View Full Version : deerhunting with your ar
ridgerunner70
03-11-10, 20:33
have any of you ever used your ar for deerhunting? if so how did the .223 round do? just thinking about using it this november on some deer and pigs.
ive used it on boar with great success but havent used it on deer the smallest caliber i have used is a 308
I have not killed a deer with my AR yet, but I have killed a pile of them with an old Remington model Seven in .222 Rem, shot placement is critical as are good tracking skills and a tough bullet. My granddad handloaded my shells back then and the bullet was a Nosler partition 60 gr. I am not sure of the charge.
leopard hound
03-11-10, 20:58
i have not killed any deer with mine yet but i have killed hogs.usually with m855.silver state armory has 70 gr tsx on sale right now and i was thinking about next season maybe my piston lmt is due a deer......
Country DeVil
03-11-10, 21:20
I say choose your ammo wisely.
hollow point 223
http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/zz250/jabtyler/ammo%20type/IMG_0428.jpg
Hornady soft tip 223
http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/zz250/jabtyler/ammo%20type/IMG_0427.jpg
my brother in law's ar 20" bull
http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/zz250/jabtyler/ammo%20type/IMG_0848.jpg
http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/zz250/jabtyler/ammo%20type/IMG_0850.jpg
yep...all neck shots though. I kill several deer every year with 22 centerfires from the ar 223 to the swift.
Move up to the 6.8 if you want to punch the boiler room.
Just make sure it's legal in your state, some have caliber or ft-lb restrictions.
Just make sure it's legal in your state, some have caliber or ft-lb restrictions.
Definitely this great recommendation for starters. If legal, do not use a varmint bullet and keep ranges inside reasonable distances.
Also, stick to whitetail as mule deer can be hefty and tough mf'ers.
I might consider handloads with a premium bullet if you can't find a commercial load that is suitable.
Shot a lot of coyotes with an AR, but never did shoot a deer with one.
Actually i don't rifle hunt deer at all anymore, just with a stick and string on that end.
Don't forget the length of the barrel will come into play as well.
Don't forget the length of the barrel will come into play as well.
Ohh good point, if you got an upper with a longer barrel, this would definitely be the time to use it.
JBecker 72
03-11-10, 23:34
I would, but you can't use .223 for deer hunting in VA.
ridgerunner70
03-12-10, 00:06
I say choose your ammo wisely.
hollow point 223
http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/zz250/jabtyler/ammo%20type/IMG_0428.jpg
Hornady soft tip 223
http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/zz250/jabtyler/ammo%20type/IMG_0427.jpg
my brother in law's ar 20" bull
http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/zz250/jabtyler/ammo%20type/IMG_0848.jpg
http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/zz250/jabtyler/ammo%20type/IMG_0850.jpg
thanks for posting the kill shot on the coyote, bigger exit wound than i would expected.
ridgerunner70
03-12-10, 00:09
i've shot deer with my .243 and basically splitting the heart in half on some and they still ran between 40 to 60 yds. i bowhunt too so trailing game is a sport of its on for me. anymore kill shots and info greatly accepted.
I use both HP and FMJ .223 for hogs. Works wonders down here in Georgia..:D
The Nosler 60 grain Partition does a good job on deer, at least the smaller whitetails we have here.
My sun has killed 4 with 75gr tap.
trukreltrog
03-12-10, 08:03
I've used 55 gr. soft points with success. But then our Blacktails are smaller than Whitetails. Tracking can be tough, if they don't drop. There won't be much blood. But then again my .243 doesn't do any better, at making a blood trail.
Always fun to get the stink eye. When you run into someone, while hunting with an AR. :D
.223 isn't legal in Indy for deer; however, I did bust a yote a couple of weeks ago out my back door w/ my S&W M&P15A, using PMC 55 gr FMJ. It was about 100 yd shot, and he dropped immediately. I went and recovered and he was still breathing, so I put a round in his head to finish him off. When I picked him up to move him, he had about 2 feet of intestines hanging out of the exit wound.
More than anything else, shot placement is key on dropping deer. Some people like neck shots, but I prefer the boilerplate shot. I've taken two nice bucks using my .357 with boilerplate shots. As long as you are within your comfort zone, and have a clean shot, I wouldn't hesitate to use a .223 (if legal in your area). Sure their are better calibers, but big deer are poached every year w/ 22 rimfires.
Aristogeiton
03-12-10, 16:53
I shot a doe this last season with .223 (Corbon DPX all copper 62 grain) out of a 20" barrel.
The shot was in the neck about about 15 yards. The bullet broke the neck and traveled down into the front part of her shoulder and broke apart.
Only a few small fragments made it through the skin. This would have been a difficult track if I had not broken the neck, as there wasn't much blood outside the body.
Shot placement is very important, but it is always important! I have tracked and never found a wounded deer that was shot in the A$$ by a hunter who thought their 30-06 would destroy anything.
I doubt I will hunt deer with a .223 again as I have better/more dedicated rifles for that.
Stevieterry
03-12-10, 17:33
Yea it will kill them.
I always just got for the neck shot.
geminidglocker
03-12-10, 17:43
I'm going to use my AR pistol for deer season this year. My shot won't be more than 30 yards, I'll be up in the tree stand, and the bullet will lacerate the spine, at the base of the skull. My pistol shoots Wolf 55gr .223 into the same hole at this distance, so I'm confident in the making of the shot.:) I am doing this because I can. I will likely bring my 12ga. slug gun with me aswell, incase I have to shoot at a longer distance.
I have had good luck deer hunting, chest shots with Hornady Tap Urban 55 gr. (http://www.hornadyle.com/products/more_detail.php?id=130&sID=73&pID=2)
I have killed two deer with 55 grain TAP and my oldest son has killed two more with it. All from a 16" barrel at distances of less than 100 yards. I have also killed one at work with Federal 50 grain HP from a 10.5" barrel. He was already injured and the shot was from about 3 feet.
My son whacked a small buck at approx 100 yds with 5.56 pressure 75gr TAP from a 20", no exit wound, but everything north of the diaphram was soup. His POI was the textbook broadside aiming point for a deer. Statistical sample of one, but I was impressed with the outcome.
I would, but you can't use .223 for deer hunting in VA.
Yeah, nothing .22 caliber or under in Ole Virginny. However, I've 'heard' about some guys who had a kill permit. The several ARs and a light were quite effective... so I heard I mean.
My son whacked a small buck at approx 100 yds with 5.56 pressure 75gr TAP from a 20", no exit wound, but everything north of the diaphram was soup. His POI was the textbook broadside aiming point for a deer. Statistical sample of one, but I was impressed with the outcome.
That sounds about right.
I've killed six deer with six rounds of .223 from 16” AR carbines.
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 upper.
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.
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