Deer Hunting with .223??

Originally Posted by Diamondhitch

Nothing wrong with the .270. It was the favorite of Jack Oconnor for good reason. 2 of my longest stots were made with one. 569yds on a mountain goat and 507 on an Elk. The 140gr XBT entered the front of the chest of the elk 1/4ing sharply and went end for end shattering his femur. Both shots on the goat were pass throughs on the ribs. The .223 however is not a .270, not even close. IMO it is just too marginal for my taste and I am in no way a Macho big bore pusher. Most of my hunting is done with my .257 WBY with a nice cushy recoil pad that has such a mild kick any woman or child could shoot it, did I mention of the standard calibers only the 30-378 matches its long range trajectory. Plenty of punch can come in a small package, recognizing that all pea shooters are not created equal is important.

I agree. I am a former .270 hater converted to a .270 lover. I got fed too many stories by family members and internet people that it wasn't even a good deer cartridge. My dad convinced me that it probably was perfect for me considering my age, and I haven't looked back since.

Now, back to the .223. I used to know a person who shot multiple deer with the .222 Remingon and he said it was basically perfect. He switched from the .30-06 to the .222 he liked it that much. I personally wouldn't make a habit out of hunting big bucks with the .223, but if I just needed to fill a doe tag I wouldn't hesitate.

So Trigger Creep you would not put it on the line for a big buck with a .223 but,you would risk wounding or losing a doe pretty much summs it it up for me.

Originally Posted by BARTFRNCS

So Trigger Creep you would not put it on the line for a big buck with a .223 but,you would risk wounding or losing a doe pretty much summs it it up for me.

NO, Doe are SMALLER than Buck! A doe is, in my area, at least 50 lb's (often 75 lb's) lighter than a buck. Bucks have more fat, thicker muscles, and MUCH, MUCH thicker neck fat. Doe aren't as hard too kill, thereby making it more ethical to hunt them with smaller calibers.

Don't be mistaken, my two deer guns right now are a .270 with 150 grain Nosler B-tips, and a .30-06 with 170 grain flatnoses (loaded to about 2,550, its a mild deer/bear load and it's incredibly accurate). I ain't undergunned when I go deer hunting.