Reloading 5.56 NATO for Hunting

[Flymph]

I've been doing a little research here and there and thought I'd ask my favorite bunch-a guys what they think.
What would be a good bullet to reload to keep around for hunting deer?
Grain weight?
Powder?
Should I buy new brass?
Can I use old Federal cases?


I have an AR 556, 5.56 NATO chamber, 16" barrel, 1/8 twist... just want something for SHTF and to keep the my pop's busy at home.

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[sobo]

What exactly are you hunting? As in, game size...
A 16" barrel with a 1:8 twist might benefit from a slightly heavier bullet. Say, 62 gr (SP for larger game/PD)?
Should be plenty accurate for game and personal defense, IMHO.

 

[Flymph]

What exactly are you hunting? As in, game size...
A 16" barrel with a 1:8 twist might benefit from a slightly heavier bullet. Say, 62 gr (SP for larger game/PD)?
Should be plenty accurate for game and personal defense, IMHO.

I'm sorry I neglected to mention, and have edited to include that pertinent information.
I would like to have it handy for deer.

 

[sobo]

Then definitely the soft point, and not less than 62 gr. Maybe even up to 77 gr. Others here might have a different opinion on the bullet weight being that high.
Also, consider your range. I'm looking at a ballistics chart right now. Lethality will fall off precipitously after a few hundred yards or so with a bullet that heavy...

 

[Flymph]

I'll put some Hornady Match 77gr in the cart then, thanks.

 

[eightyeight mag]

You want a good bonded bullet not an open tip match bullet.
They are unpredictable on how they perform. They have a very thin jacket.

 

[Greenbug]

Barnes Triple Shock 55-70 grain
Nosler 60 grain Partition
64 grain soft point or bonded offered by a variety of sources.

 

[ron]

Common knowledge among competition shooters is do not use Federal 223 brass. It is soft and will result in blown primers.
MAYBE good for one reload.

You are being redirected...

 

[Stomper]

I have taken two deer with my Colt AR15A2 (with 20" 1/7 barrel) and took them with one shot each. I had a clear broadside shot both times, and both were about 35-40 yards away. Heart shots each time which SHREDDED the aortas, and they each (amazingly) jumped about 6' straight up into the air and hit the ground dead.

This was back in the early 90's and there wasn't anywhere NEAR the awesome bullet selection there is today. I was running vanilla factory loaded .223Rem with 55gr soft-points. Nothing special at all.

I don't recommend .223/5.56 in heavily wooded areas for hunting, because the bullets WILL get deflected by brush. My buddy shot at a deer through brush and the bullet got deflected downwards and wound up grazing (and lacerating) the bottom of its belly and it ran around with its entrails hanging out until he could get a kill shot.... not a humane way to go! Moderately wooded to open areas are just fine for .223/5.56, but I'd go with 30-30 or .308 otherwise.

 

[Eveskcige28]

Defintely dont use the hornady match bullets. You need a bullet designed for game. Match bullets may be the most accurate but they're also designed to hit paper

 

[Eveskcige28]

I reccomend watching this video. This gun is incredibly knowledgable. He explains perfectly what I just talked about

 

[bbbass]

Anything .243, 100gr. Or bigger. Just sayin'. Unless you're shooting those Bambi's over on the coast. You can kill them with a pellet rifle cuz they're no bigger than a Greyhound and just about as tame.

 

[osprey]

For an all purpose load the 62 gr speer gold dot/federal fusion bonded bullets are all you would ever need. At .20 a bullet they are not prohibitively priced. Also recently graf and sons had Hornady 62 gr sp-bt bullets on sale for .08 per. This is also a good multi purpose bullet and at that price I stocked up on them. With 5.56 and deer I suggest avoiding shots that potentially hit big bone as the enter. You need bullets to penetrate to vitals and big bone may hinder this but both bullets I mention are capable of killing deer and do very well in the penetration/expansion tests for social work.

 

[Marine Airedale]

62 grain or so premium bullet. I have used a Nosler Partition in the past once with good sucess. 5.56 has not been my hunting caliber of choice for a very long time though. Just be sure to avoid match and varmint projectiles.

 

[Nwcid]

Anything reasonably heavy with an expanding tip will work for SHTF. I am sure there is something out there that is a little better then something else, but you did say for SHTF.

I have thousands of rounds of 55gr Nosler Ballistic tips that I use for varmints. I would not hesitate to use them against any game in SHTF.

 

[osprey]

I would caution against using ballistic tips in this caliber for deer in a planned fashion. Their jackets are thin making them quite fragile and intended for varmints. For the money there are better choices. If it is a shtf situation and that is all you got, then by all means run watcha brung.

 

[Capn Jack]

Exerp from WA. Hunting Regs.

"Modern Firearm Regulations & METHODS EQUIPMENT Rifles: Big game, except cougar, must be hunted with a minimum of .24 caliber (6mm) centerfire rifle. Cougar may be hunted with .22 caliber centerfire rifle. Rimfire rifles are not legal for big game".

This is why my 5.56/.223 AR has become a dedicated varmint rifle.

 

[bentoncity]

^^^^ Yup..

Dan

 

[Capn Jack]

I reccomend watching this video. This gun is incredibly knowledgable. He explains perfectly what I just talked about

He spoiled the whole thing for me when he told about shooting an elk at 600 yards.
I would never attempt to take a shot like that unless I were starving.

 

[Twodogs]

65 gr sierra gameking is a great bullet for deer and deer sized animals, case full of Varget or benchmark and your good to go.
I've used this bullet on deer and coyotes and bobcats.