AR hunting questions.

[LT.TOZZI]

hi guys, i have been wanting to hunt with my AR but i dont think the .223 will be enough to deal with a deer, thats just a thought i dont have much expireance with the .223 thats why i figured id ask. also would a 6.8 upper work with a .223 standard lower?

Thanks- TOZZI

[DRich]

hi guys, i have been wanting to hunt with my AR but i dont think the .223 will be enough to deal with a deer, thats just a thought i dont have much expireance with the .223 thats why i figured id ask. also would a 6.8 upper work with a .223 standard lower?

Thanks- TOZZI

IMO, .223 is marginal for whitetail, although many people use it successfully. The 62gr PowerPoint seems to be the most popular choice. I won't do it, personally. I have other calibers better suited to the job. As with any caliber, bullet placement is the most important factor.

Yes, a 6.8 upper will work with any .223/5.56 lower. 6.8SPC would be a much better choice for hunting, IMO.

[rychencop]

many states don't allow .223 for deer. even if yours does i think .223 is too small unless you make head shots for a quick kill.

[txdukklr]

I'd do it for a headshot

I'll shoot pigs in the ear all day long with my AR, I just knocked one out with 55gr fiochi with a ballistic tip.

[JHC]

I love the .223 as a deer round. For the hunter disciplined enough not to take a sloppy shot.

I've killed six deer with six rounds of .223. All from 16" barrel. All with a TA01 ACOG.

1 doe with a 68 grain OTM Black Hills at 20 yards. Doe bolted and ran 15 yds into a tree and was down. Both lungs completely scrambled rolled out like so much pink scrambled eggs. The heart was shredded into finger sized petals. Only small frag exited.

1 large buck with a 55 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw at 20 FEET - 1.5" hole bored through both lungs and recovered under opp side skin. Perfect textbook mushroom. Buck ran about 20 yards and was down. Oddly two broken ribs under the ENTRANCE wound.

1 medium sized buck with a Win 64 grain PP to the neck at 100 yards. I wasn't as impressed as the buck was. Slug exited out the same side of the neck just a couple inches from the entrance wound shedding it's jacket at the exit. Didn't even break the spine. Go figure. Still dropped in it's tracks.

1 small buck hit in throat from straight on with 60 grain Nosler Partition from Black Hills at about 30 yards. Buck fell backwards and was down. Penetration about 17" and tremendous 3-4" diameter wound channel the first oh 6-7 inches through front of throat.

A 6pt while still hunting along a north GA ridgeline in the Chattahoochie National Forest. One Black Hills 77 grain OTM into the front shoulder/neck junction at about 40 feet dropped him literally in his tracks. Bullet did not exit. Under the skin at entrance wound was a quarter sized hole into the chest cavity that broke shoulder bones. Chest cavity full of blood but I did not get a good look at lungs and heart. This has been an insanely accurate load from my Noveske N4 Recce and N4 carbine.

And a small doe shot in the neck at about 60 yards with the BH 77 gr OTM. It was a BANG – FLOP. There was a massive 4” diameter exit wound.

[Puffy93]

As long as you don't use FMJ's ( which most states don't allow) for hunting they work great. Host dropped a nice 8-point last season in one shot, fired a second so he didn't suffer (but he was dead after first shot) with my 16" and soft points. We couldn't find a piece of lung larger than a quarter.

[Artos]

Unless it's a neck or head shot, I would rather see you go with the 6.8 or 6.5.

The ranch I hunt is under management and I kill most my does with a 220 swift....99% in the neck when they are giving that hard stare, looking at me or something else and very still. Have killed a couple with the les baer super varmint, but the swift is just so much better for the job.

[Pilgrim]

I use the .223 almost exclusively on deer now.

Below is a 180 lb. from last year that actually has 14 scoreable points.

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/9402/smileyhunter1.jpg

Most effective bullet I've used so far has been the 64gr. Winchester Power Point. If you put one of these bullets into the heart/lung area of the deer at ranges under 200 yards, the deer is dead on his feet with a massive stream of blood pouring out the hole. The lungs are completely destroyed, just as JHC and Puffy93 have said. The deer ain't going anywhere without lungs. Both of the shots I've had on deer with the 64gr.PP have fragmented without exiting, both shots were at 150 yards.

I was not impressed with the 64gr. Federal tactical load.

Plain old 55gr. SP's seemed to work good in a pinch... that's what I used to kill the deer pictured above.

Would I suggest a newbie to go out after deer with a varmint gun... most likely not.

I wait till I get a shot that is perpendicular to the deer, range under 200 yards, put one into the lungs, and it's game over.