Just curious about the performance of it (as well as your confidence in the round with the right bullet).

What say ye?

Entertaining the idea of a new build in 223 for everything from plinking to killing hogs.

Both my kids shot a Tikka T3 Varmint in 223 as their primary rifle when they were younger before they went to a more powerful caliber. I went through many different bullets before I found the 2 best hunting bullets for the 223/5.56. My favorite is the 64 grain Nosler bonded PSP and then the 70 grain Accubond. We went to the 64 grain bonded PSP bullet and have taken multiple pigs and deer with this bullet. It is a VERY good projectile for the 223 as a hunting bullet. I would generally get a pass through with that bullet, even on big pigs. If I were to make a 223 Rem as my main round, I would go with a more premium projectile to keep that on-game performance up.

Nosler 64 bonded as Chad says if you can find some. They aren't the most accurate in my experience but plenty good for animals. I haven't shot them in my Tikka or my buddies Ruger Gen II ranch Rifle.

I did last year on a few deer and will this year also. 77 tmk is pretty impressive. Just make sure you have the right twist. With that said I’m exclusively a High shoulder/neck shoulder crease shooter on everything but bears

I think the advantages of suppressed really shine on you 22 calibers

I think the 22 CM is a better over all option if you shoot past 200 yards consistently, but I’ll probably stretch the 223 this year to get a much better gauge of its limits

I do for pigs, not deer, simply because I have 3000+ rounds of 62g green tips and they work just fine for pigs. If I’m concerned about recovering the pig I just take a head shot.

I bought a box of Federal 62 gr, which I believe is supposed to be a Speer bullet (maybe the gold dot). I bought the same Fed ammo in 6.8, and the 115gr killed a bunch of animals and performed really well. I would not hesitate to shoot a TX WT with the .223 load inside 150 yards, possibly further.

https://grabagun.com/fusion-223rem-62gr-20-200.html

I have about 2000 of these bullets remaining!!

https://dallasreloads.com/product/64-grain-nosler-bonded/

I have about 300 of those 64 gr Nosler’s. Bought them for the AR, and for some yet undiscovered reason, they sometimes strike something when feeding from the mag, and the bullet gets bumped back a ways in the case, so I moved their use to the 223 Bolt gun, where they do just fine. The oldest granddaughter’s fiancé can use that when he comes to pig hunt.

The 223 was my primary out-of-deer-season pig gun for a couple of years, but I finally moved to the 6.5 Grendel.

My cousin’s son, all grown up now, always deer hunted with a single shot 223. Pretty sure they used Nosler Partitions. Never lost a deer, said the cousin.

the old 55gr Trophy Bonded were good bullets, same basic design as the 64gr Nosler Bonded which as said are also good add 60gr Partition. 62gr or 75gr Swift Sirocco are some of my all time favorites for a more aerodynamic higher BC bullet that holds together and expands well.

75gr Swift Sirocco is my favorite bullet for deer and hogs in the 22-243.

I am a firm believer the more you ask of a smaller rifle and faster you push the bullet, tougher bullet selection becomes more important especially for larger game.

I’ve never used it as my only hunting gun but have killed a bunch of deer and hogs with it. My SIL used our 223 for a decade or so with good results. 60 grain partition is the only bullet we ever used, other than a couple head shots with some v-max and rem psp’s.

They were my favorite when I had my 22-6mm. swift makes a good bullet

Man I’d love to have a 22-243… that’s got to be a rocket

same, the 62gr lap is a great pig round, I have 4 double kills at 75 to 125 yds.

also have 7.62x39 and .300 bo for suppressed at night but use the 5.56 for my daylight rifle.

Surprised no hate for the 223, yet.

sort of the ford/cheby/dodge which is best, everyone has a favorite but I think the availability/cost of ammunition has a lot to do with it now, it does for me anyway.

for a good and affordable it is hard to beat imo.

I would like to use just the .300 but ammo is more than double the cost, subs for it and the 7.62x39 are pricey now.

Well, he didn't ask for opinions from those who don't like the .223. Yeah, it'll work, but there's much better rounds for hunting. Even the little 300blk is better.

Yes, he didn't ask for opinions, BUT to quote Lt.Col.Copper "The 5.56/.223 are just fine for shooting Poodles." .

I have shot one deer with a.223. I was testing a load put out by a new ammo company. The first shot was at 40 yards and had ideal placement. 75 yards later the deer laid down with its head up looking around. The second shot was dead center in the neck. I walked the 75 yards and put a third shot in the back of the head. I have not shot a deer with a .223 since. I have shot several coyotes with it.

The ammo company was upset I would not give it a glowing review. (The company went out of business a couple of years later.)
For many years the.223 was not legal to use for deer hunting here in NC. Then is seemed like overnight, every one had an AR-15 and the pressure on the Wildlife Comm. grew to the point that now you can use ANY firearms to hunt deer. I was thinking of trying a little .25 ACP but I couldn't find a suppressor to fit.

My kids killed lots of stuff with a 223 AR. 65 grain Gamekings are bad little dudes.

Id shoot a pig with anything!

I'll shoot my AR at anything smaller than deer, all day long. I use Hornady 55 sp because it's cheap and accurate, although I'm sure you'd get better hunting performance out of many of the other options mentioned here.

Killed every deer I have ever shot with a .222 or .223.
69gr OTMBT pushed by Varget does good work and surgically accurate.
I'll shoot a pig with ANYTHING but when I hunt them, I use a 6.8.

I’ll never argue that the 223 is the best, but it’s been proven time and time again with adequate bullets and shot placement it is a reliable killer.

For me if it isn’t a hunting designed bullet like a partition, bonded, or building metal it’s probably neck/head only. Keep it within its limits and I have no reservations.

I really wish my 223 had the twist to stabilize the heavy for cal stuff it would open more options.

223 is my primary hog rifle. 65gr sierra gamekings are my go-to. I would use it on deer without concern if needed, but can think of a few different, larger, calibers I own that I'd grab before a 223 when targeting deer.

Bullet placement trumps caliber every time !

I have a custom bolt gun with a 28” 1:7 twist barrel, it was chambered with the issf reamer so it has some really big freebore but I can load a 80 grain bullet at 3k on the nose. They are wicked explosive, I would probably use it on deer.