Thread: deer hunting with a 223?

what are peoples thoughts of deer hunting with a 223? and any one on here hunt with a 223 for deer or anything else then coyotes?

Used to hunt with a AR using 69gr hollow points, worked fine.

I'll be 1st to say hell yes a 223 will kill a deer no prob
A lot of guys don't know what there talking about and just go buy
He says she says or well my sisters bro's cat ones shot this.. Bs'
Use 60 gr up. My wife drilled a nice 3x3 at 324 yrds with my
Tikka t3 1 shot 60gr sp hand load dropped it.. In one side and out
And it was a huge body.

Sweet good to know i have a rem VTR 700 with a coyote special Nikon scope and wanna use it on something besides varmints and coyotes

Also deadeye I said u use an ar what barrel length did u use?

I use mine for hunting,some of the old timers look down on hunting with an ar but its a semi auto and its accurate so why not?

I have not used a 223 for deer, but I would, & I will! I have, killed a few deer with a 22-250 though!

Wanna see a super thread resurrection? I asked this same question about three years ago..........


Hunting with .223

Oops guess I should of searched

Not legal for deer in Washington.

Shot placement! although i have never used mine for deer i just use one of my bigger calibers 30-30 or .308

i guess if your going to dump a lot of money into an ar you might as well use it.I do like the assurance of a larger caliber but if your $400 hunting rifle works better than your ar then why did i spend $2000+ on an ar15?

Well like I stated early I want to use my rem 700 VTR which is in 223 for deer instead of just small stuff

Originally Posted by OR_VARMINT_HUNTER

Well like I stated early I want to use my rem 700 VTR which is in 223 for deer instead of just small stuff

Make sure you carry only a 5 round magazine. Larger ones are illegal for big game with a semi-auto in OR.

Also make sure you dont use FMJ ammo they will get yah for that if you do to.

I shot a blacktail once with one of my 223's and wont do it ever again. Not to say that it wasn't effective, but rather too effective. Shot was uphill at about 80 yards, entrance was in front of right front leg at about the brisket/heart level, exited the offside shoulder. Entrance wound was about the size of a golf ball and exit I could easily put my fist into. Bloodshot on the entire offside of the deer and wasted about 1/4 of the meat. I was amazed at the power of that little 60 grain softpoint bullet and disappointed that I wasted so much meat of an already small critter.

Originally Posted by OR_VARMINT_HUNTER

Sweet good to know i have a rem VTR 700 with a coyote special Nikon scope and wanna use it on something besides varmints and coyotes

Also deadeye I said u use an ar what barrel length did u use?

Used the Bushmaster 20".

Sierra 65gr Gameking is a great bullet for deer sized animals also works great on coyotes.

Three Montanans gathered for a discussion of just this topic: .223 effective on deer-size game. While Dad and the girl were vociferous in their recommendations of the cartridge, the gentleman in the foreground was strangely silent.



Interarms "Mini-Mauser" MK X. .223 Remington, 55g Nosler Ballistic Tip, 225 yards. One shot kill. This from a few years ago. She's now 6 for 6 on the goats, 2 for 2 on big muleys. All one shot kills. Her boyfriend last year tried to get her to "upgrade" to a .270. She will have none of it.

I have killed several with 5.56 over the years. never had a problem...Shot placement is the key.