Im Curious, How Many Of You Have Used A 223 Rem On Deer

[Grumpy]

curious, how many of you have used a 223 rem on deer & hogs ?
now I have several hunting buddies that have both bolt action rifles and AR15 clones of various types here in Florida,
and admittedly Florida deer tend to be smaller than most,
Ive even hand loaded for several of these guys, and I see more and more guys using ,
ar 15 style rifles on the local hogs with good results.
currently, the preferred load most I reload for are requesting and using,

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010401268?pid=292014

THE HAND LOADS USED BARNES TSX BULLETS OVER 25 GRAINS OF VARGET POWDER,
AND WINCHESTER SMALL RIFLE MAGNUM PRIMERS

I'm perfectly happy using my marlin 44 mag lever action or my browning BLR in 358 win,
perhaps I'm old school and just don't trust a 22 caliber centerfire rifle
but I've seen the trend (and yes the 223 caliber rifles so loaded does work)
guys fill freezers regularly
the fact is that a well placed shot from most ar 15 rifles are, if placed well, very lethal, regardless of the case head stamp,
and most deer and hogs in the areas we hunt are shot at well under 200 yards.
no matter what your thoughts are on the matter, you can't ignore results and a good shot can kill a deer with a single 223 expanding bullet.
now I'm certain that some people who are dead set against allowing the use of semi-auto military looking rifles for hunting,
but from what I've seen there's no (SPRAY AND PRAY) shooting incidents and here in Fla your limited to a 5 cartridge capacity magazine.
yes I'm fully aware many people think a 243 win is marginal , so a 223 rem is absurdly under powered, in many peoples opinion
..you'll have a hard time convincing the deer and hogs of that from the results I see!
and NO I'm certainly not one of the guys thats about to abandon my 358 WIN BLR for a 223,
but I would certainly not feel I was hopelessly under armed if I carried one either.
magazines must be physically able to hold only 5 cartridges


https://gunmagwarehouse.com/asc-223-5-56-ar-15-5-round-aluminum-magazine.html

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010401268?pid=292014
these bullets over 25 grains of varget powder have proven effective if you can shoot accurately

https://wildernessmastery.com/223-for-deer-hunting-ammunition/

https://www.fieldandstream.com/story/guns/the-best-223-loads-for-deer/#:~:text=Yes, the .223 Remington is a suitable deer,is up to the job of deer hunting.

https://quickhunting.com/is-it-legal-to-hunt-deer-with-a-223/

http://www.sharetheoutdoors.com/2015/12/23/521/

https://gundigest.com/gear-ammo/ammunition/ammo-brief-223-remington-deer

https://www.gunmann.com/223-rifles/
you can easily modify a standard 20 shot magazine, to only hold 5 cartridges by,
removing the floor plate on the 20 shot magazine and inserting a internal to the magazine spring,
support column,
thats 1.25" wide, 3.375" tall and a bit less than 1/2" thick.
Id suggest something thats plastic or aluminum to limit magazine capacity,
as wood absorbs moisture over time, and that may damage the internal spring.

 

[Nighttrain]

I can not comment on the 223 for deer , hogs , I have taken deer with a TC Encore handgun 15" barrel with 22-250 .

Bang flop, I don't remember the hand load I used off the top of my head , Hornady match HP is all I remember

 

[Grumpy]

yes its correct shot placement thats far more important than power,
but still the reason most states won,t allow a 22 caliber use for larger game is the fact that failure to provide that critical precise shot placement,
with smaller less powerful cartridges tends to result in wounded and lost game

 

[Nighttrain]

yes its correct shot placement thats far more important than power,
but still the reason most states won,t allow a 22 caliber use for larger game is the fact that failure to provide that critical precise shot placement,
with smaller less powerful cartridges tends to result in wounded and lost game

Agreed

 

[rlphvac]

I think 223 is light for deer hunting but a good shooter can do it with the right shot my friend who owns the property that I hunt on used a 222 for years and shot a lot of deer with it and on his word they all went into the freezer and he shot them all in the head but this man is the best shooter that Ive ever witnessed this all done on PA. deer

 

[Grumpy]

well? anyone hunting with thier AR15/223?

 

[labdad]

Grandson killed his first Sitka Blacktail with a .223 launcing the 62gr TSX. DRT. I have killed quite a few wolves with the .223 chambered Mini 14, but preferred my Mauser actioned 250 Savage with the 100 gr Nosler solid base.

 

[Grumpy]

I've never owned a 250 savage,
but I've used a 257 Roberts / browning BLR I own, and its exceptionally accurate,
especially with a load of 41 grains of0 ww760 under a 100 grain speer bullet, with federal primers,
my current go to deer load in that rifle.
Id previously used a RL 12 powder under a 100 grain speer bullet, with federal primers,
but it produced a bit lower velocity.(by almost 140 fps)
that RL12 , was marginally more accurate ,
but I have not seen that powder available for 20 years
BTW I recently heard that VARGET powder, and H414 are very accurate in the 257 roberts ,
with that speer 100 grain bullet , but as of yet, I've not had the chance to try either.
the 25 caliber rifles are almost always accurate , and within reasonable ranges very effective from what Ive seen,
one of the old geezers I hunted with for decades used a 257 roberts on elk,
he was rather successful, doing so.
but he never took a shot at over about 250 yards, because he understood the cartridges limitations

 

[rlphvac]

Ive been talking on another gun site about the 257 Roberts and being that I own a Tikka 25-06 and the ballistics are close but the 25-06 wins in all categories I don't see a whole lot of need there

 

[Grumpy]

if you have a 25/06 your covered

 

[rlphvac]

I do have my eyes out just because I'm actually thinking about selling a rifle that I really don't have a chance to use it anywhere near its potential its a Ruger model 77 in 220 swift with a Vortex strike eagle scope 4 x 24 x 50 its a real nice gun and shoots great but I have nowhere to stretch it out like it was meant to do

 

[labdad]

Harvested my first Dall ram with a 25/06. I like the .25’s for medium range stuff. I have a few 6.5/06’s for a bit better BC’s. My .270’s have been very dependable out to 450 yards.