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Originally posted by seafire/B17G:

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Originally posted by Conservative Rifleman:

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Originally posted by seafire/B17G:
I've lost deer with a 300 Win Mag, that had excellent shot placement at 100 yds... the bullet passed thru before it had a chance to open up was the explanation I got from the bullet manufacturer... I've lost deer with a 300 Win Mag, that had excellent shot placement at 100 yds...

the bullet passed thru before it had a chance to open up was the explanation I got from the bullet manufacturer...

so that doesn't mean the 300 Win Mag is a bad deer rig....but it does mean that one has to carefully pick what bullets and what velocity they are going to be hitting game with...

same as with any other caliber...

I can't believe "Seafire" wrtoe that!

Well Seafire didn't believe it when it happened...

deer landed on its nose after the shot, there was blood and deer hair in at least a 3 feet circle...

deer jumped off and shook it off, and headed straight into the swamp that the road bordered..

when I called Sierra and they asked me the load and I told them it was Federal Factory load with a 200 grain Sierra bullet on it... they told me that the bullet was way too tough for distance, even on the largest of deer... it was designed to be an elk bullet...

as far as I am concerned, the explanation verified what had happened...

stayed over night and looked for that deer all the next day and never found it... I am sure it died...

I have never used that bullet again.. If I want to load heavy in a 300 Mag ( which I do) I pick a 220 grain Sierra RN or Hornadys...and run them hot, but they certainly will get the job done...big or small...

Interesting John, I once accidentally shot a broadside deer with a 150gr fmj from a 30.06, he ran about 40 yards across a field and tipped over.

I only noticed because the headstamp was of the target stuff I shoot at Bisley.

I'm not anxious to try it again, but it didn't seem too bad considering.

rather than, "223 vs 22-250 Which is the best for deer?," i think the question should be, "what am i lacking in my arsenal?"

if you honestly only have a .22 centerfire rifle to hunt deer with, then whether it is .22/250 or .223 is moot; bullet construction is more of a priority.

having said that, there's no earthly reason to use either one if you have more-appropriate choices in your gun safe....

I use one on occasion and rather enjoy it. It kills amazingly well.

Terry

I've shot two big game animals with the 223; not because I wanted to, because it was all I had at the time.

The first was a free ranging Aoudad down in the Texas hill country - We were calling for predators and I looked over and there was this Aoudad about 125yds away - I was using 62gr (I think they were 62gr) TSX's. My first shot hit him hard and he slammed to the ground - I thought that was it, then he popped to his feet, I hit him again and he went back down. That was that.

The second was a free range Axis buck. I was (again) predator hunting south of San Antonio, saw this smallish Axis, hit him with the TSX - He ran about 50yds, started tapping around in a circle, fell over and that was that.

I predator hunt all the time and often run into free ranging exotics in TX when I'm hunting down there - It's worked twice on bigger animals - But if I were specifically going after stuff bigger than a Coyote or a Bobcat, I'd take a bigger gun, not because a 223 won't work, but because I like entrance and exit holes and larger heavy for caliber bullets get that done.

Just my experience...

JDA-CO

I found a nice Interarms Mark X in 22-250 at a fair price. Maybe I can trade my Remington 700 30-06 in for it. Then I can hunt deer with a groundhog gun. However I do have a VTR in .223 but I am thinking the extra zip might be better.

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Originally posted by JDA-CO:


The first was a free ranging Aoudad down in the Texas hill country - We were calling for predators and I looked over and there was this Aoudad about 125yds away - I was using 62gr (I think they were 62gr) TSX's. My first shot hit him hard and he slammed to the ground - I thought that was it, then he popped to his feet, I hit him again and he went back down. That was that.
JDA-CO

That is fairly impressive considering Aoudads are built like tanks.

Yeah - I was impressed! I didn't hit him very well either - I didn't realize that Aoudad's vitals are so low and forward in their chest cavities - I hit him high both times.

I guess I got lucky on two accounts: 1) I actually saw the Aoudad; 2) I made two bad shots and still got him.

He's not big, but he graces my wall none the less...