223 ammo for deer...

on opening day I had on the afternoon hunt i had a deer get away from me wounded, I was using my ar with some Hornady full boar 50gr gmx bullet. The shot was at about 120yrs. The deer, a spike buck was standing at the feeder slightly quartering away from me when I shot it, I placed the bullet right behind the shoulder, the buck then fell to the ground behind some brush and didn't move for about five to ten minutes or so, so me and my hunting buddy thought it was dead, the shot looked good and the deer dropped on impact. However a few minutes later a group of does walked up to the feeder when just then the spike jumped up and ran into the brush. We thought we would give it some time to expire we went to go look for it and had expected to find it a few yards in the brush, but when we finally gave it enough time we went to go look for it and tracked it for over two hours with only to find a little drop of blood here and there and small amounts smeared on the grass and brush. we tracked the deer to the edge of our property where he went into the neighboring ranch we had lost this deer. I begin to say how sickening I felt to have lost this deer. I don't know if it was shot placement or the ammo but the shot felt good and the deer dropped at the shot so now I question the ammo, should I try another brand of ammo? I know it happens sometimes in hunting, I guess it's something you never get used to. I will try the ammo one more time since it was the first time I had ever used this ammo on game....who knows but if for the some reason the ammo fails agin or I get similar results I will go with another brand and weight of ammo for the .223. Just wanted to you alls input on this matter and get you all insight.

Better bullet and high shoulder shot will anchor them in their tracks and break bone so they can't leave. Behind the shoulder shots save meat and are lethal, but still allow mobility.

Don't dwell on it, bad things happen. First one I've lost in a very long time was last year with a .243 and even if I was using my .270 it wouldn't have helped. I was shook up and pulled the shot plain and simple, I messed up.

I dropped one this weekend with my 223. I was using Hornady 55 grain

62gr TSX.

I bought a box of Federal Fusion 62 gr to shoot deer with, but I also have a 6.8 SPC upper and so far I haven't used the 5.56. I think the Fusion is a better version of the Remington Corelokt and should work well. Sorry you lost your deer, I shot at one Saturday with my 7mm-08 and thought I had him. I watched the doe for 5 minutes, and when she ran off he busted out of the brush and ran off with her, none the worse for wear. It's a bad feeling.

prolly a pretty poor BULLET choice for .223 caliber for shooting deer in heart/lungs; COPPER bullets are NICE in bigger calibers to punch all way thru , but not for tiny calibers - deer can easily clot up a little .223 hole, and run off, as yours did.

Better to use a lead core bullet in .223 (soft or ballistic tip bonded - not fmj) which will fragment ALL it's energy on the vitals INSIDE on a shot like that - .223 is NOT a caliber to be trying to punch all way thru for tracking, unless you like tracking all the way into the next county.

FWIW, I shot a 80gr TTSX .243 on my last spike, shot exactly like yours; quartering away; it punched all the way thru, but managed to take out ONLY the very bottom of the heart; deer ran a huge circle (fortunately) before collapsing; almost NO internal organ damage (any lead bullet I would have used would have pureed the heart, etc... 4/5 of the heart was in Perfect Condition, not bloodshot at all ) needless to say, I WONT be using copper bullets on any caliber less than 30cal in the future for deer!!

Sorry you lost yours; I got lucky that mine ran a circle, otherwise it could have been gone.

Only 2 deer I've ever lost were shot with .223.
One was a spike using 55g Hornady (I think). Shot him in the vitals at 50 yards and he moved left out of sight. I gave him 30-40 minutes and then went to look for him. Got to where I shot him and looked over and there he was through the trees bedded up 60 yards away. I dropped to a knee and pulled my rifle up to shoot him again. He spotted me and bolted. No blood trail at all.
The other, a couple years later, was a doe shot at 75 yards with Winchester Ranger 62g. Went for vitals and she ran. Saw hair fly, found a piece of skin and meat from the exit, but only 2 drops of blood and then nothing. Looked all over and couldn't find any sign of blood.
After those 2 lost deer, I decided I was done with shooting deer with a .223. I have larger calibers that I know do the job.

Next time whistle at him and when he looks at you shoot him in the center of the neck. I like the 65 grain gameking.

I have a bunch of the 65 gr Sierra GKs loaded up for pigs, but don't plan to shoot a deer with them. If I was gonna deer hunt with my 223, I think I'd go for the Nosler 60 gr Partition. If a 223 was all I had, I guess I'd use it, but I have better options.

A buddy that's been hunting for a couple of years with his AR in 223 just emailed to say he was gonna buy a Ruger American in a larger caliber. He's new to hunting and thought that the AR in 223 was, since the military uses it, all that a fellow would need. I tried gently to explain reality versus his expectations, but he wasn't really listening. But now he knows.

I've come to think that, in general terms, a 100 gr bullet at about 3000 fps MV is enough for deer. A 243, 250 Savage, 260, 6mm, 257 Roberts and others will do that. I've shot deer and pigs with my 223 and 220 Swift over the years, and they will do the job most of the time. But, like I said, I have better options.

And, you don't have to have 3000 fps to be successful if you have more bullet. I hunted for years with a 35 Remington, and that old punkin ball really put them down.

223 is too small for deer.

Ive killed a lot of deer with a 223 and from my experience that is wrong. Most people have no clue what a 223 will do because they wont spend the tiny bit more to feed it good ammo. I shoot 223 with 60 grain nosler partitions and have shot everything from rabbits to south texas bucks and hogs up to 200 lbs and never recovered a single bullet or lost a deer or had one not leave a good blood trail.

Not for head or neck shots but for the body you are 100% correct.

Personally I think that a 223 is to light for deer especially past 100 yards, but I do think that if you are going to be using one that you need to be using a heavier bullet, something like the 62gr partition or a 65gr spirepoint to allow you to get the most out of the cartridge.

55 grain soft point. My son has filled out deep freeze every year for the last 5 yrs with that bullet!!!! Keep shots under 200 and shoot them in the neck where it meets the shoulder.

.223 is great on texas deer, it isnt like your shooting 400 lb muscled up thick body bruins! I think you may have fugged your shot and didnt hit where you thought you did! Thru the lungs and or heart would of been a dead deer with that little 50 gmx! Little hide, few ribs and dead deer!

Imo wrong bullet for the application and shot placement. Deer are really thin skinned and that gmx is a great bullet for piercing tough hide and driving thru bone. It will never create a good enough wound channel in a wt id say max expansion would be around 1/4 " at best. Think of it like you punched a hole but didnt dump the hydrostatic shock like a ballistic tip or hp is designed to do. Same thing has happened to me using an 80gr gmx in 6mm at a coyote with a solid placed kill shot at 150yds. Im hunting tomorrow and my ar is what is being used with 60gr nosler ballistic tips and 24gr of H335. That combo has killed many south tx deer and hogs but i keep it to 250ish yards and in. Its all about shot placement and right tool for the job.

Fwiw, i know for a fact a water buffalo was shot stone dead by the time he hit the ground at 75 yds with a 17 REM! food for thought.

I've lost the only deer I ever shot with a .223 Mini -14 way back in 1979. I've lost two with .243 over the years till I went with Nosler Partion then that ended lost deer. I have friend and his twin daughters 12yrs old, with their own muddy gal type camo AR rifle! They have filled their freezer with Deer and hogs last two seasons! I have an AR 15 and thought about using it but nah... I have a nice 6.5 If I want a smaller Bore! Makes me wonder who has been shooting Deer with the Ruger .204?(sound of worm can opening).

I have killed a lot of deer with Remington 55 grain PSP. High-shoulder shots on almost everyone. A few heart/lung and neck shots. There are better bullet options but with any caliber and bullet, it is all about shot placement.

^^ That!
I do like the 75 grain Swift Socorrco 2 or the 62 grain TTSX and keep the shot as close as you can because sometimes the target sweet spot is small and velocity helps. The .223 is a small round. Make sure your twist will stabilize your chosen bullet too.

Killed a 200lb poland china looking sow this evening shooting a 60gr partition at 129 yds. Went 3ft.

You might like the newish 62gr Sirocco.

Too many deer are lost to people letting their kids(7 yrs old) shoot deer with 55gr ammo. Happened this past weekend with a guy at work.

62 Fusion
60 Partition
64 Nosler Bonded
70 Speer Semi Point
64 Power Point
65 Sierra Gameking
75 Swift

What twist do you need for the 64 power point? My 223 has the standard 1:9 will it work okay?

I have a Savage with a 1 in 9 twist and it handles up to 75 Hornadys fine. 69 grain match bullets stabilize perfectly so the 64 Power Point should be good to go.

Was it the caliber, the ammo or the shot placement?

Kmon1, I'll probably end up trying them in my .222 or my 1/9 twist AR, but I read on Midway some negatives. Grain of salt. The 60 grain Nosler Partition and the Barnes offerings are pretty good at covering the bases in that weight range. I'm usually after hogs and deer are secondary opportunity. I normally hunt deer with a .270 or .308. Hogs though require group therapy. Thanks for the heads up.

^^^ This!! The copper bullets do NOT have the shock of a lead bullet. That deer is dead somewhere, but not close by. A quartering away shot behind the shoulder hits lung (probably just one), and no other vitals. 223 will work fine for deer, with proper shot placement. I'm running the 65 grain Sierra Gamekings at 2950 fps.

Monolithics work awesome in hot calibers like 220swift or 22-250... The 223 is not a caliber IMO

X2

Loaded 55 grain tsx for 223 for 1 season they didn't do very well.

Thanks for all the replies, you all have definitely given me foo for thought. I am going to try some Remington 55gr soft points or Winchester power points. I have seen many on here suggest the Nosler Partitions, is that ammo a handload or available in a factory load? I am not a relaoder so I'd have to stick with factory ammo for now. Who offers the Nosler Partitions in a factory load? Sorry if that is a dumb question, please feel free to educate me and provide some info regarding this matter.

Federal offers the nosler in factory loading, I recommend it, it is far superior to the 55 grain Remington or any of the other standard soft points. In my opinion anyhow.

Thank you redchevy and QuitShootin, I have looked into the Nosler Partition. It looks like it will do the job done and has great reviews. I am going to get a box and give it a try. I will report results back when I get a chance to get a box and try on deer. Again thanks to all who replied to my post.

I'm going to try to take a doe next week with the 62gr Fusion load, will report if successful.

Chad

What powder are you using with game kings?

Quitshootin, Good luck to you on the hunt, I am interested to read your report on the federal fusion and see how it work out on that doe.

I've killed many hogs with my AR in .556 but have never shot a deer with it. I personally feel that the .223 is too light, for me, to risk a deer. My go to gun is a 40 plus year old Ruger M77 with tang safety in a 7x57 MM. 140 grain Remington Core-Lokt works great. I've killed them with .30-30, .25-06, and even a .338 Win Magnum. Never took more than 1 shot on any of them (so far).

Back in the Mid 1980's I worked 2 shootings in the same week (Peace officer). One guy shot in the back of the head with a .44 Magnum. The bullet penetrated the skin and rode around to his forehead above his eye and never penetrated his skull. The doc just cut the skin and popped the bullet out at the ER. He was one lucky guy.

Later in the week, a women got shot in the shoulder with a .25 Auto. The little bullet went in, bounced around and severed her aorta killing her.

Based upon those examples I have concluded that a .25 Auto to the shoulder is more deadly than a .44 Magnum to the head. Or it could be that if it's your time.....it's you're time!

Update on hunting with the Hornady 50gr gmx bullets, On Monday evening me and a friend decided to go hunting, we made it out to our location and got in the blind we were there not even 20 minutes when my friend spots a 9pt walking towards us close to the blind, the buck keeps walking and goes into some brush just to the left of the blind as he does that, we are hoping that he doesn't bypass us or go behind us to get into the neighboring ranch, just then we see him start to walk away from us, gets about 100yrds out where he starts cruising the fence line between our blind and the location of our feeder. I wait for him to stop to feed and just be still long enough to give me a shot, he finally does and I shoot him in the shoulder where he bucks at the shot and then starts to run at an angle to us, the deer ran about 30yrds and piles up in some brush. when skinning the deer we never found the bullet but the damage the bullet did was devastating and made pretty much jello of the shoulder that was impacted as well as all the tissue the bullet had ripped through. All in all the bullet did it's job as long as I had hit an area to cause the devastation and trauma to kill the deer. I will try it again on a few more deer this year to see it's potency and to see how well it works on deer, however I think for next year I will try some nosler partitions or some winchester power points for deer hunting.

Tough to ask much more than that. I popped a management 8 this past weekend at 100 yards with 123 smk's at 2970, severed the spine and he dropped in like a bag of rocks. The bullet broke his spine, but penciled right through as expected. I've shot deer with 75 amaxes at 3000 fps out of a 223ai, and the bullet blew up inside of the deer and destroyed the heart and lungs but the deer ran 50 yards. I've shot deer and hogs with 75gr Swift's at 2970, left plenty of blood, and they either dropped or ran 20-40 yards...my point is, shot placement matters most, bullet selection comes in second, and caliber is waaaaaay in last place, in my opinion.

From now on, I'm shooting an "SPR" like AR-15 with good bullets, as it is plenty for anything inside of 300 in Texas. The rifle is easy to carry, shoots under 1 moa, and is fun to practice with.