Thread: The ‘controversial.222’

Mature hind shot through the neck;120 yds, "Childsplay" for the .222
Nothing controversial about that

Ive shot 9 deer with my .223 so far this year. 7 one shot kills, and two 2 shot kills. Out to 300 yards. Small Fallow through to a Red stag. I bring my .223 out once I start spring meat hunting.

Its easy peasy:

- Patience
- No running shots
- A good rest and a half decent 'scope (and for me with a higher top end mag like 12 or 15)
- Well sighted in rifle
- Neck or lung for ordinary 55 grn
- Shoulder/hillar works using a decent or heavier projectile.
- 200 odd yards for ordinary 55 grn - out to 300 yards with a heavier projectile in a faster twist barrel.

3 neck shots
4 shoulder/lung shots
1 Red too far forward shoulder shot required 2nd shot (275 yards)
1 Fallow buck too low and behind heart required 2nd shot (240 yards)


Used on the 9:
Factory Geco 56 grn (Good)
Factory Fiocci 69 grn (Not impressed)
69 grn Sierra TMK (great)
77 grn Sierra TMK (greater)

222 buck
223 buck

Originally Posted by Tahr

Ive shot 9 deer with my .223 so far this year. 7 one shot kills, and two 2 shot kills. Out to 300 yards. Small Fallow through to a Red stag. I bring my .223 out once I start spring meat hunting.

Its easy peasy:

- Patience
- No running shots
- A good rest and a half decent 'scope (and for me with a higher top end mag like 12 or 15)
- Well sighted in rifle
- Neck or lung for ordinary 55 grn
- Shoulder/hillar works using a decent or heavier projectile.
- 200 odd yards for ordinary 55 grn - out to 300 yards with a heavier projectile in a faster twist barrel.

3 neck shots
4 shoulder/lung shots
1 Red too far forward shoulder shot required 2nd shot (275 yards)
1 Fallow buck too low and behind heart required 2nd shot (240 yards)


Used on the 9:
Factory Geco 56 grn (Good)
Factory Fiocci 69 grn (Not impressed)
69 grn Sierra TMK (great)
77 grn Sierra TMK (greater)

See, this is exactly the sort of approach that I think bring success with the 222/223; being disciplined and sure of yourself and your gear. I think too many people just look at calibres themselves and not how that person is going to use said calibre, and on which game, with which bullet at which distance. Again, .223 will absolutely work on deer, if you are disciplined enough, but I worry too many people would take it personally and laugh it off if you said "mate you're not good enough to use a .223 yet".

I once lost a deer whilst carrying a Sako Vixen in .222, back in 2010.

The now ex-wife and I were making a trip into the Kawekas, and were about 1/2 an hour up the track from the lakes car park. Come around the corner, and here is a sika stag feeding on a small slip no more than 80yds away. Took what I ‘thought’ was a good shot, and deer runs off. I searched for ages, but with it drizzling it was going to be a tough task. Never found it, and swore at that point that I’d use ‘more gun’.

It took a few years (and a foray into archery) for me to realise that it was entirely my fault that I lost that deer. I had been in the habit of shooting deer in the kill zone, i.e aiming somewhere within the vital 6” circle, rather than picking the precise point that I wanted to put the bullet. I also now project the track of the bullet through the animal in my mind before pulling the trigger.

That is what I think of when someone uses the term a ‘cool, calm shot’. Not like I was back in the day

I shot prob 20-30 deer a year with the 223 reds fallow even pigs it's all shot placement and range won't shoot over 200 and I only head or neck shoot so it's eather bang dead on the spot or complete miss that and no searching for wounded deer in the scrub for hrs I imagine a 222 would b the same

Absolutely right.Got a mate who shall remain nameless who insists that his Remmy 223 is just the beesknees. He loses more animals than anyone I know, simply because he attempts to shoot them on the run, or shoots well out of range,or shoots at the brown bit.
Then wonders why they're not lying there when "I know I hit it".
Nothing at all wrong with small calibres and light projectiles, but you've got to be disciplined enough to know when to pull the trigger, and when not to.

doesn't matter what the calibre is, if you cant place the shot accurately, dont know your and your rifle limits, aren't using suitable projectiles. Then dont take the shot on an animal.

Originally Posted by chainsaw

doesn't matter what the calibre is, if you cant place the shot accurately, dont know your and your rifle limits, aren't using suitable projectiles. Then dont take the shot on an animal.

Definitely. 100% agree with this.

I feel it takes a lot of maturity as a hunter to get to that point however. My guess is that the disciplined .222/.223 users here have a fair amount of experience under their belt, or have been mentored closely by someone who has. It has taken me years to develop that discipline, and I think I only just really cracked it this year through having a go at bow hunting.

Philosophically I’ll never hold it over a young guy or girl that makes a mistake and looses an animal, as long as they are committed to making it right. And what I mean here is some deep reflection on what went wrong, being totally honest with oneself, and stepping back into it with a plan of what to do next time.

I also guess that the gurus with these calibres have made a few cock-ups in their time, but that is exactly what makes them so good now. Lessons learned.

if you have spent over an hour searching,you have tried....if you have spent over an hour searching with a dog who knows thier shit...you have tried really hard...and sometimes eve nthat isnt enough,but you can be lucky when you actually believe the dog and follow it after you have given up and find the animal some 3-4-500 yards away and finish the job properly....shot placement is vital with any calibre...just more so with the wee ones.

Originally Posted by norsk

I shot a Roe Deer straight in the center of the chest front on with a .222 at about 40 meters range,it ran 50 meters full tilt untill it expired.

.222 is still quite a popular round in Scandinavia,it's one of the smallest you can use for Roe Deer in Sweden.

To balance that: I shot a chamois straight-on through the upper front of the brisket at 20 yards with the Finnwolf.
It’s reaction was to flinch, turn and try to exit stage left left.

A quick flick of the lever and I sent a second bullet through it chest from the side and it slid to an untidy halt.

The first bullet raked from the front of the chest to just under the skin on the back of the right rear leg.

Would a 222 have dropped the chamois any better?
No.
But likely would have been much worse...

Just for a laugh I took my short barreled .222 to the range and shot it at 300yds. Took me a few shots to get on target, no dialing just windage. It was about 1 Meter drop and 1 Meter wind.
You do need top bear that in mind when considering a shot at an animal and proved to me again not to bother about stretching the barrel.

Originally Posted by Finnwolf

To balance that: I shot a chamois straight-on through the upper front of the brisket at 20 yards with the Finnwolf.
It’s reaction was to flinch, turn and try to exit stage left left.

A quick flick of the lever and I sent a second bullet through it chest from the side and it slid to an untidy halt.

The first bullet raked from the front of the chest to just under the skin on the back of the right rear leg.

Would a 222 have dropped the chamois any better?
No.
But likely would have been much worse...

Just interested @Finnwolf what was the internal damage from the first bullet? Heart shot? Lungs? Or was it low and missed both?

Back when I used the 222 a lot I found it very efficient within it's range limitations. When culling we used Sako 50 gr ammo which I think was relatively hard bullet but it performed well.
Over the years I handloaded various bullets , most worked well on goats which is what we used the 222 for a lot. I did use the 222 for deer as my main caliber for a number of years and it killed well for a light caliber. Back then the Winchester 50 gr was the bullet I used quite a bit and did shoot a few big stags with them. I found that well placed shoulder shots would have the animal run, but generally they went down within 30 -50 yards.
I remember losing a deer in the Whirinaki many years back as it ran away, it was running around a clearing and I think my shot raked it along the ribs towards the shoulder, it left a good blood trail for a while which we followed by torch light eventually losing it and getting ourselves "misplaced" we found our way out of the bush about midnight.
With good bullet placement and bullets the 222/223 are fine little performers out to about 200 yards for consistent results.
Nowdays I use a 223 which is much of a muchness, they are a do it all caliber if the shooter is careful with it's use.

Originally Posted by Hunter_Nick

Just interested @Finnwolf what was the internal damage from the first bullet? Heart shot? Lungs? Or was it low and missed both?

From memory it raked (and wrecked ) the inside faces of the two lungs and damaged the top of the heart.

The part that surprised me was it’s relative lack of reaction to the bullets impact - all its energy was used on the animal but it flinched, kind of hunched up a bit and commenced to vacate the area...such lack of respect to the Power of Finnwolf is to be deplored!