal more places, and more popular, than most would think. Definitely not optimal, but not unthinkable.

Good bullet, good shooting, short ranges only.

[SHIVAN]

Best friend liked 64gr Powerpoints on Texas whitetail. He usually tried to shoot them in the front shoulder, which incapacitated ambulatory motion as well as jellied the front of the lungs.

Secondhand experience is the best I can offer, as all states in which I hunt are .23 caliber or bigger on game animals.

[CDDM416]

if your worried about haveing to carry a heavy bolt action alllll the way back there,
how are you ever going to drag a deer out??
why dont you just get a 30-30? they are light, got the umph to get the job done, and you can get one at ww pretty cheap.

[buckshot1220]

[QUOTE=CDDM416;253742]if your worried about haveing to carry a heavy bolt action alllll the way back there,
how are you ever going to drag a deer out??QUOTE]

Getting it out isn't a problem, that's what ATV's are for. Once it's dead I don't mind driving one up there, just won't use one to go in for fear of spooking/alerting deer in the area.

The main reason I am considering this is not only becasue it is lighter to carry, but because it is what I am most familiar and comfortable with. I get way more time behind this gun than any of my other rifles, and subsequently, I am more accurate offhand and shoulder it much quicker. Unlike some, I am not considering this so I can feel "tacticool," this isn't TOS and no I am not a member there...:eek:

[Alaska]

The Barnes 62gr TSX is the best bullet you could use if you reload.

Federal has some 64gr Tactical Bonded bullet in factory loads that are excellent.

The 64gr PP is proably the best non prem load


Reloader 15 or Varget........I like Reloader 15 and Rem 7 1/2 primers

[hatt]

This is a classic ARF notion.... hunting Deer with an AR. There was even a Retard over there bragging about his deer kills with a 22 Mag. :rolleyes:

I don't think it's legal where I am... I wouldn't consider it anyway.

Ha, I remember one idiot over there talking about shooting from the hip with tracers. "Didn't have enough time to use the sights.":rolleyes:

[John Hearne]

I've shot wild hogs and whitetails despite everyone's continued insistence that it can't be done. The best rounds I've found are the Federal Bonded Tactical. I've shot a doe and several hogs and they are devastating. I shot a buck last year with a Winchester 64gr PowerPoint and he moved a whole 10 yards before he piled up.

Larger calibers spend a lot of their energy on the far side of the deer or hog. It has been my observation that .223's dump all of their energy inside the critter with devastating results - like the jellified lungs mentioned above.

[hatt]

I did a little lookin and discovered feeling on the 223 for deer range from "hell no" to "yeah, I shoot mule deer at 300 yards, sometimes more."

[Pilgrim]

A fragmenting 55 to 64GR soft point into the chest cavity of a whitetail means he is dead in about 10 to 15 seconds.

The lungs are just destroyed. Blood flows excessively out the entrance hole, it runs like a facet.

Best to shoot from a perpendicular angle, you want to hit lung-heart-lung.

Best to keep the range close, use enough barrel, don't get out of 'fragmentation range'.

I'm one of those retards that has killed multiple deer with the .223, but I don't brag about it... too much.

Remember, you want to take out the heart and the lungs. If you don't know where the heart and lungs are in a deer, then use a bigger gun.

Using varmint guns on big game is in some ways a stunt I will admit, and is best left to the 'well trained'.

[sinister]

64 grain Winchester Power Points.

My Sergeant Major and several others have consistently one-shot killed Georgia white-tails at 200 yards with M4geries and SPRs.

[dangermoney]

why dont you just get a 30-30? they are light, got the umph to get the job done, and you can get one at ww pretty cheap.

+1

If you're hunting medium to large whitetail deer in wooded areas with lots of underbrush, overhanging branches, etc, and your maximum range is 75 - 150 yards, then a 30-30 Marlin lever action with a good scope would be hard to beat.

[czydj]

An honest question, here... If the .223 is supposed to be a lethal battlefield weapon, why can't we expect the round to dispatch a critter that weighs roughly what a bad guy would weigh?

[dangermoney]

An honest question, here... If the .223 is supposed to be a lethal battlefield weapon, why can't we expect the round to dispatch a critter that weighs roughly what a bad guy would weigh?

You can use anything you want to kill deer and I'm sure that .223 will more than do the job. Personally, I wouldn't want to mess up the meat since I would plan on eating that deer.

[Pilgrim]

You can use anything you want to kill deer and I'm sure that .223 will more than do the job. Personally, I wouldn't want to mess up the meat since I would plan on eating that deer.

Meat damage is almost nil with the .223. The little bullet just slips right through the ribs then fragments into the lungs.

This topic is being discussed here also...

http://www.warriortalk.com/showthread.php?t=47838

[ST911]

An honest question, here... If the .223 is supposed to be a lethal battlefield weapon, why can't we expect the round to dispatch a critter that weighs roughly what a bad guy would weigh?

I know where to find 100 folks on the net that will tell me not to take whitetail with a .223.

I know where to find folks that have taken 100+ of them. Each.

As with much else, it helps to consider the source of information.

Again, .223 is sub-optimal, but not unthinkable.

[buckshot1220]

Well it looks like I will be giving this a shot, pun intended. At the range the other night I was grouping on average 3-shot .75"@100yds. Now I need to find the time to get into the woods. Thanks again and good luck to all the other hunters.