Thread: 223 on deer

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

I was never very impressed when I had a 223. With 60 grn factory stuff it lacked penetration. The last deer I shot with it was a pretty ordinary sized 2yr velvet stag. Shot just forward of the base of the neck, bullet hit the vertibrae but didnt have the momentum to break it. So the deer was laying paralysed but fully alive blinking when I got to it.
Fast forward, hunting mate has bought a 223 for fallow and reds paddock shooting. Is there a copper bullet that I could reload for him that kills really well ?
I would like to go copper / lead free

the 50grn ttsx is VERY VERY good..... going 50 allows yo uto stoke it along faster if you want to.

As for the heavier projectiles H4895 works well for projectiles up to around 77gr but when you go over that use varget, Varget is the best powder for projectiles heavier than 69gr bar none, also a trick with heavy projectiles in a 223 use Remington 7 1/2 primers they burn hotter



Tikka T3 1/8 twist

Norma Cases fired 4x
AR2208 23.8 grains
Primer - Remington 7.5
80 grain A max, seated 10 th off the lands.

Originally Posted by flock

As for the heavier projectiles H4895 works well for projectiles up to around 77gr but when you go over that use varget, Varget is the best powder for projectiles heavier than 69gr bar none, also a trick with heavy projectiles in a 223 use Remington 7 1/2 primers they burn hotter

Attachment 231464

Tikka T3 1/8 twist

Norma Cases fired 4x
AR2208 23.8 grains
Primer - Remington 7.5
80 grain A max, seated 10 th off the lands.

What velocity and barrel length?

I was pretty gentle findinding a node at 23.8 ADI book show max at 25g 2208, 2870 so 2900 would be achievable standard Tikka 22 inch barrel. Shot my recipe at 500M at Taitap & they performed well.

I use Targex 80 grn on wallaby too. No reason not to. Not expensive and great ballistics. Way better in the wind. And no mucking iaround swapping loads for deer.
While the 80’s haven’t been around Bryn did me some 74 grn so have a few hundred of them to burn through as well.
The 77 Sierra tipped are most excellent on deer but for a wallaby/deer load they are too expensive.

My Tikka loves the Targex 69 and 80grn once sighted in they both shoot the same POI
I've shot goats at 450yards with the 69 but will be using 80 for everything now they are available again.
My rifle didn't like the 80grn ELDM.

Sent from my CPH2145 using Tapatalk

Silly question, what is a good compromise barrel for the 223? Dependant on bullet weight required?

Originally Posted by csmiffy

Silly question, what is a good compromise barrel for the 223? Dependant on bullet weight required?

18"

Sent from my CPH2145 using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by csmiffy

Silly question, what is a good compromise barrel for the 223? Dependant on bullet weight required?

Personally I think you need to ring every ounce of speed out of the .223 that you can , especially when you start to use heavier projectiles.
In my uneducated view longer the better within reason .
Barrel length is a cheap way to improve speed and performance without having to do any alterations or overloading Witchery .
Keep in mind though , I don’t run Cans on my . 223’s

Originally Posted by csmiffy

Silly question, what is a good compromise barrel for the 223? Dependant on bullet weight required?

There are alot of different opinions on that one and could be a whole thread on it's own, probably is already at least one haha.

A .223 is not a long range deer rifle no matter the barrel length. My idea of a .223 is for it to be lightweight, accurate and versatile otherwise I might as well take something with a bit more grunt. So mine sits at 15" and I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a deer in the right conditions at 300 yards. Projectile choice does come into it though, that would be with 75gr eldm or 77gr tmks.
For varmint shooting you can still load up lighter weight projectiles going quickly.
Plenty of the professional deer and goat cullers run theirs at 12" to 14" and they shoot more animals than most.

Originally Posted by TLB

There are alot of different opinions on that one and could be a whole thread on it's own, probably is already at least one haha.

A .223 is not a long range deer rifle no matter the barrel length. My idea of a .223 is for it to be lightweight, accurate and versatile otherwise I might as well take something with a bit more grunt. So mine sits at 15" and I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a deer in the right conditions at 300 yards. Projectile choice does come into it though, that would be with 75gr eldm or 77gr tmks.
For varmint shooting you can still load up lighter weight projectiles going quickly.
Plenty of the professional deer and goat cullers run theirs at 12" to 14" and they shoot more animals than most.

Granted but they shoot practically ALL their deer under 200m.

Originally Posted by TeRei

Granted but they shoot practically ALL their deer under 200m.

Hence why I stated that a .223 is not a long range deer gun.
The question that was asked was what was a good compromise for barrel length, and I stated my opinion. Long barrel on a rifle that isn't suited for long distant deer shooting hinders it's ability to be a nifty light recoiling handy rifle, that's what I think anyway.

And as for the culling, that is true in some regards. However you might find that the outfit in NZ that employs potentially the most cullers, the ones doing the culling in the new forestry blocks, shoot most of their animals over 200 yards, and a large percentage of them at night. They are issued with stock standard 55gr sps.
Personally I'd rather use something heavier for deer and a different caliber all together for that kind of shooting. But hey that's just my opinion.

Originally Posted by TLB

There are alot of different opinions on that one and could be a whole thread on it's own, probably is already at least one haha.

A .223 is not a long range deer rifle no matter the barrel length. My idea of a .223 is for it to be lightweight, accurate and versatile otherwise I might as well take something with a bit more grunt. So mine sits at 15" and I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a deer in the right conditions at 300 yards. Projectile choice does come into it though, that would be with 75gr eldm or 77gr tmks.
For varmint shooting you can still load up lighter weight projectiles going quickly.
Plenty of the professional deer and goat cullers run theirs at 12" to 14" and they shoot more animals than most.

Do you know what velocity you are getting with the 77TMKs from the 15" barrel?

Originally Posted by Shearer

Do you know what velocity you are getting with the 77TMKs from the 15" barrel?

I haven't chronographed the 77gr but the 75gr eldm are doing about 2500fps. So pretty slow! I haven't tried any form of load development however.
The 75gr has about 650+ f/lbs energy at 300 yards doing that velocity.
A 55gr sp doing 3200 fps out of a full length barrel has about 550 f/lbs of energy and doesn't cause as much damage.
So at 300 yards drop aside, the 75gr eld out of a 15" barrel beats a 55gr out of a 22". That's why I personally believe that projectile selection is often as important if not more so than barrel length.

I have left my latest 223 at a standard 22" for that reason. I do run a can but for the kind of hunting I do with it I don't find it a hindrance.