Hey guys. Here is a video I made of a buck that I shot at over 170 yards with a .223. You will be surprised at the damage the bullet did at this range. Actually, I shot two other deer with this same round at over 200 yard and both of those were clean pass throughs.

Cool video and good performing bullet. My wife dropped a doe last week with a 70grains TSX from my carbine. Clean pass through humerus and ribs on both sides. .223 entrance and quarter exit. About 90yards away. Very impressed with the barnes.

Nice video, but I think you need a bigger knife to work with there!

Don't know why you gotta use a big gun like a 223 on a WT, kinda overkill. A 17 HMR to the noggin is all you need.

What was the spread on that deer.

Definitely effective, but I wasn't surprised. If I shoot a deer in the lungs with a .243 or .308 and catch rib on the way in, there isn't any lung left to find. Those were nearly intact.

Very small round but effective with correct placement. I took a doe at 350+ with Hornady 75gr TAP Rock River with 20" barrel

Very cool video

Cool

When did Abilene get jungle???

Just because Crocodile Dundee was from the outback, does not mean he did not spend time in New York.

The largest WT I have ever seen killed were with a 223. 200 pound + deer
Neck shot and drop.
Cool video

Will a 223 kill a deer? Yes, it's high powered rifle but simply put there are better choices. You will kill a few and wound many.

160 pound buck?

We have never lost one.

Do not presume that you know me wel enough to tell me what I will or will not do. I think you are thinking about yourself here.

Seems like most replies agree that a .223 will kill a deer at 150-200 yds. I feel like anything but near perfect placement that too many things can go wrong. There are many cal.that will a better job.

I've got to say, that's the smallest looking 160 lb. buck I've ever seen. Is that weight based on a scale or an estimate?

Well, proper shot placement is necessary with any caliber. I have been called in to track deer that had been shot with 30.06, 270, 3030 and 300 winmags. Some I never found. Personally, though, I have killed no less then 80 deer in my 40 years of hunting and only had one deer get away and that was only because it crossed a fence onto land I could not go on. I have never in my life used anything larger then a 243 for deer.

It really bothers me that when it comes to deer hunting the prevailing mentality is "Aim Big, Miss Big", which is what your statement leads to. Instead of encouraging people to shoot accurately and aim for vitals, you encourage people to hunt tiny whitetails with a cannon so that they can shoot the deer just anywhere and still run a good chance of killing it. Not only does this mentality go against all teaching on accurate shooting, it is just plain wasteful. You are willing to blow half the deer away and waste all that meat, just because you don't want to become a better shot so you can use a smaller less wasteful caliber.

I don't think that has ever been the prevailing mentality. There is a growing mentality of people trying to use the smallest caliber possible to prove it kills deer. I think every knows that 223 kills deer but don't act like if you use something bigger, you are just flinging bullets indiscriminately. Some people can actually shoot cartridges bigger that a 223 very accurately.

Maybe you can't shoot magnum rifles well but I can assure you many on this forum can and since you've never hunted deer with anything larger than a 243, any opinion of yours on larger calibers is pretty much moot since you admittedly have no experience. You sound more like a person trying to justify small calibers as more accurate and less damaging than just going ahead and admitting you have a major case of Sissy Shoulder and unable to shoot larger calibers accurately. My little wife shoots a 7mm08 and fixing to get bumped up to a 270 WSM, the Ladies that hunted with us this year all shot 30 calibers and all dropped their deer. Another female hunter I had here a few years ago shot a 06 and shot it very well. Our own little Txgal shoots a 300 Weatherby. Maybe you should be taking advice from them instead of giving advice here on calibers you've never used deer hunting. As far as your larger calibers are wasteful comment here's a novel idea, don't shoot them in the meat you intend to eat. But those of us who actually shoot rifles and calibers designed for hunting deer size game already knew that. If I'm wrong in my description of you please ignore and we'll ignore your description of the members here who shoot larger calibers than 223's and 243's for deer hunting.

Thank you sir for saying what I was thinking.........

I've got centerfire calibers in the safe that range from .223 to 45-70, but I choose the 30.s because I like 'em and I've only had one deer get away. Never had a lot of meat damage or loss with them either. Mrs HnF cut her teeth on .30's over 35yrs ago and has never expressed a desire for anything else. IMHO it's OK to defend a choice, but it's a little upsetting that someone who proclaims to have 40 years experience comes on about a year ago, has only 91 posts, and proclaims to be the "New Sheriff in town" when someone disagrees with his opinion.......

Maybe we could learn a little from this and get along better!

Wow, it always amazes me how when people get their little feelings hurt they can't think straight and just start flinging insults. You guys completely missed the whole point of what I was saying.

No where did say that big rifle are not accurate. Stop seeing red, and try reading.

What I said was, using huge caliber rifles on tin whiretail deer is necessaryand wasteful. I may have never used them, but I process dozens of donated deer for charity every year and give the meat to homeless and women's shelters. These deer come off high fence ranches where people only hunt for antless and care nothing for the meat. They blow these poor little deer away with massive calibers that tear the whole front of the deer to pieces. So yes, I have massive amounts of experience with the effects of large caliberselection on whitetails.

Bottom line: I feel that if it is not necessary to kill the animal then way is there such an urge to use it. Whitetails are small animals. It is not necessary to use a gun that can kill a moose on them. That is all I am saying.

How about you shoot what you want and we'll shoot what we want! That way noone get's their "little feelings hurt".