22 cal deer result

14828 Views 148 Replies 41 Participants Last post by RayRay, 2 mo ago

dpms

Discussion Starter · Dec 9, 2020

There was some talk about restricting what calibers could be used for deer and thankfully that was squashed. I know quite a few people who have taken many deer with 223, 22/250, etc..... and have had no issues. As people that actually know guns will say, it is about bullet placement and bullet selection. My TC Encore in 22/250 is my furbearer gun but I have always wanted to take a deer with it. So off to the deer woods I went today with some Factory Remington 55 grain pointed soft points for a solo hunt. The shoot within 1 inch of the Winchester 55 grain hollow points I use when coyote hunting.

Much to my surprise on the public cooperator property I was hunting, I saw 9 deer and managed to sneak up on this one as it was feeding. The brisk wind helped. Broadside at 70 yards, slightly down hill. Bullet entered behind the shoulder, exited and broke the far leg on the way out. The deer dropped at the shot and it was over. I was impressed. I might have to tote the 22/250 on some more deer hunts. Checked this box off.

Fawn Liver Tool Natural material Tail

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holedigger

· #101 · Dec 20, 2020

Jethro15 said:
Not going to get into a long drawn out argument again, but the military didn’t pick the 223 for its man stopping power. The failures of the 223 in battle were the driving factor behind the development of 6.8 SPC.

yellodog said:
The 223 as a military cartridge was for 2 reasons, and neither was killing power.

You could carry twice as much ammo as a 308.

Wounded soldiers cause far more chaos/mayhem on the battlefield than dead ones.

Let's talk about the fact that they are using fmj bullets that dont expand, first. And then how they get full penetration on humans many times. Then we can discuss what totally different, expanding ammo can do on medium game with selected shot angles.

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Wingatchtochwilsit

· #102 · Dec 20, 2020

Then add in the fact that a loaded 30 round mag of 5.56 weighs less than half of 30 rounds of 308 or 30-06 weighs...
It penetrates helmets and most enemy combatant armor at double the distance of previous load outs.
There’s a whole host of reasons they selected and have stuck with 5.56, but sacrificing battlefield effectiveness for logistics wasn’t one of them.

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bohunr

· #103 · Dec 20, 2020

yep..all military ammo is full metal jacket..hunting ammo is not, or shouldnt be.

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Jethro15

· #104 · Dec 20, 2020

Holedigger, my comment was solely directed to Fragmag stating “if 22 cal is good enough for the military...”. You are a absolutely correct that battle(fmj) and hunting style bullets are apples and oranges!

Wing, you just like to argue and try to stir pot. You’re way off on the 223 armor penetration, unless your talking old school armor. I’ve seen it first hand, watched a modern helmet stop a 223 fmj at under 50 feet. ( Tree of life synagogue shooting, Pittsburgh).

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yellodog

· #105 · Dec 20, 2020

Just for comparison I looked up some numbers.

223 rem 60 gr nosler partition. 3160 fps mv. 1325 me. 740 at 200 yd

243 win 95 gr soft pt. 3100fps mv. 2027 me. 1396 at 200 yd

270 win 130 gr 2800 me

308 win 150 gr 2600 me

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Wingatchtochwilsit

· #106 · Dec 20, 2020 (Edited)

Jethro15 said:
Holedigger, my comment was solely directed to Fragmag stating “if 22 cal is good enough for the military...”. You are a absolutely correct that battle(fmj) and hunting style bullets are apples and oranges!

Wing, you just like to argue and try to stir pot. You’re way off on the 223 armor penetration, unless your talking old school armor. I’ve seen it first hand, watched a modern helmet stop a 223 fmj at under 50 feet. ( Tree of life synagogue shooting, Pittsburgh).

Jethro, I was referring to what was in general use at the time it was approved for use 60 years ago, and still in use by likely enemy combatants. Of course we’d have better armor and helmets 60 years later.
Can you respond to that without getting personal?

Edit- would that helmet have stopped m855 or 109 at that range 🤔

Jethro15

· #107 · Dec 20, 2020

I can’t say which round actually hit the helmet, the number of rounds fired was very high. There were multiple different types of Ammo fired, both ways.

As far as making it personal, you did that when you thought you set you sights on an easy mark. I said it before, I’m in a discussion, you seem to want to pick a fight.

Wingatchtochwilsit

· #108 · Dec 20, 2020

Jethro15 said:
I can’t say which round actually hit the helmet, the number of rounds fired was very high. There were multiple different types of Ammo fired, both ways.

As far as making it personal, you did that when you thought you set you sights on an easy mark. I said it before, I’m in a discussion, you seem to want to pick a fight.

So you don’t have all the facts, but make a claim to refute something I said, then accuse me of being argumentative and stirring the pot?

Doesn’t really look like I’m the one trying to pick a fight now, does it?

Jethro15

· #109 · Dec 20, 2020

If you read the post, I said “ unless you’re talking old school armor”.

Hunter8319

· #110 · Dec 20, 2020

A .223 can be used to kill just about any animal with the right bullet. And at distances that most wouldn't believe. This thread has a lot of great discussion and real life experiences.

.223 for bear, deer, elk and moose.

DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ 176 PAGES? HERE'S THE CHEAT SHEET. “Bullets matter more than headstamps.” “Spent primers offer the supreme tutorial”. I’ve read it here and elsewhere online. It got my attention. I started digging and asking questions and listened. The 77gr TMK delivered by a .223...

www.rokslide.com

www.rokslide.com

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GSP66

· #111 · Dec 21, 2020

octagon said:
I was thinking the same thing Denny. My Miod 70-.222 is a 1970 with one of those slower twists and I believe they are very good with 45-55 grain bullets. I will pick a premium bullet probably from 50-55 grain that expands a little slower so it holds together. Thank you.

my 1:12 22-250 shoots 55 gr pills really well. Its only had varmint type rounds up till now ... finding a deer appropriate bullet and load is near the top of the list for this off-season

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dce

· #112 · Dec 21, 2020

Good luck finding the components

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GSP66

· #113 · Dec 22, 2020

dce said:
Good luck finding the components

Truer words have never been spoken.
I had a hard time finding 6.5mm bullets for my son’s 264 wm. If I can find 22 components ... it’s not deer appropriate.

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goosehunter2118

· #114 · Dec 25, 2020

Deer aren’t hard to kill. .223 or anything in that range will kill any whitetail on earth with ease.

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jeffppc

· #115 · Dec 25, 2020

Curious to ALL the respondents on using a .223 on deer. One simple question. How often have YOU done it. Not your brothers or your buddy, YOU. I have killed quite a few deer with a .223 and 55 Sierra Game Kings. Never a problem. Now, if you want to try to kill one from stern to bow , to me you are an irresponsible hunter no matter what you shoot.If you want to take marginal shots just to put some bone one the wall, its not for you.

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yellodog

· #116 · Dec 26, 2020 (Edited)

I shot 1 with my swift, my wife shot 2 or 3. At the time it was all we had so we used it, but as quick as we could afford one we upgraded her to a 243. A swift is alot more gun than a 223 and I still thought it to be a marginal deer rifle even with the 60 gr sierras.

As far as being irresponsible, theres not near the room for interpretation with a 270 or '06. What would be a less than desirable shot with a 223 is just a no brainers with one of those bigger calibers. If you'd be satisfied to let a whopper walk due to the limitations of a 223 that's fine, but I prefer to not place those limitations on myself and will flatten him with my 270.

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TrashPanda

· #117 · Dec 26, 2020 (Edited)

jeffppc said:
Curious to ALL the respondents on using a .223 on deer. One simple question. How often have YOU done it. Not your brothers or your buddy, YOU. I have killed quite a few deer with a .223 and 55 Sierra Game Kings. Never a problem. Now, if you want to try to kill one from stern to bow , to me you are an irresponsible hunter no matter what you shoot.If you want to take marginal shots just to put some bone one the wall, its not for you.

I guess I would turn this question around on you and ask how many bucks have YOU shot with a .22 centerfire with appropriate bullets for deer and had them walk away from you and lost them?
I haven't seen one person on here state that they have full confidence on any angle shot on a deer. If someone else has seen that comment, I'd like to see it post quoted here.
Seems to me that all of the commenters kinda understand that they are waiting on a good shot angle.
The thread title is ".22 cal for deer" not "what is your go-to deer rifle?"
Are we to understand that some of you think that if a guy is not using his "go-to" deer rifle, that he should just stay at home and not go out?

yellodog

· #118 · Dec 26, 2020

My opinion is there are far better choices than 22's, but I don't really care what anyone else uses. If someone loses or can't shoot at a deer with a 22 I don't care but it won't be me.

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TrashPanda

· #119 · Dec 26, 2020

I don't think anyone in their right mind would argue that there AREN"T better choices. Like I said, that's not the point of this entire thread. For some who claim to not care, they sure care enough to repeatedly post on the thread...?
When there are issues that I don't care about, I don't read those threads and certainly do not post on them.

TrashPanda

· #120 · Dec 26, 2020

If the argument is that there are better choices, then should everyone out there be using the "best option possible" to hunt deer at all times or not go out at all?
Should we all be using .300 Ultra magnums when we hunt deer, or just stay at home???

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