Will a .223 put a deer down on the spot with a head or neck shot ? What bullet would you use ? Are they accurate enough in say a Savage 200 to do the job at say 250 yds ?

quote:

Originally posted by hard luck:
Will a .223 put a deer down on the spot with a head or neck shot ? Yes, but I would avoid a neck shotWhat bullet would you use ? If legal, and accurate enough in your rifle [COLOR:RED]a 60gr. barrier[/color] Are they accurate enough in say a Savage 200 to do the job at say 250 yds ?If it is as accurate as my [COLOR:BLUE]Stevens 200 it would be a winner.[/COLOR]

roger

Hardluck: This question or subject comes up often around this forum and I always make reference to my friends who live just north of me here in SW Montana!
I have known them for going on 9 full years now. The family consists of a Hunting father, a Hunting mother and two daughters old enough to Hunt! They use a Remington 700 in 223 Remington to kill truckloads (I am not exagerating here!) of Whitetailed Deer, Antelope and Mule Deer, EVERY YEAR! The father killed 6 Whitetails this year himself! 2 of those were archery kills though the rest with the 223. The daughters I think killed a total of 5 Deer and the mother got a dandy big Buck Whitetail all with the 223 and thats this year alone! One Antelope tag was obtained this year amongst them and it was 223'ed to death with a single shot!
I know I have seen them kill at least 40 head of Big Game myself over the years with this 223!
One of the daughters killed a TROPHY 31" Mule Deer (with one shot!) using the family 223! This daughter also used that 223 to become the youngest Hunter ever in Montana to kill a Mt. Goat! She was 12 years and 4 days when she killed that Goat (again with one shot!) from the 223!
I was called upon two years ago to drive a thicket for the father (who was in a tree stand!) my objective was to try to drive a Trophy Whitetail Buck past him that he knew was in this thicket. He chose the 223 for his elevated shot! He had Hunted this Buck for 2 straight months (all of archery season and then into and nearly through the Rifle season!) without getting a shot at it as yet! He was so sure of the lethality of the 223 on even large Deer that he refused to use his 338 or his 25/06 or my 270 on this Trophy! He killed the Buck as I drove it past him and again it was a one shot kill! This Buck did not die in its tracks but ran about 120 yards!
Antelope drop like stones when hit in the heart/lungs by this 223!
What MAGICAL bullet could they be using in this clunky old ADL 223 you ask?
No magic bullet - just Remington 55 grain factory loaded PSP's!
So I shake my head and relay these things and always advise for careful shot placement (broadside into the heart/lungs!) to those that see my posts regarding the 223!
By the way the two Hunting daughters excelled at their after school shooting class's and competitions! WHAT are you saying Hardluck? The schools where you live don't have after class shooting programs? Well move to Montana then!
The girls are VERY cool and accomplished Big Game shooters and I beleive they are now 17 and 15 years of age!
Long live the 223!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

one thing to keep in mind many areas have caliber minimums,here in alberta it is illegal to shoot big game with a 223.Not saying it wouldnt do the job but I would think it is more a coyote/varmint gun than a deer rifle.If one says it is good for deer at 250 yards,then one could say it would be good for elk or moose at 150,which I totally disagree with.I would imagine 243 would be legal everywhere and some feel this is small for deer.

VG,

I have a 14 and a 17 year old that would love to hunt with "the girls" We don't have shooting in school, but 4H takes care of it after school!!

This topic comes up on a lot of these forums from time to time and is always controversial. With that said, in my 39 years of hunting Whitetail Deer I have, shot and killed and seen many, many Whitetails shot and killed with the .223 Remington (and .222, and .22-250 too for that matter). Are these cartridges for EVERYONE, absolutely not.

The use of these smaller cartridges requires some special talents, not the least of which is good shot placement, but just as importantly the patients and determination to wait for that just right shot presentation.

Just last year I shot a larger Whitetail Doe at 200 yards with a single shot from a .223. The shot was perfectly broadside and the deer was standing, totally unalarmed. I placed a 55gr. Winchester Pointed Soft Point through the ribs (right behind the front shoulder) and at the shot the Doe took off on a slow run. She ran about 50 yards, slowed to a walk, walked in a small circle and tipped over stone dead.

When my daughters first started hunting they both used a .223. The bullet I used was a 64gr. Winchester Power Point that I handloaded to a muzzle velocity of 2912 FPS. This bullet has always performed quite well, but then we have never hit major bone with it either. If you contact Winchester they will tell you this bullet was designed for the specific purpose of Hunting Whitetails with the .223.

Today there are even better bullets available, not the least of which is the 60gr. Nosler Partition or the Barnes TSX.

If it is legal in your state, and you have the patients to wait for that just right shot, buy all means use the .223. If you have something larger and can shoot it good, that works too. As for me I mainly use a .243 with 95gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips, but if all I had was my .223 I wouldn't hesitate to use it.

Larry