Would any of you deer and or hog hunt with a 5.56?

I’ll shoot a hog with anything.

Deer, if that’s the only thing I had yes but it’s far from ideal

Watching a hunting show on outdoor channel and they’re talking about how it’s plenty of gun for both!

This.

A .22 RF is "plenty of gun", with perfect shooting, but I think we all know how often things go perfectly in the field.

Well, I suggest you find a new show.

Yes.

The .243 has always been at the bottom of the list of cartridges that most hunters view as acceptable for taking white tails. A simple visual comparison of a .243 and .223 cartridge should be very telling to anyone looking for an honest answer to your question.

I know I can
I also know that many others who cannot
There are many people that can't kill
a deer with a 300 win mag

If a 170” steps out do you wanna be holding a .223 or a .300 win?

Yes, done it many times

Shows and magazines run out of stuff to talk about, so they stretch it a little to fill up space.

Yes. Shot several hogs with .223/556. My doe gun of choice is a bolt action .223 but I usually shoot them in the ear hole or the top of the head. The last buck I shot was with the .223 while doe hunting. The big deer I had been looking for showed up. 223/556 is less than ideal for deer but with good bullet placement and sensible angles and ranges it works fine. For popping does to eat in the bean and not wasting any meat it is perfect. Good tracking skills or better yet a tracking dog go hand in hand with deer hunting with a .223/556 if your going to lung shoot them. It will kill them dead but you may not have much of a blood trail.

Yep. Trying to recall how many I took last year. 5.56 replaced my 22.250 when the suppressor came in.

Yup.

But to feel comfortable enough, a good hunting bullet like a Sierra Game King, a very tight shooting rifle/load, myself and the animals still enough for me to place the shot in the brain stem. Going to vitals on either one is probably a bunch of tracking I don't want to do.

It happens here when it gets a little slow too.

I have shot a few deer with a 223, but don’t plan to hunt deer with it in the future. Killed quite a few hogs with the 223 though. Most pigs were shot with the 65 gr Sierra GK, but the grandson got the most recent one with the 63 gr Sierra SMPs, though it took 3 rounds. We moved him up to a 6.5 Grendel. As for me, I’ll be shooting hogs with the 64 gr BSB Noslers this season, when it cools off. When deer season opens, I’ll be using the 260 again.

And I’ll be shooting like Fireman suggests. Standing animal and careful bullet placement. At least that’s the plan, but you know plans…

I know I'm part of the minority here, but I could care less
about a big trophy deer
I didn't even have my 20 inch mounted. Never had one mounted.
I only care about my one good shot the first shot
Besides, I didn't post that I do use a 223.
I just said I could do it with all confidence at the places I've hunted.
Just like I have confidence in putting one arrow in a deer,
or one round lead ball propelled by black powder through a
deer's vitals. Haven't killed one with a spear yet, but I'd love
to try it

Yes! Have killed both with it

I kill hogs regularly with the 223. THe smallest round I've killed a deer with was a 222rem. However, I do not view the 223 as being a deer hunting cartridge. Personally, I want a 6mm or larger projectile for deer hunting.

It's really a mental game. If the biggest thing anyone ever had was a 22 magnum and then one day someone invented a .223 people would scream and yell that it was so overkill it would be ridiculous.
But...do we have bigger heavier calibers and bullets that will kill a deer or hog sized animal better? Yes of course.
Would I? Yes, have I? yes.
I could just stick to the longbow and cedar arrows and be satisfied as well, but sometimes I like to use the compound and carbon arrows

A few years ago, my answer would've sounded like this: Hogs? Absolutely. Deer? Nope. The rationale being that if the hog runs off and dies later...no problem. I needed to be able to trust my rounds to penetrate adequately EVERY TIME and standard "cup and cores" in .224 often DIDN'T deliver the goods (at least not well enough for me to trust them on whitetail).

Fast forward to today and my answer is very different...because my .224 projectiles are VERY different. My wife is currently hammering everything with her .223 shooting 50 grain Cutting Edge Raptors...and those are bullets that I can count on to reach the engine room EVERY TIME.

Any cartridge is merely a delivery vehicle for the projectile and ANY cartridge can "fail" when improper bullets are used. Using outstanding bullets like the CEBs make the .223 "punch above its weight".

Yes.

Yes but you didn’t answer the question

I have killed more deer with a 222 and 223 than probably over 75% of folks on here have ever killed with any caliber.