.223 for deer hunting.

[HeviShot]

Was wondering if anybody has ever shot a deer on here using this caliber. Also I am having a hard time finding Federal Nosler Partition 60gr .223. They are absolutely sold out everywhere, even tried all the suppliers for the sports shop I work for. If anyone has some they would like to sell that would be awesome!

[Mr.Seaguar]

Its all about shot placement. I hunt with a guy who uses a .22-250 and he kills deers dead no problem.

[lcornice]

If you reload try the trophy bonded bear claw or Barnes TSX. I've used both in my 22-250 with very good results. I used the 55g TB out west and the 53g TSX here in Minnesota. Both are very good performers.

[harvey lee]

The smaller calibers do work with the gun in the right hands.

[TrophyEyes]

You have to be pretty close and very accurate. You cannot expect to take those shots that you could with a 30-06 or a "normal" deer round. I would also say that you cannot expect to shoot through brush or crp either. You essentially are bow hunting with a gun. This is just my opinion, and it is coming from a guy that shoots a 7mm Rem Mag, 12ga 2oz slug, 45cal muzzleloader. I don't usually believe in light rounds.

[picksbigwagon]

I would consider a heavier bullet, maybe head up to a 70 or 75 grain bullet, if you don't reload, I think winchester makes a heavier bullet in their silver tipped line.

[HeviShot]

The 60gr patition will actually shoot and perform best with the barrel twist I have.

[picksbigwagon]

then I guess it comes down to shot placement....wait for a clean behind the shoulder shot and your freezer should be full....

[harvey lee]

I have both a 22.250 and a .223 I used for varmits. Loaded with the correct load, I'm sure I could shoot and drop deer just fine within 150 yards and who knows, under the correct situation, maybe 200.

These guns are very accurate. A well place shot will get the job done.

[norm]

Not trying to hijack this thread but...

I would like to use my .223 AR-15 for deer this year. I have heard from some people that you cannot have larger than a 4 round mag for deer in MN. I have also heard other people say it's totally legal to load up a 30 round mag and use that if a guy wants to. Can someone shed some light on this?

[bottom-bouncer]

when I do gun hunt I use a 10 shot clip in my 30-06 have never had any problems only once did it come up when I was being checked by the warden he asked what it was I told him he says boy I gotta get one of those for doing drives.

[harvey lee]

Why would a person need a 10 or more shot clip for deer hunting?

If one is shooting at a deer, I see no valid reason for the need to shot 10 rounds.

Help me understand please.

[norm]

Do I need 10 rounds? Of course not. Theres only a few times that I can think of where I've needed more than 1 round. I was just wondering the legality of it all. If I need to I'll go buy a 4 round mag. But if it's legal, I'd rather use one of the 10 round mags that I already own.

[lcornice]

Do I need 10 rounds? Of course not. Theres only a few times that I can think of where I've needed more than 1 round. I was just wondering the legality of it all. If I need to I'll go buy a 4 round mag. But if it's legal, I'd rather use one of the 10 round mags that I already own.

Minnesota does not have a magazine restriction for big game hunting.

[picksbigwagon]

thanks Lou...............If you have a ten round mag, use it. put 5 rounds in if you want or all 10. 30 round would just get in the way at some point....

[leech~~]

Great Varmite round, but shouldn't be used in the woods on big game. To much wounding!

[bigg edd]

I used mine last season loaded with a barnes 53 grain triple shock and 25 grains of varget out of my TC encore. shot a adult doe through the lungs. she went maybe 20 yards. the bullet destroyed the lungs and part of the liver. it was a mess. i will have no problem using this round in the future. this year i am using my AR with a 62 grain triple shock. you need a 1:9 twist for the 62 grain bullet.

the only deer that was lost at our camp last year was wounded with a .270

[PC's]

No offense Harv, but a .22 rimfire, or a .177 air operated pellet gun could kill a deer when used in the right hands. Does that make it ethical? A .22-250 is a tiny caliber. Take a 30-06 bullet and Hold it up to a .22-250 cartridge. I mean come on. Its like saying .410 slugs out of a smoothbore shotgun are decent round. To me a .22-250 would be a good long range grey squirll gun. Its like c

comparing a 20 gauge slug to a .177 cal pellet.

[PC's]

leech knows whats up

[harvey lee]

PC

Over the years I have shot deer with bows, shotguns and probably 5 different caliber rifles.

They will all get the job done very well with the correct bullet weight and a well placed shot.

Now, can a 223 wound a deer, yes it can

Can a 300 mag with a poor shot wound a deer, yes

Right along with any other type weapon if they are not loaded with the correct ammo and not sighted in. One also needs to place the shot in the right spot to drop a deer.

I watched a friend drop a deer with a 223 and it dropped in the spot it was standing. I have also seen deer run for up to 50 yards with a 7mm or a 300 mag.

Shot placement is so key along with the correct bullet and the sighting in of the scope if one is using one.

I will agree that a 223 is one of the smaller calibers used on deer.

It does not matter if a unskilled or skilled hunter uses a 223 or a 300 mag, if he does not know his weapon, bad shots can and will be made. It is the job of the hunters to make sure one makes a good, clean killing shot.

We do owe it to the animal we are hunting.

[peder]

Ive killed deer with both .223 and .22-250 while hunting in SD. Barnes triple shocks are the way to go, most other bullets will break up. That being said I would use a larger round if hunting in the woods rather than on the plains.

[bigg edd]

Thank you Harvey Lee. Well put.

[Cooter]

I killed a doe with my .223 last year and a bud killed 2 does and an 8pt with it. Used 64gr Win factory loads with power point bullets. Haven't tried any other bullets yet for deer but have some handloaded 65gr Sierra Gamekings coming from a buddy.

Might try that on the Dec zone T hunt, missed the Oct one.

I don't hunt the reg deer season with the .223, not what I want if I get a shot at a big buck at 250 yards. I limit the range and only take broadside shots at does and thus far it has performed fine.

[bottom-bouncer]

I do not need more than one shot but if I ever do I know that I have 9 more that is why. And to be totally honest I dont need any i chose to give up gun hunting because with even one shot it was just to easy!

[Covey]

I own a 22-250 and probably will never use it for deer hunting, I would rather use a larger caliber. Saying all that, I have seen what varmit calibers like the 250 and 223 are capable of doing at long ranges to coyotes. I realize that a coyote is not the same animal as a deer, but those calibers are plenty of rifle to kill a deer sized animal. If I wasn't fortunate enough to own a deer rifle I would have no problem using a 22-250 loaded with a good bullet.

[gunmunky]

Any caliber is fine for deer as long as the shooter knows the limits of his and the cartridges ability. As far as 10 or more rounds in a clip, I like having a 30 rounder with me. Just in case a few coyotes happen by!

[Loose]

plus as you can buy a few 30 round mags for what a 5 or 10 round mag cost!!

[musky5555]

I've shot/hit 6 deer with a 30-06 150 gr ballistic tip ranging from 100-250 yards. Each deer required one shot, and all but one dropped right in it's track. The other was shot through the heart and ran 100 yards on pure adrenaline and folded over dead.

I really wanted to shoot a deer with my 22-250, so I gave that a try. This would be the only deer I ever lost. I was using 60 gr nosler partition rounds. I put the cross hairs right behind the shoulder at 100 yards and shot. The deer ran off a couple hundred yards and dissapeared in the woods. My brother watched me shoot at the deer and was convinced I missed it. Confident in my gun and shooting skills, I couldn't believe I missed it, so we walked up to the woods only to kick up the deer. I found a pool of blood the size of a dinner plate. We left the deer for about two hours and came came to track it. While tracking this deer we only found small drops of blood. We tracked it for about three hours, kicking it up another three times without getting a shot, and finally lost it when it crossed a river.

I certainly know that a 22-250 has the capability of killing a deer, and I can't be certain where I actually hit this deer, but I will never use that small of a caliber again. Losing this deer made me sick to my stomach, and it was only an average size doe.

[Svinekotelett]

You lost the deer because you were using a 22 caliber cartridge!!!! Plain and simple. i dont know if you were using a semi auto or not but you should have poped off like 5 rounds.

[Steve Foss]

I shot a Ruger M77 .22-250 for fox and coyote in ND lo those many years ago. Phenomenal cartridge. Loved every single shot I took with that gun/cartridge.

I knew a couple guys on a reservation who used to shoot moose with a .22 long cartridge in a semi-auto. They'd stalk within bow range and put three quick rounds through the ear. Dead moose.

In the right hands, and under the right conditions, there's no doubt at all that a .22 caliber center fire like the .22-250, .220 Swift, .222 or .223 will kill deer all day long.

In the hands of an average shot and average deer hunter, those cartridges are a big mistake, IMO. For a single reason. If you miss slightly with a big bullet, your odds of dropping/killing the deer are better than if you are six inches off with the little .22 bullets, especially if you miss the boiler room in the direction of one of the big shoulder bones. Can you say disintegration?

The .223 was pretty popular with a certain group of guys I knew out in central ND. They killed a lot of deer with them. I've also watched one of those guys put a .223 into a deer on a spine shot and the deer was getting away when someone else put it down with a heart shot. When they butchered it, they found the .223 bullet had broken apart when hitting one of the spine bones and did no damage to the spinal chord. An ought-six would have put that deer down for good with that shot.

And again we're talking the average shot/hunter, not someone well versed in .22 centerfire performance, but I've seen a number of guys with semiauto .223 "assault" style rifles lose their wits and go all rock and roll, emptying clips by scattering shots all over the place in the general direction of the deer.

And lastly, I have shot two deer with .30 caliber rounds out in ND that had .22 caliber bullets in them. One was in a shoulder and the deer wasn't even limping. The other was in a rear haunch/buttock, and that deer wasn't limping either.

If I had that old Ruger .22-250 or another varmint caliber that I was familiar with, and a rifle/scope combo I knew well, and excellent shooting conditions, I'd not hesitate to use that combo for an instant.

But the smaller the cartridge is, the less that has to go wrong before what should be a killing shot simply becomes another regrettable wounding.

IMO.