Thread: .223 Deer Hunting Advice

My goal is to go deer hunting next season. For a number of reasons, the main one being cost of ammo, I've decided to go with .223 bolt rifle. Do you guys have any recommendations on a good rifle, my price range is $500-$900 (without scope).

And also what kind of effective range would it have?

Thanks

I killed alot of blacktails with a mini 14 when I lived in Alaska. Have to make the first shot count.

Savage using 69gr Federal gold medals with a Nikon Pro Staff scope. This should be a good combo for at least a two hundred yrd shot or longer as you get used to the rifle.

Oops. Never mind just read the hunting regs, and cant use .223 to hunt deer.

Originally Posted by Olegmikhaylov

Oops. Never mind just read the hunting regs, and cant use .223 to hunt deer.

They did that for one year in Oregon then went back to allowing it. Go with a 243 and learn to reload,makes a great deer and varnint rifle.

Originally Posted by Olegmikhaylov

Oops. Never mind just read the hunting regs, and cant use .223 to hunt deer.

The reason is, in Washington, the bullet must create more then 350 foot lbs of impact at 100 yards. A .223 does not meet that requirement. I don't know for sure but I think a .243 is the smallest caliber for deer.

You can get a lot of rifles in that price range. I recently bought my daughter a new Ruger in a .243 with scope for under $500. If you plan on hunting deer I would use .243 on up. If you plan on hunting elk I would go with a .270 on up. I use a .308 for deer and a 300 win mag for elk. I know a lot of people that use one gun for both (.270,30.06,7mm mag,300WM,etc.). Good luck and have fun.

I deer hunt with a .243 cause it is a good caliber. I have plenty of other larger guns to choose from but I see no need.

With practice and good shot placement 3-400 yards is not out of line. Like anything else practice is what is going to get you out to those ranges and make a good kill.

As the others have stated getting an inexpensive handloading set up will be the way to go. You can get it and your gun easily within your budget.

as per wa. states big game regulations hand book: eqpt./hunting methods section.(this is the free guide in stores where/lic. avail.)
rifles: big game except cougar: min. of 24 cal. (6mm) centerfire rifle.
handguns: big game except cougar: min. of 24 cal. centerfire cartridge and barrel be min. 4" i confirmed this before w/wa. state dept of fish and wild life.

Originally Posted by Olegmikhaylov

My goal is to go deer hunting next season. For a number of reasons, the main one being cost of ammo, I've decided to go with .223 bolt rifle. Do you guys have any recommendations on a good rifle, my price range is $500-$900 (without scope).

And also what kind of effective range would it have?

Thanks

Privet!

If you are concerned about the cost of ammo, then its either:

* 7.62x39mm Softpoints ($7/20) - non-reloadable
* 7.62x54r Softpoints ($11/20) - non-reloadable
* Reload your own... (~$8-$9/20)
-$25/100 bullets
-$ 3/100 primers
-$15/100 powder
--reuse your once fired brass
--not counting cost of equipment & time

or plan to spend $15-$25/20 for common caliber hunting ammo

Rem 700, Win 70 are pretty much your standard bolt-action hunting rifles, however, do take a look at the Savage rifles... a friend has a newer Savage, with the accu-trigger, which is pretty amazing! Accurate & nice. I like synthetic stocks and stainless for ease of maintenance.

HtH!

savage 110/111 combo on sale at bimart for $329 ends tomorrow. They have them in .243, .270, 7mm, 30-06, and .308.

I got one in .308 over the summer great riffle. Good price.

How about putting a Kimber standard Hunter (wood stock) in 257 Roberts into your hands to feel how light and handy it is?
These are the best for a nice looking, excellent designed all day hunting rifle.
None better in my humble Opinion.

go with a .308 hunting ammo cost less than $15 per box of 20 which is about what you would have to pay for quality .223

.223 can work for deer but its inhumane since the bullet tends to bounce around and if you aim is not sure or you gamble on a long shot your more likely to wound the animal and never know it

is states where deer have heavy populations or on private land where they are a nusense its fine since your just hunting for population control where no one cares if it runs off and dies a few days later.

I don't think it is too ethical to just wound a deer and let die of infection or slowly bleed to death.

I found 3 deer this year with a bullet hole in them and just lying there.

Maybe I am different but if I shoot a deer I am going to go get it as it is only the responsible thing to do.

Originally Posted by Scott

I don't think it is too ethical to just wound a deer and let die of infection or slowly bleed to death.

I found 3 deer this year with a bullet hole in them and just lying there.

Maybe I am different but if I shoot a deer I am going to go get it as it is only the responsible thing to do.

For sure! If you don't feel this way, maybe you should stick to shooting sage rats.

Ruger M77. Various calibers and a very nice action. If you will excuse the pun it has great bang for the buck A .270 will hunt anything in the US. load down to 110gr for varmits or up to 150gr for elk.

Originally Posted by Scott

I don't think it is too ethical to just wound a deer and let die of infection or slowly bleed to death.

I found 3 deer this year with a bullet hole in them and just lying there.

Maybe I am different but if I shoot a deer I am going to go get it as it is only the responsible thing to do.

x2 nothing i hate worse is finding a dead animal from a wound
except when i find one with just the antlers missing that just pisses me off and have found both.just sickening

Originally Posted by elkhunter

x2 nothing i hate worse is finding a dead animal from a wound
except when i find one with just the antlers missing that just pisses me off and have found both.just sickening

If you shoot at it you have to go check it out (blood trail,etc) no matter how far you shoot. It is part of being responsible. Also good to use enough gun for whatever you hunt. Ammo is a minor cost issue for the most part but if you do use a small caliber I would use a premium bullet for hunting game animals. Crippling an animal makes any decent hunter never want to do it again.

Thanks for all the advice. I did some more research and I think I'm going to go with a .243 Win. since I will only be using it for deer.

Does anyone know of a custom stock maker (hopefully local) I have a long arms, 78 inch reach and will need 14.5-15 inch length of pull.

Legal for deer, bear, cats in Oregon is .22 center fire.
.24 center fire for elk and sheep.