Thread: 223 on deer

80 grn Targex. Took the top of the heart off and destroyed half the lung. 300 yards. A beautiful deer.

Jealous. Plenty of good grass for them by the looks too

Originally Posted by charliehorse

Jealous. Plenty of good grass for them by the looks too

Its a magnet for them.

Originally Posted by Tahr

80 grn Targex. Took the top of the heart off and destroyed half the lung. 300 yards. A beautiful deer.

Attachment 210203

Damn that's an epic skin! Be good chewing too.

I just wish we could get more of those 80 grn

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My hunting mate had a 7/08 which he shot with really well. Wanted a rifle both him and his son could use. Encouraged him to buy a T3 223. Has some spare Hornady 55gr [non cannelure] Rolled them up with BM2. He sighted it in by blowing over a turkey @ 200m. Last night 2 deer both head shot @ 150m and 100m. He is very happy. They did the bizo for him.

Nice, I like

Originally Posted by +Snoop

Attachment 211061

They made me do it. Browning BLR takedown in 223. Brand new from a really cool guy on Trademe who ordered pre-covid then moved overseas. For use on sika and reds in the bush - behind an indicating dog. Always wanted a lighter calibre, and finding with the dog I'm getting time to place my shots. Biggest decision right now is what ammo to run through it with many brands out of stock.

Anything pushing a 55g Sierra gameking projectile code #1365

Putting aside personal views I think everyone will be informed about different perspectives on the thread TAHR mentioned which I have linked. There are are some quite witty comments which make a great read and a wonderful distraction form the painful political garbage we endure daily.

https://www.rokslide.com/forums/thre...130488/page-20

Just back from 14 days on Stewart Island and after shooting a yearling buck with the wee Tikka 223, I have to say that the experience was less than satisfactory. Shot placement was the issue and that is on me. Walked in on it and a doe in waist high crown fern so only option was a frontal shot close in. Bullet (55gn) hit dead centre, travelling full length without hitting anything vital before exploding in the back wheels, decimating both hips joints. Wasn’t going anywhere so quietly finished off with a knife.
Not saying I’m done with the 223 but I think this has just reinforced that time and shot placement is more critical with the light weights, for me anyway. I think a caliber with a bit more mass like the 270, which I’m used to, would have gutted, skinned, and hung up the carcass with that shot.
I don’t want to make excuses, it is what it is and on the odd occasion you can’t allow for all the variables, it’s just that it created doubts and as we all know, doubt creates lack of confidence and that is the road to shooting hell.

The positive is that I’ve been mulling over a more purpose built bush gun for the past year, light, compact, slightly heavier caliber, but will still comfortably wack ‘em over out to 150-200yrds. Will progress that.

[QUOTE=Sidetrack;1389542]Just back from 14 days on Stewart Island and after shooting a yearling buck with the wee Tikka 223, I have to say that the experience was less than satisfactory. Shot placement was the issue and that is on me. Walked in on it and a doe in waist high crown fern so only option was a frontal shot close in. Bullet (55gn) hit dead centre, travelling full length without hitting anything vital before exploding in the back wheels, decimating both hips joints. Wasn’t going anywhere so quietly finished off with a knife.
[COLOR="#FF0000"]Not saying I’m done with the 223 but I think this has just reinforced that time and shot placement is more critical with the light weights


I sold a 7x57 years ago because of the same experience that you have just described, except my bulls up was with 3 stags that needed finishing off with a knife, looking back now, i realize that it wasn't the caliber or placement that was at fault, it was simply a case of wrong projectile, you will never find a projectile that is suitable for all shooting distances or different deer breeds (fallow yearling- red stag) But some projectiles are better suited than others at covering all scenarios.
Not sure if you reload or were using factory ammo, but that projectile traveled a long way before mushrooming.

Originally Posted by Sidetrack

Just back from 14 days on Stewart Island and after shooting a yearling buck with the wee Tikka 223, I have to say that the experience was less than satisfactory. Shot placement was the issue and that is on me. Walked in on it and a doe in waist high crown fern so only option was a frontal shot close in. Bullet (55gn) hit dead centre, travelling full length without hitting anything vital before exploding in the back wheels, decimating both hips joints. Wasn’t going anywhere so quietly finished off with a knife.
Not saying I’m done with the 223 but I think this has just reinforced that time and shot placement is more critical with the light weights, for me anyway. I think a caliber with a bit more mass like the 270, which I’m used to, would have gutted, skinned, and hung up the carcass with that shot.
I don’t want to make excuses, it is what it is and on the odd occasion you can’t allow for all the variables, it’s just that it created doubts and as we all know, doubt creates lack of confidence and that is the road to shooting hell.

The positive is that I’ve been mulling over a more purpose built bush gun for the past year, light, compact, slightly heavier caliber, but will still comfortably wack ‘em over out to 150-200yrds. Will progress that.

Poor performance can happen with any bullet, but in this day and age it doesn't make any sense to be using 55gr bullets in a .223 with a fast twist barrel. The heavier 70-80gr bullets work a lot better if you select an appropriate option.


Also, shot the first spring deer with the .223 the other day after hibernating for winter, big fat red hind at 230m, shoulder shot with 80gr ELDM, wobbled a couple of steps and died.

You certainly have to hit them in the right place. Regardless of caliber. But you do get a margin of error with the heavier .223 bullets.

Here's an example from a couple of days ago. Head shot with an 80 grain Targex at about 100 yards (in a torch on the way home), but someone had had a shot at it previously. Probably Mickey D or Lauries Hut with their 270 or 308





I shot this earlier the same day in the trees at about 80 yards. Hit a bit far back with the 80grn and green stuff on the exit, but it still dropped within 10 yards.

[QUOTE=HUNTY;1389572]

Originally Posted by Sidetrack

Just back from 14 days on Stewart Island and after shooting a yearling buck with the wee Tikka 223, I have to say that the experience was less than satisfactory. Shot placement was the issue and that is on me. Walked in on it and a doe in waist high crown fern so only option was a frontal shot close in. Bullet (55gn) hit dead centre, travelling full length without hitting anything vital before exploding in the back wheels, decimating both hips joints. Wasn’t going anywhere so quietly finished off with a knife.
[COLOR="#FF0000"]Not saying I’m done with the 223 but I think this has just reinforced that time and shot placement is more critical with the light weights


I sold a 7x57 years ago because of the same experience that you have just described, except my bulls up was with 3 stags that needed finishing off with a knife, looking back now, i realize that it wasn't the caliber or placement that was at fault, it was simply a case of wrong projectile, you will never find a projectile that is suitable for all shooting distances or different deer breeds (fallow yearling- red stag) But some projectiles are better suited than others at covering all scenarios.
Not sure if you reload or were using factory ammo, but that projectile traveled a long way before mushrooming.

Running with the last of the H&F stuff that came with the rifle. Twist rate is 1:12 so running heavier bullets not really an option. Will start reloading early next year and be a bit more circumspect about shot placement. It’s still a great wee rifle and has plenty of uses around here.

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

A simple basic outlook is, a bigger caliber will do everything a little caliber will, but a little caliber won't do everything a big caliber will.

It's a nice thought, except that a .223 with good heavy bullets does kill deer of all shapes and sizes at all normal hunting ranges perfectly acceptably, with no recoil, quiet report, a light short rifle and very cheap handloads compared to anything larger