anyone have any experience with .223 on Whitetail this seems to be a fairly controversial topic, I was thinking about trying it out just wondering what y’all’s thoughts are on it. thanks
You can certainly use it, but shot placement is going to be more critical than using a larger caliber. If I remember correctly, so states won’t allow any .22 caliber bullet to be used on deer.
3 Likes
VA doesn’t allow .223 for deer hunting so I haven’t. I use .308 to try to ensure a humane kill every time. Works very well. The .223 (5.56 NATO) was not designed to quickly kill a human, more to severely wound. As I’ve been told, the objective of the intermediate round was to take more than one enemy off the field - one injured plus at least one or two others (medic, carriers). I’d suspect on a deer, unless you are very precise, you’d likely have to chase a blood trail for a bit before it finally dropped.
3 Likes
yeah i’m looking to build out a 6.5 grendal sometime in the near future as a dedicated deer rifle and .223 is definitely not my first choice (been hunting with a .308 myself) but some people seem to have good success with it while others seem to view it as taboo. i guess it would come down to good shot placement and proper bullet selection. i killed a couple of does a few years back with 7.62x39 and was just wondering how .223 would stack up. picked up some Hornaday Superformance tipped with the gmx, and if i decide to give it a go that’s what i’ll be using. ps: it is legal in both ga and sc and those are the two states i hunt.
Where I live .223 is common among younger hunters for the low recoil. Plenty of deer have been harvested with .223. If you can make a clean shot then I see no problem with it.
2 Likes
I have had more bad luck than good, so I switched to .308. Regardless of what bullet type I used, they all either just zipped right through the deer, or left virtually no blood trail, even on broadside shots. I would suggest headshots if you intend to go .223.
5 Likes
I have been using 223 for the past 3 or 4 years to fill doe tags.
75g Speer Gold Dot thru a 20in PSA build. All shots 150yds or less broad side only.
1 Like
i have a 16 inch freedom rifle in 556 from PSA,i use it to hunt deer, both bucks and does …i use 77 grain ammo and shoot them in the neck and they drop right at the corn pile…quick kill and you do not have to hunt them down…for all my hunting needs i buy strickly from PSA. i also have a 3x9x50 nikon scope i use …definately a good set -up.
3 Likes
I have taken a few deer and a bunch of pigs using .223. All using 55 grain softpoints or 64 grain soft points. All worked well but was very careful with shot placement.
1 Like
I agree with Brad. I wouldn’t go any smaller than a .243. I bought my son a .243 for his first deer rifle when he was 6. I taught him to be very accurate with it and to make sure that he placed his shots. I even hunted with his rifle a few times. You could easily kill a deer with it as you can a .222, .223 or 5.56. You really have to be proficient with shot placement and make sure you are using excellent hunting ammo. When you have other better options like the 300BO or 6.5 I would use it first no question. I always want the quickest most humane kill possible that is why I would shy away from the smaller caliber.
2 Likes
For those that successfully hunt deer with .223, besides head, where are you placing your shots?
For those who do use .223 for deer, what distances are you shooting at? I see a lot of posts here with “long range” shots, but I live in an area where I can’t imagine having a clear shot pasts 100 yds at the max.
I had my son doing neck shots with his .243. I showed him an anatomical picture of a deers neck so he could fully understand where his shot placement needed to be. He only had one that he didn’t drop right in their tracks. I think on that day he had a little buck fever. He placed his shot just a little low of the spinal column. It was still a good shot but we did have to track him for about 75 yards before he bled out. I didn’t want him to do a head shot all the time. If a nice buck came out I really wanted him to do a neck shot. I just got him used to doing a neck shot and he got good at it.
2 Likes
The deer I have shot with 223 have all been 100 yards or less. 2 were head shots/high neck shots from behind. One was neck shot from front . And one broadside classic heart lung shot.
2 Likes
Federal Fusion in 223 is supposed to be designed for taking down white tail. I have a box but have never used it.
1 Like
Lots of states have minimum caliber requirements. Here in Ohio, smallest we can use is a .357 bullet, and only in straight wall cartridge.
The 350 legend, which is a .355” bullet is legal because it’s marketed as a .357 straight wall.
With controlled-expansion bullets designed for game hunting, coupled with proper shot placement, the .223 Remington / 5.56 NATO kills deer as stone-cold dead as anything else does.
Before escaping to Free America, from about 1985 to 2005, I filled 20 consecutive California A-Zone deer tags with the .223 Remington. A 100 pound black-tail deer shot at less than 100 yards doesn’t take much killing to render into meat.
After moving to Free America, where I could kill up to seven deer a year, I’ve killed somewhere around 20 whitetail deer with 5.56 NATO loaded with Barnes X bullets .
Pop and flop, every single time.
1 Like
I’d rather go 300 BlackOut 100 yds or closer. 150 to 168 grain. I mean, it’s basically 30 cal “Short”. Subsonic with a can (where allowed) MIGHT be the best option out there.
Otherwise, for deer catchin’, (as Hootie Who would say), just buy a bolt action in 308 OR if you can “handle it”, the venerable old 30-06…I mean, most folks only gonna’ get what 1 to 2 deer a season?. Ain’t got the freezer space for anymore than that. AND with Mad Cow in the deer/elk population now, you shoot a couple then find out they’ve got the disease and have to bury your trophy. MAN, just go with the best, least expensive, most HUMANE way to hunt.
I’m “lucky” I guess because I have access to a recently refurbed Remington 742 S.A. with a 10 round 30-06 mag…
What else/more do I really "need"than that?. NO, 223/556 is for 2-legged varmints, Coyotes, and wild hawgs which their body mass/makeup is the closest to a human being. (With similar end-results do to the “tumbling effect”)