223 on deer

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Originally Posted by SmokeyJason

Love this thread,
An 88 gr 224 projectile has a SD of .251, middle of the road.
A 165 gr 30 cal is .248,
That's middle of the road.
There's going to be a vast horde of hunters switching from their 30 cal to the little 224, all for no gain.
So the secret is to learn to shoot effectively.
But it's just one of those day, ignore me.

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There’s a lot to be gained (well lost really) going from .308 to .224.
Just had a rifle re-barrelled to 22 creedmoor which with 88’s will drift 20% less than a 178gr .308 load, and recoil 50% less whilst doing it. My .223 drifts the same as the .308 load, with 80gr bullets.
If wanting to spot your own shots, and follow up, then there’s no argument. The right bullet in a .224 creates so much damage, that larger isn’t required. If you optimised your ‘anything bigger’ cartridge for killing by putting the same type of projectile in it, most people would complain about the excessive meat wastage.

Gain:
Easy (and better shooting)
Cheap, which means more practice, and therefore
Higher hit rates in the feild.

I have just seen a huge Tuai stag shot by a 12yr old boy using a 308.It is a monster. Huge well conditioned stag still with a very heavy skin. The father is a chopper shooter and mentioned to my mate who sent me the foto that it need a heavy pill to get it at 300m and stop it in its tracks.

Took out my .223 for it's first proper outing in the weekend.
Howa mini .223. 69gn Targex. Arken zulus scope. Wouldn't have mattered what calibre I used.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Poox9fBJn_Q

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Originally Posted by Makros

Took out my .223 for it's first proper outing in the weekend.
Howa mini .223. 69gn Targex. Arken zulus scope. Wouldn't have mattered what calibre I used.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Poox9fBJn_Q

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Good. No suppressor?

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Originally Posted by Tahr

Good. No suppressor?

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It has a suppressor, 18" barrel, Hardy suppressor. I think the ports at the end of the Hardy's create a lot more muzzle flash than the DPTs or similar. Just as quiet as my DPT suppressors. Wouldn't hunt without a suppressor.
Weighs just on 3.1kg as it sits there.
Attachment 251861

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Originally Posted by Makros

It has a suppressor, 18" barrel, Hardy suppressor. I think the ports at the end of the Hardy's create a lot more muzzle flash than the DPTs or similar. Just as quiet as my DPT suppressors. Wouldn't hunt without a suppressor.
Weighs just on 3.1kg as it sits there.
Attachment 251861

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Interesting. With my DPT and the standard length Tikka barrel the shot is lot quieter on my Zulus vids. My muzzle flash looks similar.

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Originally Posted by Tahr

Interesting. With my DPT and the standard length Tikka barrel the shot is lot quieter on my Zulus vids. My muzzle flash looks similar.

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Shorter barrel will produce quite a bit more noise. Can't see it in the video (20x magnification) but I was shooting through a pretty tight gap between several large trees. Like shooting into a closeby bank or close quarters in the bush you do tend to get much more sound bounced back at you.
Will be interesting to see once I film a shot shooting out into the open whether it's similar.

Attachment 251921

Sika vs 75gr eldm yesterday. Amazing the expansion even with a low muzzle velocity. At 20 odd yards no part of the bullet exited her head.

Still kicking by the looks….

This is what I’ve killed with

Attachment 252594
50gr NBT 53TSX 60NBT 62TSX 77TMK and the loaded round is factory 63gr SP that was part of a DHS contract in 2007 when I bought a case of it.

Just for comparison
Attachment 252595
75gr AAC SabreBlade black tip 77TMK 75Amax

The black tip is either made in-house at AAC or by Hornady. Either way, they are accurate in AAC factory loads and their jacket is .005” thicker than a TMK. I laid into a fair amount for reloading at 20 cents each.

I don’t take the gospel of that other 223 thread online. Not everyone needs to kill animals at 1000 yards. There’s a ton of bullets to choose that work at 400 yards and in. I’ve never been a cool kid. I do have over 500 TMK so I’ll never run out if all I do is use them for hunting but I’m going to give the 75 SBBT a run this year and see how they go. I have 5600 bullets to reload in .224 caliber so I’m set unless something groundbreaking comes out. Or I rebarrel to a 7 twist and use 80gr eldm exclusively and sell all the other bullets.

The 75amax/eldm and 77 TMK shoot well out of 9 twist Savages because their twist is more of 8.25-8.5 twist according to a cleaning rod.

Attachment 252611

Another one for the 75gr. High shoulder so finished with the knife. Didn't see the little nubs on his head otherwise he would still be alive.

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Originally Posted by 260madman

This is what I’ve killed with

Attachment 252594
50gr NBT 53TSX 60NBT 62TSX 77TMK and the loaded round is factory 63gr SP that was part of a DHS contract in 2007 when I bought a case of it.

Just for comparison
Attachment 252595
75gr AAC SabreBlade black tip 77TMK 75Amax

The black tip is either made in-house at AAC or by Hornady. Either way, they are accurate in AAC factory loads and their jacket is .005” thicker than a TMK. I laid into a fair amount for reloading at 20 cents each.

I don’t take the gospel of that other 223 thread online. Not everyone needs to kill animals at 1000 yards. There’s a ton of bullets to choose that work at 400 yards and in. I’ve never been a cool kid. I do have over 500 TMK so I’ll never run out if all I do is use them for hunting but I’m going to give the 75 SBBT a run this year and see how they go. I have 5600 bullets to reload in .224 caliber so I’m set unless something groundbreaking comes out. Or I rebarrel to a 7 twist and use 80gr eldm exclusively and sell all the other bullets.

The 75amax/eldm and 77 TMK shoot well out of 9 twist Savages because their twist is more of 8.25-8.5 twist according to a cleaning rod.

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Have got 100 loaded 75gr Amax but never got round to using them. What are they like? The 53gr TSX are very lethal.

I haven’t had anything on the receiving end of the 75Amax. There’s plenty of pics on the web showing success I would think it’s the same as an eldm.

After I took a deer with a 62 TSX I haven’t used the 53. It’s more of a good thing.

Last night.
250 yards. 74 grn Targex.

https://youtu.be/0kZFkwK45AU

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Originally Posted by Tahr

Last night.
250 yards. 74 grn Targex.

https://youtu.be/0kZFkwK45AU

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Vid wont open,says private???

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Originally Posted by Trout

Vid wont open,says private???

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Fixed

Dropped deer,good shooting.

@Tahr what's that bright square light that's flashing up

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Originally Posted by charliehorse

@Tahr what's that bright square light that's flashing up

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At a guess range finder ?

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Originally Posted by charliehorse

@Tahr what's that bright square light that's flashing up

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Yeah. It's the range finder. It was doing that because I had left on auto range mode. Usually you lock it onto the target and it stops.

.223 will get the reds with proper placement

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Originally Posted by murraygb

.223 will get the reds with proper placement

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Really

Attachment 253417

Attachment 253418

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Originally Posted by murraygb

.223 will get the reds with proper placement

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Yup. Go back through the thread. Plenty of Reds shot.

More reds than fallow deer for sure.

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Originally Posted by Roarless20

A few yearling fallow with the 75gr eld-m 2920fps.
My daughters first deer hunt. She shot her first deer. A yearling hind @25m in the trees after waiting for 5min patiently for a clear shot. It was bloody neat listening to the group of fallow talking to each other unaware of us.
I neck shot the spiker @ 30m a few minutes after the first as they didn't know what was going on.
Attachment 251258

And a yearling spiker I headshot at 120m. It's skull turned to jelly but didn't break the skin.
Attachment 251259

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I here you I’m getting no exits with head shots just soup held by skin 80gn eldm

2 red spikers tonight

Attachment 254158
This one on the run free hand @150 meters, one shot arse over turkey.

Attachment 254159
Had time to get to the fence post for a rest with this one, it stopped when he saw his mate go down so I had time for a 150 meter head shot. Straight down!

Using 69gr TMK's

Good shooting!!

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Originally Posted by 7mm Rem Mag

Using 69gr TMK's

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They are the business. So accurate and deadly.

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Originally Posted by Nathan F

They are the business. So accurate and deadly.

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They seem pretty good but I do have the 77gr shooting better, I was just out shooting rabbits and possums to use the last of my 69gr up and had just shot a possum when the 2 deer came running across the field heading for the cover of trees.

If I hadn't knocked the first one over on the run I wouldn't have got either animal.
Because I only ever had a part box of around 70 I never had a chance to put serious time into developing a tight accurate load hence why I was using them up so I could re-use my new Lapua brass.

The 69gr obviously do work well on deer going by Friday nights performance however I still like the 62gr Hornady SP's

Unfortunately no photo - I shot a fallow doe in the weekend at just over 250yds not being a reloader i was shooting factory Norma Tip Strike 55gr dialing up a touch over 2 MOA and settling the Leupold Mark-4 crosshairs on the deer's neck squeezed off the shot and it dropped on the spot.

Having been to the range the previous week with @30-06King and validating out to 400yds gave me huge confidence to take a neck shot.

I can't see me using anything but the .223.

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Originally Posted by MP270

Unfortunately no photo - I shot a fallow doe in the weekend at just over 250yds not being a reloader i was shooting factory Norma Tip Strike 55gr dialing up a touch over 2 MOA and settling the Leupold Mark-4 crosshairs on the deer's neck squeezed off the shot and it dropped on the spot.

Having been to the range the previous week with @30-06King and validating out to 400yds gave me huge confidence to take a neck shot.

I can't see me using anything but the .223.

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I'm looking for a mate to go into Fiordland after wapiti, a deadeyedick like yourself is exactly whom I'm after, are you up for it?

With two young kids, a wife, dog and fulltime job its a very unlikely possibility.

Besides I'm more of a farm hunter who likes his creature comforts.

Experiments ahoy

Attachment 254509

How much longer are the 80gr eldx's than a 75gr eldm?

They look dimensionally identical to an 80gr ELDM. Curious to put a few into deer, I haven't seen any results online yet.

You won't be disappointed with the 77gr TMK's

I've seen enough positive results that I have full confidence they work, just curious to compare for myself to the 80ELDM and Targex.

The 88s are to see how fast they go with no expectation that they'll stabilise

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Originally Posted by gimp

They look dimensionally identical to an 80gr ELDM. Curious to put a few into deer, I haven't seen any results online yet.

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I think the m will be better for .223 speeds the new x seems to be for the 22 arc / cm case capacity and is designed to hold up more at higher impact speeds. But like always looking forward to seeing how you find them :]

Sent from my SM-S928B using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by gimp

I've seen enough positive results that I have full confidence they work, just curious to compare for myself to the 80ELDM and Targex.

The 88s are to see how fast they go with no expectation that they'll stabilise

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I’m trying my hardest to wear out my .223 barrel so I can put a 1-7 on it. The 88’s are epic out of my 22 cm