• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

.223 for deer hunting

Law in MO is 6mm and bigger and I support that also my vote is to sight in the 7mm shouldn’t be a problem unless something is damage or improperly installed
 
I have killed a few does (all inside prolly 50-60yards) with .223, using a 77grain otm. I have heard stories from guys in the hunting club I belong to about guys using a 22mag to kill deer. I think you will be good with the right ammo and limiting yourself to 75 yards max and not taking and questionable shots.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk
 
Jmarzey said:
Well, I told myself that I was going to bow hunt all year, because I spent a mortgage payment (or 2) on a new Matthew’s. But......

Today I got permission on 33 acres about 5 minutes from the house, and it is slap tore up with sign. Can’t go 3 steps without seeing a fresh rub, scrape, acorns, yada yada yada you get the point.

I’m gonna hunt it in the morning for the first time and Im thinking about taking a gun. The visibility and not really knowing what the deer are more than likely to be doing, has me wanting to be able to take that 75 yard shot if needed.

My dilemma is, my 7 mag isn’t sighted in. It was off at the end of last year after a clumsy little stumble. However, my AR is putting 1 inch groups together at 100 yards with government loads. It’s a .223 and I absolutely love it, but I’m just concerned because I have never personally killed a deer with one.

What is everybody’s opinion on taking the .223? I know it will get the job done if the lead finds its mark, but I’m curious as to what the experts have to say.

Should I just take the bow and hope for a good opportunity?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Check if it is legal first.

What make and model of AR are you running to get such fine accuracy?

As long as you use appropriate bullets (perhaps 62 grain federal fusion.....just make it a soft point/expanding bullet that is at least 55 grains) and take appropriate shots at appropriate distance....then you are fine. Thankfully, the premium 223 is more available than the cheaper stuff. I'd start looking online for heavy soft points from the bigger names (federal etc) that often state they are deer loads (have a deer on the box).

I gun hunt like I bow hunt (in the thick stuff....because bucks don't step out into fields during gun season on public land around here), so my shots are almost always 100 yards and in. I've take 3 deer in the last 4 years with a 22-250....which is the 223's big brother. Two in the lungs and one in the Adam's apple when he was looking at me from over a small bush. None went more than 50 yards.

I wouldn't shoot much past 200 yards and just don't take marginal shots where you might have to punch through heavy bone (unless you have a great load for that and are really close).

Folks don't argue that a recurve or 357 magnum (up close) is fine on a deer, so I can't see how a 223 up close is any different. I think they are projecting their hunting style (maybe hunting huge bucks over a bean field) onto the question.
 
Last edited:
Hunter260 said:
I’ve killed 15-20 deer with a 223. Most from a 16” barrel. My favorite load is the 64 grain fusion. They hold together plenty good to bust through a shoulder. BUT. I moved from Arkansas to northern Missouri 3 years ago, and the first doe I shot with my 223 up here left like she wasn’t even hit and died about 100 yards away. I thought my gun was off and just happened to see her fall down or I wouldn’t have believed she was hit double lungs...... Also bought a 30-06 after that season....
Click to expand...

This can just be random also. I've seen deer hit pretty well with a 30-06 cover some ground as well and seen gut shot deer from a 25-06 fall in 15 yards. It's a little more consistent than bow hunting but similar things happen (like a great shot that doesn't produce much blood, etc).
 
raisins said:
Check if it is legal first.

What make and model of AR are you running to get such fine accuracy?

As long as you use appropriate bullets (perhaps 62 grain federal fusion.....just make it a soft point/expanding bullet that is at least 55 grains) and take appropriate shots at appropriate distance....then you are fine.

I gun hunt like I bow hunt (in the thick stuff....because bucks don't step out into fields during gun season on public land around here), so my shots are almost always 100 yards and in. I've take 3 deer in the last 4 years with a 22-250....which is the 223's big brother. Two in the lungs and one in the Adam's apple when he was looking at me from over a small bush. None went more than 50 yards.

I wouldn't shoot much past 200 yards and just don't take marginal shots where you might have to punch through heavy bone (unless you have a great load for that and are really close).

Folks don't argue that a recurve or 357 magnum (up close) is fine on a deer, so I can't see how a 223 up close is any different. I think they are projecting their hunting style (maybe hunting huge bucks over a bean field) onto the question.
Click to expand...

It’s an Aero Precision lower with a radical upper. Barrel is 16 chrome lined. Absolutely love it. Shooting Winchester 65 grain lead tips.

I can’t see more than 75 yards where i am right now and that’s the only reason i wanted to bring a gun. I have no prior knowledge of the area and with my luck a one fiddy would come by at 65 and i would have my bow lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
rhagenw said:
Law in MO is 6mm and bigger and I support that also my vote is to sight in the 7mm shouldn’t be a problem unless something is damage or improperly installed
Click to expand...
I'm not disputing the point I just can't find anything in the MO regulations that says 6mm or bigger. I don't hunt with a .223 but I do like to stay up to date with the regulations. Can you please post a link or share where in the regs you found this information?

Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk
 
Ckwilli said:
I'm not disputing the point I just can't find anything in the MO regulations that says 6mm or bigger. I don't hunt with a .223 but I do like to stay up to date with the regulations. Can you please post a link or share where in the regs you found this information?

Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

it may have change in recent years with the rise of AR-15 and stouter bullets
 
rhagenw said:
it may have change in recent years with the rise of AR-15 and stouter bullets
Click to expand...
Gotcha, I know they allow AR pistols during alternative methods but they can be chambered in a bunch of calibers. Just thinking I had missed a rule change.

Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk
 
I’m pretty sure a lot of regulations change in Missouri recently I read that it’s legal to pack a deer out now but it reads that soon as a deer is tela check and tag a person may begin processing said deer at any location

Sorry for the hi-jack
 
Personally I dont see any reason at all to hunt deer with a .223. There are so many better calibers to hunt deer with. Smallest I would use is a .243, but prefer a .270.
 
Mschmeiske said:
I myself, and my buddy both killed our bucks last year with my AR shooting federal fusion 62gr. Double lung and they didn’t go far. Get you some good loads and send it. Just be mindful of shot placement and shooting distance. I personally like them under 100yards. After that you start to lose a bit of energy if I remember correctly.
Click to expand...

cc697ff216552df7f315e8fc02b59c1c.jpg
 
Federal Premium 223-60Grain- Nosler Partition bullet. But like all ammunition they may be hard to impossible to find. Manufacturer #P223Q
 
Hunter260 said:
Is owning a .223 not a reason?
Click to expand...
Haha Funny point, but I think he meant he couldn't think of any reason to use .223 [if other, "better" caliber rifles are available]. I see both sides of it, even worded that way. I always use my .243 over my .223 because it's a harder-hitting, more lethal round, which I consider preferable from an ethical standpoint. I also find myself almost "judging" guys who choose to hunt with a .223 when other, "better" options are available to them. But, I haven't traded in my .243 for a .270 or 30-06, both of which have more knock-down power than my "little" .243. Also, I often carry my bow during muzzleloader and rifle seasons, and that's unquestionably a "lesser" weapon from a killing power and speed standpoint.
Look, I'm not going to trade in my bow or my .243 for a .338 Win Mag, but I am going to hit the pause button the next time I start "judging" someone for hunting with their AR-15. That's not to say there's not "right" and "wrong" from an ethical standpoint or that we shouldn't speak up when others act/hunt un-ethically, but we should check ourselves for consistency before wading into the fray to be sure we're not throwing stones in a glass house. It's a lesson I, and many others, could stand to remember whenever debates like this come up.
(Not directing this at @Hunter260, btw--just saw this as a good place to raise the issue.)
 
Practice with your bow out to 80 yards, if you can get confidence at 80 shooting 60 is not an issue. But practice at distances! I will probably catch something for saying that and I know in reality I will probably never take a shot beyond 40 on a deer. But I have full confidence that I can take that shot out to 70 myself if that once in a lifetime presents itself.
 
We use bow and arrows and my arrow never made soup out of a double lung shot, but my .223 did. Not to mention the low recoil is great for certain people. I think when used under certain circumstances, it’s effective.
 
I know several guys who use ar-15 hog hunting with night vision. Most of them switched to the 300 blackout when it came out and switched back to the 223 be a they felt it performed better. I’ve killed several with 223 and my son has killed a few with the blackout. I prefer the performance of the blackout but it’s as much bullet choice and shot placement as anything. The .223 gets put into service for small kids often. It will work there but it’s a much better tool in the hands of the experienced. I don’t currently hunt with a 223 but like @TNbowhunter Im not ordering a 460 weatherby either.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top