Went to my hay field stand this afternoon, hoping for a coyote. Decided to leave the 260 and took the 223. It’s now zeroed with 65 gr GameKings, and an inch high at 100. Haven’t had a chance to work up any dope on further yardage. No coyotes, but here came a couple of big hogs. RF says 248 yards, so I figured a drop of 5 inches or so at 250. Dropped him like a bad habit. Didn’t weigh him, but I’ll say 175ish pounds. Nice work by that little peashooter bullet.

Now having my family’s traditional Kill Drink, which in this case is Tullamore Dew. Here’s to ya...!

NICE WORK

Same bullet I load for my kids in my AR. Daughter dropped a 250 pound boar and a 10 point buck with it last year.

Been using that bullet for 223 Rem exclusively for years now. Actually the 223 Rem cartridge is the only one I use now and use in an AR15 as well as a Rem 700 bolt gun. I have taken 200+ lb hogs at up to 300 yards with it. Shows great accuracy and get 2900 FPS out of AR15 with 16" barrel using the following load data, Lapua brass , CCI BR4 primer, Hodgdon H335 25.4gr. I would not go any hotter of a load but it shoots the best groups in both the AR15 and my bolt gun. Typical groups out of my bolt gun show .75" groups at 200 yards. The only draw back to such a light cartridge is usually no bullet pass thru on deer or hogs and very little or no blood trail but they seldom run far enough to be a tracking problem.

I use the GK 55 gr. Great bullet.

I use the same bullet and it’s lethal. The upside they’re cheap compared to other brands.

Same story on the hogs I have shot with that bullet. I love it. I have put a couple deer down with that bullet as well.

Curious to know what barrel twist rate you have on the AR 16” barrel. I’m going to have a buddy load some of these up for me. I have a 1/9 twist so I’m not sure if it’s enough to stabilize these or not.

A 9 twist is what I have in my 223, and it stabilizes the 65 gr Sierra perfectly.

Thanks! I’m excited to get some of these made up and try them out.

Good hunting,

Greg

They are very accurate, and I have gotten good loads with AA2230 and H335. Using 24.3gr of H335 these days. Even though I’ve advised against deer hunting with a 223, I think I’ll use it on the next doe, in a few days. Strictly a scientific test, you know...

A couple more pigs this morning, with that little 65 gr Sierra GK peashooter bullet. Gotta tell ya, that little bullet has just about changed my mind on what a fellow can hunt with a 223. They weren’t real big pigs, being about 80 pounds or so, but neither took a step. Impressive. Exits on both pigs.

Now, if I can just get a shot at the big boar.

What, if any, case crimp are you using when you load these?

No crimp.

I use the 65 SGK for everything in my 14.5" AR. Pigs, deer, coyotes, whatever. Digs deep on deer and pigs, opens pretty good on coyotes, not many spinners. Very good bullet, consistently gets the job done. Side benefit it has a pretty good BC too.

That’s quite the endorsement. Can’t wait to put some of these into the piggies.

I guess I should qualify the statement I made.

I use the 65 SGK for shooting pretty much everything I shoot with my 556 AR. It is a good bullet that I have a lot of faith in. I don't use my 556 AR for everything all the time though. I use it a lot killing coyotes, and occasionally for deer/pigs as the opportunity presents itself. If I am shooting deer/pigs as part of a planned hunt, then I use something bigger. Generally 6.5 Grendel if hunting with an AR type platform, but if shooting a bolt gun it could be any number of different cartridges. IMO 556 is on the small side for deer/pigs. Sure, it will do the job if you use good bullets and are careful. But there are much better cartridge options out there for larger game.