Thread: 223 on deer

Originally Posted by gimp

Holy shit a lot of words. Reckons the 80gr Amax is unreliable. Is wrong - probably has not actually used it. Will steer clear of commentary in general on that source but I'd suggest testing any particlar assertion to check evidence.

Actually In Nathan Fosters latest book "Long Range hunting cartridges" 2nd Edition. He recommends the 73,75 and 80gm ELDM's (Amax) as well as the Sierra 69 and 77gn TMK's. Quote "No other .224 calibre projectiles are in my experience capable of the same level of reliable fragmentation in the absence of both high velocity and bullet energy - while carrying sufficient bullet weight for retained energy at extended ranges" end of quote.

He ought to update his website - it still says the 80 is unreliable

Originally Posted by zeropak

Actually In Nathan Fosters latest book "Long Range hunting cartridges" 2nd Edition. He recommends the 73,75 and 80gm ELDM's (Amax) as well as the Sierra 69 and 77gn TMK's. Quote "No other .224 calibre projectiles are in my experience capable of the same level of reliable fragmentation in the absence of both high velocity and bullet energy - while carrying sufficient bullet weight for retained energy at extended ranges" end of quote.

Well Ive read that quote several times and still cant figure out what it means??

Originally Posted by zeropak

Actually In Nathan Fosters latest book "Long Range hunting cartridges" 2nd Edition. He recommends the 73,75 and 80gm ELDM's (Amax) as well as the Sierra 69 and 77gn TMK's.

that’s probably because he read this thread!

Originally Posted by Tahr

Well Ive read that quote several times and still cant figure out what it means??

Yeah I agree with you in a way. Think the word "Fragmentation" is wrong, a poor choice of words. To me that would indicate projectile failure. However in the context of the book he tends to use this word to describe a projectile which has expanded reliably and lost a certain percentage of its weight as it travel through the animal. Most projectiles intended for soft skinned game, such as deer do exactly that.

Jeez I really do hope the humble .223 lives up to some of the hype I have read on this thread. Seriously though all this info got me interested in giving the .223 a go, I've never owned one. I started hunting with a 30/06, down sized to a 6.5x55 and now use a 6.5 creedmoor, a couple of them actually. I never thought I would downsize further than this when it came to deer sized game. But here we are and I just put together 2 x .223's. One is a TAC A1 barreled action in a Stocky's stock, barrel shortened to 20" with a Delta 4-24x50 scope. The plan for this one is mainly range work. The other is a T3x carbine 20" barrel also in a stocky's stock with a Delta 2.5-15x50 scope. Just playing around with loads at the moment. the T3x hasn't even had any shots through it yet, that will happen this Wednesday the TAC A1 seems to really like the Hornady 75gn HPBT match.
I also have on hand some 69gn Targex and some 73gn ELDM's. ADI 2208 and CFR .223 powder.

Originally Posted by Tahr

Well Ive read that quote several times and still cant figure out what it means??

that the ywill still expand even at longer range/slower speed better than anything else..and they are heavy enough to still hit hard enough to kill cleanly

well thats how I read that.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

and also important to realise that article was written BEFORE the 1;8 twists and heavier than 64grn projectiles were in common usage..MOST folk using a .223 were still using 55grn soft points.
agree 100% flyblown.... you got to place your shots,that hasnt changed...you have more margin for error now..but that will never change.it is after all a tiny bit of metal going fast to take down a big hunk of animal.

Be curious to know if he has ever experimented with 55gr TSX. My mate just slaughters big deer all the time with this pill. The same pill which bowled a 320DS wild red stag this year. Some times research precedes reality.

yes he has...and some of the recent batches were piss poor preformers....had a wee video of them shooting goats and it shocked me,having used them.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

yes he has...and some of the recent batches were piss poor preformers....had a wee video of them shooting goats and it shocked me,having used them.

Yeah there’s a video of it playing out on a billy goat. Thing to remember is the target was 250yds and beyond, so outside the best impact velocity for that projectile type- first hits at 2200fps and getting slower as the range increased.

correct..and WHY I stick to under 150yards...

So like a lot of others I find the 80 ELD-M shoot good enough in my Tikka, and the TMK shoot mint. 10 shots in MOA mint…

I’m keen to know if anyone has validated the BC of the 80gr out of a 1-8” barrel? It’s only marginally stable at that twist, (Hornady state 1-7” required) so the BC should be diminished by an amount as the bullet used in flight. Yep, they’ll go through the target ‘straight’ but are they loosing velocity faster than we expect?

Originally Posted by zeropak

Jeez I really do hope the humble .223 lives up to some of the hype I have read on this thread. Seriously though all this info got me interested in giving the .223 a go, I've never owned one. I started hunting with a 30/06, down sized to a 6.5x55 and now use a 6.5 creedmoor, a couple of them actually. I never thought I would downsize further than this when it came to deer sized game. But here we are and I just put together 2 x .223's. One is a TAC A1 barreled action in a Stocky's stock, barrel shortened to 20" with a Delta 4-24x50 scope. The plan for this one is mainly range work. The other is a T3x carbine 20" barrel also in a stocky's stock with a Delta 2.5-15x50 scope. Just playing around with loads at the moment. the T3x hasn't even had any shots through it yet, that will happen this Wednesday the TAC A1 seems to really like the Hornady 75gn HPBT match.
I also have on hand some 69gn Targex and some 73gn ELDM's. ADI 2208 and CFR .223 powder.

Attachment 234618

Get yourself some 80grn Targex they go well in my Tikka.

Sent from my CPH2145 using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Hunter_Nick

So like a lot of others I find the 80 ELD-M shoot good enough in my Tikka, and the TMK shoot mint. 10 shots in MOA mint…

I’m keen to know if anyone has validated the BC of the 80gr out of a 1-8” barrel? It’s only marginally stable at that twist, (Hornady state 1-7” required) so the BC should be diminished by an amount as the bullet used in flight. Yep, they’ll go through the target ‘straight’ but are they loosing velocity faster than we expect?

I haven't noticed any unexpected downrange effects to 500m + on targets.

Stability factor is 1.495 which seems alright.