.223 for deer?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

2busy

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
May 19, 2010
Messages
6,489
Reaction score
18,280
Location
S E Okla
I've never been a big fan of the .223/5.56 , if I want to send a 55g .224 down range I break out the 22-250. I've harvested a few deer with it . I load my own with Hornady v Max .
 

diggler1833

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Jul 7, 2021
Messages
864
Reaction score
2,049
Location
Southeast
1. Shot placement.
2. Bullet construction.
3. Keeping within velocity/bullet performance window.

Match those up well, and there is no doubt of a quick harvest. Off the mark however in any one of those three and your tracking job is a lot longer.

Never harvested a deer with a .223. I have though, smoked quite a few hogs with one...at least 5-6 come to mind that were over 200lbs, and two big boars that went over 250.
 

C_Hallbert

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Oct 12, 2017
Messages
1,209
Reaction score
1,484
Location
Oklahoma
I’ve taken 2 deer with a COLT 5.56mm AR-15 and 1 with a .224. My wrists are both fused and my right elbow is fused at 90 degrees (rheumatoid disease) so I can no longer hold a standard grip on a gunstock to keep the butt fixed to my shoulder. The pistol.grip on AR style rifles keeps me from having to shoot from the hip….. LOL. They all dropped where they were standing. My best friend (now deceased) shot a doe (legal) with a .44 Mag. Blackhawk through the screen of my blind. It burned out 1/3 of the screen that he shot through. It ran about 25 feet and dropped. The round entered on the left side, blew up the heart, and blasted half a rib out of the deer.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom