Thread: 223 on deer

Originally Posted by Finnwolf

Must have been a North Island thing as I knew a few NZFS guys way back and only ever heard of 303, 222 and 270 being used by them.
Oh and the odd 308.

There is a spot I hunt occasionally in the Kaimaniwas, there is a well established camp with a large native nearby, the V's in the tree are full of .222 and .270 empties.

Have shot plenty reds with a 223. Mostly just chest shoot. Some drop on spot but quite a few dash n die up to 70m away. I use Hornady factory 55 gn SP. They work fine. 3000fps out of a 16 inch suppressed barrel. Federal 55gn blue packet is 200 fps slower but kills just as well if not a touch better. Dont use varmint bullets. I love using a 223. So does my dog's ears. I use a 308 more though. Cheers

.223 tonight. 130 yds. 69grn Targex. Bullet recovered from off side, just under back steak. Bang-flop.

There's been Likely millions off deer, shot in New Zealand with a .222, was likely the second most common choice for cullers, The old man was NZFS OC, in Taupo, and 2IC down the coast, I remember a stack white, cloth sugar bags, of 2000-3000 brass (.222) , in the corner of the shed, And talk of rifles from old NZFS visitors, and all had a fondness for the humble .222 vixen, we had two on the farm, I've got the newer one,
I bet there are sum old cullers on here, with Tens of thousands of deer/goats shot with the .222, ( trusty .222 and Taraura hunter, Thar)
I've shot a few hundred deer with mine, never lost an deer, get in close, pick your shot, shoot twice if need, and be prepared to pass up game, from time to time, a quality soft point, (stay away form American made varmint bullets,) I like Norma soft points,
the .223 is just a touch more powerful, and with more options, esp with a fast twist

65gr Sierra game king are very effective so are the cheap Hornady 55gr SP.

Don’t know what all the hoopla is about small calibres. I reckon the 222 with 50gr sp kill deer far better than the 223.

Hmmm.. @grandpamac.’’CAC problems’?
When did they occur and what were they?

I used to religiously use CAC 180 hollow-points in my Finnwolf with no issues ever.

Greetings Finnwolf,
I was referring to the High Flyer shotgun cartridges that were blamed for the destruction of a number of shotguns. I believe that CAC paid out to replace a number of these. Like you I used CAC cartridges, and later cases, without complaint. Still do for cases. I think their quality tapered of a bit towards the end.
Regards Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by Finnwolf

Hmmm.. @grandpamac.’’CAC problems’?
When did they occur and what were they?

I used to religiously use CAC 180 hollow-points in my Finnwolf with no issues ever.

I can't comment on the high powered CAC ammo but when I started on the Pest Destruction Board in the late 70's the old Rabbit Board 12 g shotgun ammo was alright.
The 22 ammo both sub and super was shocking. Subs would quite often go off like a super which was bad news especially when we were on der farms and needed to be as quite as possible so as not to Spook the animals. Super sonic ammo sometimes went off like a 22 mag or other times like a sub. One night me mate had one that barely made a noise and on inspection found the bullet stuck in the barrel, luckly he checked before firing the next round. Back then we used to get the CAC in a plain white box for subs and supers were marked SR5, interesting times. Sorry got a bit side tracked From 223 on deer thread.

47gr of nicely mushroomed 80gr ELDM recovered from under the offside skin of a red after penetrating shoulder, spine, lungs and opposite ribs at 250 V0 2800fps.

.223 neck shot couple of nights ago (graphic).

85 yards. 77 grn Sierra @ 2900 fps.

also...if the stag of a lifetime is departing and the only shot on offer is fair up his arse...well the 308 or mighty poohseventy will anchor him for finishing but .223 as good as it is will struggle.
larger margin for error with a rushed shot.....the .224 centrefires ARENT for rushed shots....

I used a 1/8 twist 223 on deer pretty regularly for 9 years, generally with controlled expansion monolithics. I had a couple of heavier calibers at the time but I normally chose the 223, as I’m a meat hunter more than anything. I purchased it as a bit of an all rounder for varminting and meat hunting (fallow and smaller reds at shorter ranges). It filled that role pretty well but I don’t think the 223 is a great choice as a stand alone deer rifle. If a nice fat red spiker wanders out onto a clearing 250yd away, right on dusk and there’s no opportunity to get closer, I want a caliber that will reliably flatten that animal with a shoulder shot. So that means a 6mm minimum. Do yourself a favour and get a 243 instead

Originally Posted by 7.62

If a nice fat red spiker wanders out onto a clearing 250yd away, right on dusk and there’s no opportunity to get closer, I want a caliber that will reliably flatten that animal with a shoulder shot. So that means a 6mm minimum. Do yourself a favour and get a 243 instead

I agree, slightly, If I only could have one rifle it would be a 6.5mm Fact is you can run 100gr pills easy as which will do everything a .243 will do but you can run 147s to shoot shit wayyyy out there. Plus how many people do you know that want to run heavy .243 rounds????

IMO the 6.5 (.260) is what the .243 should have been.

Originally Posted by Timmay

I agree, slightly, If I only could have one rifle it would be a 6.5mm Fact is you can run 100gr pills easy as which will do everything a .243 will do but you can run 147s to shoot shit wayyyy out there. Plus how many people do you know that want to run heavy .243 rounds????

IMO the 6.5 (.260) is what the .243 should have been.

Agree 100%. 6.5 is the sweet spot for great ballistics, low recoil, and moderate barrel wear. A 6.5x55, 260, Creedmoor, or 6.5x47 would all be very high on my list if I had to own just one rifle.

In regard to the 223 debate, many of us begin our hunting careers with reasonably hard hitting cartridges like a 7mm08, 308, 270 etc. And we soon come to realise that they are a bit overkill for shooting yearlings or spikers at shorter ranges. We start thinking about another rifle to add to the safe for our meat hunting endeavours; something that’s accurate, fun to shoot, with no recoil and a flat trajectory. So low and behold, a 223 finds it’s way into the safe. But I believe this is a mistake and most of us would be better served by a 243 for that role. Well that’s been my experience anyway

With these neck shots and the .223 the margin for error can be pretty slim.
This was the other night too. You can see it was hit a bit high at 100 yards. Sighted in for 200 and I didn't allow for the plus 1.5". Could have been a miss - as it was it wasn't an instant kill. I still rate the .223 though.