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Best 223 hunting round?

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    #16
    Originally posted by RiverRat1 View Post
    I've had a couple guys shoot wt with a HP. Both hit the shoulder and blew it up but the deer ran away.

    I use a 64 gr PSP (lead tipped soft point) and never had any problems.

    Have I been getting lucky or is the soft point the best round?
    I have used the same 64gr bullet as well as a 75gr BTHP and both have worked just fine. IMHO I think with a smaller caliber like that you should use the heaviest bullet that your rifle can shoot accurately. I wouldn't want to try and shoot a deer in the shoulder and break it down with a 223 either but the deer where I hunt aren't smaller hill country deer either. That little cartridge and bullet can do some damage when tucked in behind the shoulder in the vitals. I have seen it dump its energy in the vitals and turn stuff to jello.

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      #17
      I’ve killed a bunch of pigs and coyotes with Hornady 75gr. BTHP but I wouldn’t deer hunt with a .223/5.56. There are much better calibers for deer.

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        #18
        I used the 62 gr Federal fusion this weekend on a buck at 50 yards. Deer was facing me so lung shot into the chest. Deer went 60 yards before dropping, however very little blood if any came from the entry wound making it difficult to pick up the blood trail. Not sure what's typical for a lung shot, but first blood I found was 30 yards away.

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          #19
          Originally posted by DuramaxDude View Post
          I have used the same 64gr bullet as well as a 75gr BTHP and both have worked just fine. IMHO I think with a smaller caliber like that you should use the heaviest bullet that your rifle can shoot accurately. I wouldn't want to try and shoot a deer in the shoulder and break it down with a 223 either but the deer where I hunt aren't smaller hill country deer either. That little cartridge and bullet can do some damage when tucked in behind the shoulder in the vitals. I have seen it dump its energy in the vitals and turn stuff to jello.
          What is that? It looks like a hog, but it's the size of a squirrel.

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            #20
            Hornady whitetail hunter 62gr. this is what me and my buddy shoot, and we are 10 for 10 with 4 of those being big Axis.

            God Bless
            Bish

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              #21
              Originally posted by RiverRat1 View Post
              I've had a couple guys shoot wt with a HP. Both hit the shoulder and blew it up but the deer ran away.

              I use a 64 gr PSP (lead tipped soft point) and never had any problems.

              Have I been getting lucky or is the soft point the best round?
              About the last 8 deer that I have killed with a rifle were killed it with the 223 soft point. There were no head and no neck shots.

              I have only used the Federal Tactical Bonded 62gr which is a law enforcement round (but not illegal to possess). It is designed to penetrate barriers while expanding and not separating so as to penetrate. I have never had one not exit including one shot quartering toward me that went through the shoulder. The fartherest one ran was 25 yards. All of the exit wounds were at least about half an inch in diameter.

              I was at the range shooting a couple of days ago and one of our rifle instructors told me that the Federal Fusion Bonded 62gr and the Federal Tactical Bonded 62gr were the same round but the Fusion was loaded about 100 fps slower. I haven’t confirmed that with another source but it sounds like the Fusion is the “civilian” hunting version of our duty ammo.

              I don’t think you were lucky. If your soft points are holding together to get penetration through the deer, you are good to go in my opinion.

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                #22
                #1 Hornady 62 grain Whitetail.
                #2 GECO 55 grain head shots
                #3 IMI Systems 55 grain (green box) head shots
                #99 American Eagle
                Last edited by texaspacker; 12-12-2017, 10:39 AM.

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                  #23
                  Unless the HP is a serria game king then bad idea IMO

                  There are lots of bullets that will work but in factory ammo my pick would be 60gr Nosler Partition.

                  I haven't used the 223 in years for deer but if you are a reloader the swift Siroccos are good bullets for the 223 if you have the twist rate to stabilize them.

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                    #24
                    Originally posted by kmon View Post
                    Unless the HP is a serria game king then bad idea IMO



                    There are lots of bullets that will work but in factory ammo my pick would be 60gr Nosler Partition.



                    I haven't used the 223 in years for deer but if you are a reloader the swift Siroccos are good bullets for the 223 if you have the twist rate to stabilize them.


                    I have some 62 grain Sciroccos loaded up. Good to hear the positive feedback on them.

                    I killed a hog with the 75 grain version out of my 22-250 AI from about 240 yards with a lung shot a few weeks ago.

                    Had a full pass through and respectable entry/exit wounds.


                    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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                      #25
                      I haven’t had a chance to try them yet but I shoot 64gr Speer Gold Dots. They are SP and I have no doubt about their ability to kill deer size game.

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                        #26
                        I've always used 55gr Remington Core-Lokt PSP and never had a problem. Dropped a pair of pigs in one shot a few times as well.

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                          #27
                          Originally posted by Antlers86 View Post
                          Check out the damage in on this dude!

                          This was from a 55gr Hornady Spire Point

                          His momma made it a little further. Piglet died from pass through.
                          This is what I used for deer, pigs, varmints. Never had a problem with accuracy or anything running off.

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                            #28
                            Barnes 70 gr TSX. It's not even close. I've seen it drop several big hogs and deer. I've seen some animals run with different loads.

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                              #29
                              For pigs or deer I won't go below a 60 grain in weight. And soft points

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                                #30
                                Tim:

                                As you know, a 158gr. bullet from a .357 Magnum carbine is death to a hog if you shoot him in the head

                                I've only shot, and killed, one deer with a 5.56mm - a small button buck at 100 yds. I made a high, double lung shot and he fell DRT like the Hammer of Thor struck him. The spent round was on the inside of his skin on the opposite side where I shot him. I think I was using Winchester 64gr. Power Point ammo. Personally, I don't like head shots on whitetail deer. I prefer, especially for an inexperienced hunter, targeting either the shoulder, or the pocket behind the shoulder irrespective of the caliber of the rifle you are using.

                                Good luck,

                                Dave

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