Thread: Is .223 a good all rounder?

@Dougie, we'll see you at Hihitahi... I hope you are bringing your .223

Originally Posted by Gillie

@Dougie, we'll see you at Hihitahi... I hope you are bringing your .223

Did the scoring system get published? Will do my best to be there and yes my Savage will be the rifle of choice.


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Awesome Dougie .223 at 900 yards that about the limit before you need a mortar computer to place your shot. You must have done some scope winding to get it on target.
If you want to read an article by people who know nothing about .223 ballistics. take a look at this one: Hated army assault rifles unlikely to be sold - National - NZ Herald News

Ok it IS the NZ herald who are all about sensation and not much more but how can you say: "A 2011 Ministry of Defence study found the rifles were not powerful enough to "identify accurately adversaries" and was "ineffective at ranges greater than 200m"? I have to admit hating the Steyr but this article is at best very funny at worst highly embarrassing.

I don't know if I'd call the .223 the ultimate all rounder , but it certainly is my favourite Centerfire round for the shooting I do .
If I was only targeting Deer then I'm afraid my 7 mm barrel would live on the R93 , but where I am the targeted species are Wild Dogs and pigs ,so the .223 has the honour of being a near permanent fixture , and the 7mm sits sad and lonely in the safe .
Id be confident to use the .223 on Deer , but even I , a .223 lover must admit there are better alternatives .

Ken

Originally Posted by Dougie

I can't get enough of .223

Come visit hawkes bay and I will take you to some natural ranges and you can laugh and shoot rocks to 900yards with my .223 and have the time of your life.

I'm working on my first .223 deer but I'll let you know how it goes - seems my sweet spot for goats is 200-250yard shots with a 55gr game king.

LOVE this calibre and every day i learn more good things about it.


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Pft. I reckon I could could hit a rock at 900 yards too.

Wait up a second, I'll just spot one.

Here we go. This one looks about the right size for me.

Originally Posted by gadgetman

Here we go. This one looks about the right size for me.

9.5 km round the base,yeap should hit that.

this is a good read regarding the 223 caliber.
.223 Remington

Originally Posted by 300CALMAN

Awesome Dougie .223 at 900 yards that about the limit before you need a mortar computer to place your shot. You must have done some scope winding to get it on target.
If you want to read an article by people who know nothing about .223 ballistics. take a look at this one: Hated army assault rifles unlikely to be sold - National - NZ Herald News

Ok it IS the NZ herald who are all about sensation and not much more but how can you say: "A 2011 Ministry of Defence study found the rifles were not powerful enough to "identify accurately adversaries" and was "ineffective at ranges greater than 200m"? I have to admit hating the Steyr but this article is at best very funny at worst highly embarrassing.

Yeah when this came out we all had a good laugh. Glad they actually asked a soldier their opinion...oh hang on wait


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Excellent article on .223. In conclusion you could say that .223 is a versatile caliber and is deadly on small game. With the right projectile it is also effective on medium game within certain limitations and in the hands of a good marksman. Is it a good all-rounder? If you include large New Zealand deer like Wapiti and Sambar, long range shots and less than ideal angled body shots as part of "all rounder,. No probably not. People can and do shoot varmints with bigger calibers like 6.5 and .308 (less wind drift) but the ammo is more expensive and recoil greater.

If a .223 is the only rifle you have, you will use it as an all rounder and will probably be happy once you figure out the limitations that make you unhappy.
If a .223 is one of a safe full, you will use it for dedicated purposes because you will have learned its limitations that made you unhappy, and you will be happy.

Originally Posted by Spook

I have never heard that description for a AR15 before...I thought they were "Spray & Pray"

not with ammo at these prices...

223 as an all rounder ,,,,, don't think so. if you read some of the old books on dear culling there were good shooters using 222 s but I guess some of them didn't care if a wounded animal run off to die slowly when deer were considered a pest and numbers were high. Personally I like the 243 for Sika and bush shooting and for me its great but I still know its limitations regarding long shots at the tops.
Deer can be far and few at times so i want to be sure a well placed shot is going to kill as quickly as possible. i took a mate shooting a few years ago, he was ex army, good sort and keen as mustard. We came across some good sized reds in the bush and he took the first shot. it connected but not in the right spot, never saw that animal again!!
it put both of us using small calibers for larger game, but every one to their own.

U should read wot scribe wrote about 223 caliber of choice. Very intresting.. Just find the post in here somewhere.

So, this is a good solid stag and demonstrates the typical performance of the 55grn TTSX. The mark you can see on his shoulder is the exit. I shot him in the ribs on the other side. Range 230 yards. He dropped on the spot. I've shot plenty of deer with the same load and this is what I've come to expect up to 250 yards or so.
For any further I flick in a 69 grn Targex.

Modern well made bullets and faster twists have revolutionized the .223.



I'm doing a tour of the Ruahines soon, and my super light little .223 is what I will carry.