Thread: .223 ammo choices for farm pest control

I'm getting my first .223/5.56 soon, and have no experience with them at all, having only ever fired one a could of times. I've been getting some conflicting advice about ammunition choices, so time to ask the experts here.

My new rifle is purely for farm pest control at short to medium range, I chose .223/5.56 because it's not too big for rabbits and hares, and still suitable for goats and deer with good placement. Also the ammo is cheap and likely to be available for a long time. I don't reload.

Rifle is 16" barrel (for ease of getting out of farm vehicles), 1/8 twist. What is the best ammo for farm use for this combo for farm use? minute-of-rabbit accuracy is fine, low price for bulk is great (belmont black sounds good). But what projectile size? Obviously almost anything will knock down rabbits and hares, but what about deer, and red deer in particular? I've had people tell me I need 72gn or heavier for reds, other people told me I need 55gn because the 72gn+ slow down too fast out of short barrel and are less effective at any range while the 55gn hits with greater hydrostatic shock, and other people have suggested 55gn 5.56 FMJ are the best of all due to the tumbling effect creating much more knock down than hunting projectiles.

Looking forward to some advice here.

55gr from Belmont.
All you need.

Pretty much in the same boat. I had my new 223 out on Saturday I ran a box of FIOCCHI 55grn soft points. My rifle loved them so this coming weekend I'll see how they go on pigs

For little pests, something going fast and explosive to limit ricochets - ammo that features V-Max 53gr or Sierra Blitzking 55gr would be nice.
For goats and deer, any good old exposed lead tips will do or Barnes TTSX 55gr which are in the Sako ammo I think?

Don't need to go heavy and certainly not FMJ on the farm. Again, danger of something sturdy bouncing off dry dirt and ending somewhere where it shouldn't be is pretty bad.

I've been using Hornady 55gr Frontier SP with good accuracy and good consistency for knocking down goats.

Something 55g should do the job.


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Belmont black does look a pretty good option. Any of the proj weights should do fine for most uses, although the 77gr matchkings probably best on deer from those options. Possibly a little hard to really expand on rabbits and hares, so you may find some of them pencil a bit if no bone contact, but that’s just conjecture.

Fmj though I can speak for - just not worth the trouble, even for rabbits. Gives no feedback on hits or misses, you’ll get ‘hits’ running away apparently unharmed because of pencilling, only to die over the ridge. The extra ammo you use trying to make sure of kills will offset the lower cost, as well as slow you down.

55 gr soft points on everything. I have used 53 gr Vmax that were amazing on rabbits but I never tried them them on anything bigger.
I did use FMJ 55 gr and even rabbits were running off after getting hit, they were just drilling a little hole .
55gr softpoints I used ( Hornady and Fiocchi ) dropped goats, Deer and exploded rabbits. Highly effective and versatile enough to cope with various animals.

Hi Ben, belmont black 62 gr sp is my everyday choice good for everything but I've never shot a red with it and would be a bit reluctant to even try.
I recently discovered their 55 gr frangible and have adopted that as an alternative to 22 magnum as it's cheaper and I don't have to guess distance at night. It also reduces ricochet potential and makes hares dissapear. I've shot a few smallish goats as well with it but it wouldn't be my first choice by any means.

Originally Posted by viper

.. have used 53 gr Vmax that were amazing on rabbits ...

Sure are. Had my son out on Sunday and let him use my old Rem VS running these. He shot over 25 with many being close to 200yds. The hits were making a most satisfying POPP with matching flying bits. One hit in the front end did a full 360 in the air!

Don't overthink it. Putting the bullet in the right place is still the most important element of hunting

Have a look at ammo direct in Wanganui. Have good bulk ammo for cheap

the hornady 50 pack loaded rounds with the 55grn soft point are AWESOME......cases reloadable too. really rate these as a factory load.

The 55 gr Hornady SP is a great bullet for all the game you mention be them handloaded or factory loaded. In a 16 inch barrel they will be a little under 3000fps ( most likely) but will work well.
My 20 inch Mod 7 has shot the Belmont ammo at over 2900fps, and my hand loads with the same bullet (55 gr Hornady) averaged a bit over 3000fps. On larger game good bullet placement will result in dead goats and deer, also limit your range on the bigger animals to about 200- 250 yards.
The 223 is great within it's limits.

Belmont 55gr will work well but I have found the Belmont 62 gr 'seems' a bit more emphatic on goats, it costs the same and you may as well use it if you have a 1 in 8 twist.