.223 remington

[M&P Chris]

would a .223 bullet be good for deer hunting?

[Dredly]

I wouldn't recommend it, its a very small round for deer, smallest I would go would be a .243


.223 is death for varmints and predators

[mongo]

Some say "Let me make my own mistakes" I tried a a 223 for deer at one time. Shot and hit a nice 8 point in the chest. Never did find that deer after it just ran and ran. Hopefully someone else did put it down. Live and learn.

[A-5]

I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND .223 FOR DEER HUNTING AND WOULD SAY .243 TO BE A BASIC MINIMUM BUT IF YOU CHECK OUT THE DRURY VIDEO'S THE YOUNGER HUNTERS ARE USING THE 223. NO BODY SHOTS , LUNG SHOTS ONLY. IN A NUT SHELL USE THE ARCHERY THOUGHT PROCESS WHEN HUNTING.

[Chazman321]

I've a couple people that have taken many deer with a triple deuce (.222), and with any round, it's all about shot placement. A head on shot has a lower chance of making a kill shot actually. The sternum is surprisingly thick and very hard, and the vitals are set back just a little further back than most think. A broadside shot under 100 yards, I'd feel very comfortable with the .223, and as a person that has shot both and owns a .243, the .243 isn't very much bigger than the .223 and the ballistics aren't too far off...

Take the Barnes Triple Shok X rounds by Federal:
Round Velocity ft/sec 100 yards 200 yards Energy ft/lbs 100 yards 200 yards
.223 55gr 2752 2346 925 672
.243 85gr 2904 2628 1592 1303

Inside 200 yards, all will kill a deer or a man... You don't need a .338 win mag to drill a 110 pound deer. if this was an elk or bear hunting question, responses would be different. but then again, I've heard of people that have taken elk with a .243 lol

-Chaz

[TXDMERC73]

if you do want to use it get heavier bullets or soft pointed bullets, and keep it inside of 100 yards with good shot placement you cant go wrong.

I known some hunters bag deer with a .222 , which is less powerful then the .223 rem. if you aint happy with .223 rem you can always get a .223 WSSM rifle.

[Tomcat088]

I've said my opinion of the .223 and 22-250 in other threads. I'm with chazman, correct bullet, in the vitals at proper distance will result in kills just fine. Lots of Texas deer hunters use .223. I've seen LOTS of Texas deer bigger than Pennsylvania deer as well, although when you get further and south into Texas you start seeing "midget deer". I personally prefer the .243 over the .223 for deer hunting, but that doesn't mean that the .223 won't kill a deer consistently under the right conditions. Anyway, the .223 will do it's job with the right bullet and a competent shooter; which sadly can't be said for lots of hunters in the woods. Here's some ideas for .224 caliber projectiles if you were thinking about it.

55 grain Barnes TSX http://www.barnesbullets.com/products/rifle/tsx-bullet/

60 grain Nosler Partition http://www.nosler.com/partitionshowroom.htm

50 grain Spire Point from Hornady https://www.hornady.com/shop/?ps_ses...38762a8dfe1810

Ideally heavy bullets would carry the most kinetic energy, most factory barrels won't stabilize the heaviest .224 bullets under all conditions. Either way, they can get the job done. IF you have a barrel that can stabilize the heavier bullets, you can get Swift Scirocco's in 75 grains for .223. I don't know if the terminal ballistics would be good enough to push a bullet that heavy out of a .223, but they'd be pretty damn impressive for a .22-250. Either way, proper bullet, range, and placement are key.

[ReconLdr]

I've a couple people that have taken many deer with a triple deuce (.222), and with any round, it's all about shot placement. A head on shot has a lower chance of making a kill shot actually. The sternum is surprisingly thick and very hard, and the vitals are set back just a little further back than most think. A broadside shot under 100 yards, I'd feel very comfortable with the .223, and as a person that has shot both and owns a .243, the .243 isn't very much bigger than the .223 and the ballistics aren't too far off...

Take the Barnes Triple Shok X rounds by Federal:
Round Velocity ft/sec 100 yards 200 yards Energy ft/lbs 100 yards 200 yards
.223 55gr 2752 2346 925 672
.243 85gr 2904 2628 1592 1303

Inside 200 yards, all will kill a deer or a man... You don't need a .338 win mag to drill a 110 pound deer. if this was an elk or bear hunting question, responses would be different. but then again, I've heard of people that have taken elk with a .243 lol

-Chaz

I agree with most of your post but: There is a big difference between the two cartridges, not only velocity but in ENERGY. The .243 in your example has almost 200 fps and @ 600lbft of energy more than the .223. Your example is flawed because of the drastic difference in bullet weight. Even when you do the same comparison with similar bullet weights you still get about 600+ lbft of energy difference.

Caliber Gr MV 100 200 ME 100 200
.243 75 3375 3065 2775 2008 1897 1564
.223 77 2750 2526 2313 1293 1091 915

All this being said, a .223 is capable of taking deer but, I wouldn't do it if I didn't have to.

[Chazman321]

I agree with most of your post but: There is a big difference between the two cartridges, not only velocity but in ENERGY. The .243 in your example has almost 200 fps and @ 600lbft of energy more than the .223. Your example is flawed because of the drastic difference in bullet weight. Even when you do the same comparison with similar bullet weights you still get about 600+ lbft of energy difference.

Caliber Gr MV 100 200 ME 100 200
.243 75 3375 3065 2775 2008 1897 1564
.223 77 2750 2526 2313 1293 1091 915

All this being said, a .223 is capable of taking deer but, I wouldn't do it if I didn't have to.

I used the bullet weights I did because 55 grains is the heaviest bullet most rifles will shoot, not all rifles have the rate of twist to fire a 77 grain bullet, and the lightest bullet in .243 that are still Triple shocks are the 85 grain bullets. At .333 for the .243 and .216 for the .223, the ballistic co-efficient also plays a role. Federal is all I use so i don't have a loading for the .243 in 75 grains, closest I can come in comparison it the Gameking and Matchking BTHP's in 85 grains for the .243 and 77 grains for the .223, but as I said earlier, not many rifles will shoot the 77 grain .223 bullets as accurately...

Either which way you look at it with good bullets, good shooting, and knowing the limits of the round you're shooting, any gun can kill a deer... How many poachers take deer with nothing more than a .22lr and a spotlight? lol

-Chaz

[edritchey]

I've have been taking deer every year with my savage 340 chambered in 223. Last year I upgraded to a new savage 116 in 223 and filled both of my tags on the first day before noon. Anybody who thinks that the 223 caliber is to light to drop a deer needs to spend more time at the shooting range practicing their shooting skills. I have never had one run more than 70 yards after getting plugged with the 223 most of the time they don't go very far at all. I've been hunting with this caliber all but my first 2 years and that's because my Dad made me use a 12ga. for deer hunting until I was 16 I'm 49 now and killed deer on our families farm every year since. Maybe some people liked the kick from high power rifles but I like the low price and low recoil of my 223 and I hope I get a lot more years in the field. My new rifle shoots so well I can cover a 5 shot group at 100yds with a 50 cent piece using my hand loads. For the couple dollars per box it takes to reload the 223rounds they sure have kept my freezers full of deer meet over the winters. I'm getting hungry might thaw out a few steaks for on the grill today need to use the rest of that meat up to make room for this years kills. :-)