I am ready to start working up a load for whitetail deer hunting this fall. What would be a good bullet for whitetails up to 125 lbs. I am shooting a Ruger Mini-14 with a 1:9 twist. I have some Hornady 55 gr. V-Max, but the guy at Hornadyt said they would expand too fast and not penatrate enough. What do you who have taken deer with this caliber use?
Hunting bullet selection for 223 Rem.
- Thread starter Randy1911
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JimKirk
Member
Nosler 60 grain Partition
cheygriz
member
Agree with Jim Kirk on the Nosler.
Barnes "X" bullets are also superb.
Barnes "X" bullets are also superb.
GooseGestapo
Member
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2003
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- 6,153
I've had excellent results with the Hornady 55gr PtSpt (much better accuracy with the ones without the cannelure).
Better results yet with the 60gr Spt Hornady. This is probably my favorite "deer" bullet for the .223Rem.
I've also had very good performance from the Sierra 63gr semi-pt, and even the 65gr GameKing from a 1/12" twist barrel (Remington M7 w/18.5"bbl).
If I'm going to shoot deer with a $1 bullet, I'll just go ahead and use something a bit bigger, perhaps a Berger 115gr VLD from either a .257Roberts or .257WbyMag. But then again the Bergers are only ~0.35 each........ I don't really see the point of the Noslers in .224". I've only recovered 4 bullets from all the deer that I've shot with .22cf's, and they performed really no different from other larger soft points. They were well mushroomed and retained 55-70% of their weight. Usually stopped just under the hide after wrecking havoc all out of proportion to their weight/diameter. A 35gr V-max from a .22Hornet @ 3,100fps however just "exploded" the heart on a little button buck, and didn't make it out of the rib-cage breaking up completely. Largest piece of the bullet was the plastic tip, but the deer was DRT, so it really didn't matter......
If I want a "monolithic" .22 bullet, I'll just use a cast bullet from my .22Hornet. BTDT too.
Again, I've wounded deer with much larger cartridges where the bullets failed, but even then, PROPER shot placement would always compensate for a "failed" bullet.
Shot placement ALWAYS matters...... I shot at a deer in the '08 season with my .257wby, before I replaced the awful factory trigger with a Timney. I yanked the shot about 3' over the deer's back due to the trigger failing to release with the "normal" amount of trigger pressure I'm used to. (2.5-7lbs). I believe the deer were even more suprised than I was because none of them fell to the "earth shattering kaboom"...They just stood there looking at me some 90yds distant. (yeah; thinking "yeah, it's a fool, but what kind of fool is it that misses with a Weatherby? They kill just from the concussion, you know....) But the second shot didn't miss......
The 100gr Hornady PtSpt was balled up under the hide on the far-side and weighed 67.5gr in the classic "Interlok" pattern. Just about what the 55gr and 60gr bullets do from my .223 and .22-250 repectively.....
So, yeah, duh, you have to hit 'em to kill 'em....... the .22's make that easier for some folks, I suppose.
Better results yet with the 60gr Spt Hornady. This is probably my favorite "deer" bullet for the .223Rem.
I've also had very good performance from the Sierra 63gr semi-pt, and even the 65gr GameKing from a 1/12" twist barrel (Remington M7 w/18.5"bbl).
If I'm going to shoot deer with a $1 bullet, I'll just go ahead and use something a bit bigger, perhaps a Berger 115gr VLD from either a .257Roberts or .257WbyMag. But then again the Bergers are only ~0.35 each........ I don't really see the point of the Noslers in .224". I've only recovered 4 bullets from all the deer that I've shot with .22cf's, and they performed really no different from other larger soft points. They were well mushroomed and retained 55-70% of their weight. Usually stopped just under the hide after wrecking havoc all out of proportion to their weight/diameter. A 35gr V-max from a .22Hornet @ 3,100fps however just "exploded" the heart on a little button buck, and didn't make it out of the rib-cage breaking up completely. Largest piece of the bullet was the plastic tip, but the deer was DRT, so it really didn't matter......
If I want a "monolithic" .22 bullet, I'll just use a cast bullet from my .22Hornet. BTDT too.
Again, I've wounded deer with much larger cartridges where the bullets failed, but even then, PROPER shot placement would always compensate for a "failed" bullet.
Shot placement ALWAYS matters...... I shot at a deer in the '08 season with my .257wby, before I replaced the awful factory trigger with a Timney. I yanked the shot about 3' over the deer's back due to the trigger failing to release with the "normal" amount of trigger pressure I'm used to. (2.5-7lbs). I believe the deer were even more suprised than I was because none of them fell to the "earth shattering kaboom"...They just stood there looking at me some 90yds distant. (yeah; thinking "yeah, it's a fool, but what kind of fool is it that misses with a Weatherby? They kill just from the concussion, you know....) But the second shot didn't miss......
The 100gr Hornady PtSpt was balled up under the hide on the far-side and weighed 67.5gr in the classic "Interlok" pattern. Just about what the 55gr and 60gr bullets do from my .223 and .22-250 repectively.....
So, yeah, duh, you have to hit 'em to kill 'em....... the .22's make that easier for some folks, I suppose.
interlock
Member
i am with the partition choice. it is a great bullet
Rokman
Member
The Nosler Partion is what I would choose.
Thanks Guys!
I think I will go with the Nosler Partition in 60 grains. The guy at Hornady said to go with the 60 Gr. Spire Point, but I think that was because that was all he had to offer. I would go with a larger caliber, but the 223 Rem. is all I have right now.
I think I will go with the Nosler Partition in 60 grains. The guy at Hornady said to go with the 60 Gr. Spire Point, but I think that was because that was all he had to offer. I would go with a larger caliber, but the 223 Rem. is all I have right now.
R.W.Dale
Member
Howdy fellow OFGC'er
I've also had good results from the Sierra 55g Gameking. But if partitions shoot good and are gettable you won't go wrong with em. Either bullet will kill our arkie deer deader than a box of rocks if you take your time placing shots and treat the range as if you were carrying a 30-30
I have a pic of what this bullet does after punching through a shoulder and entering a deers chest
see sig
I've also had good results from the Sierra 55g Gameking. But if partitions shoot good and are gettable you won't go wrong with em. Either bullet will kill our arkie deer deader than a box of rocks if you take your time placing shots and treat the range as if you were carrying a 30-30
I have a pic of what this bullet does after punching through a shoulder and entering a deers chest
see sig
KodiakBeer
member
Nosler Partition.
Rokman
Member
.Krochus said:
The 55gr. Gamekings are very good shooters in everthing that I load them in. Twist rate of your Mini-14 probably will not handle the 65gr. Gamekings.
R.W.Dale
Member
Yep. I bought them to use on deer with the idea of upgrading to a TSX later but they've shot so darn good and performed so well at such a low price I've made this my doo all .223 bullet.
Rokman
Member
I am planning on taking me a little Arkie deer with 55gr. Gamekings in my .22-250. They shoot so incredible, but my twist rate just doen't work well with the Nosler Partitions in my Ruger 77MKII. My twist in my AR's are good with the Noslers, but those Gamekings shoot great in them too.
R.W.Dale
Member
The more I think about this I'm actually gonna come back and revise my statement and suggest NOT going with a partition and here's why.
If I'm going to pay for premium bullets over STD cup and core projectiles (which can work great). I'm going to pay the little more modern and quite effective Barnes TSX. Especially as in my experience partitions aren't a particularly accurate bullet
If I'm going to pay for premium bullets over STD cup and core projectiles (which can work great). I'm going to pay the little more modern and quite effective Barnes TSX. Especially as in my experience partitions aren't a particularly accurate bullet
JimKirk
Member
krochus
I thought about my past experiences with the Nosler Partition when I went to the gun shop to purchase bullets to try my .223 out for deer. My experiences with partitions in both the 25/06 and the 243 were less than stellar as far as accuracy was concerned. Performance wise, I could find no fault though as the deer I shot were dead within just a few steps of where I shot. I did not recover any partition as they were pass throughs.
When I got to the gun shop, the only one around for many miles that carries any reloading products, the selection was extremely limited as far as .224 bullets. Matter of fact they only had one box of partitions and some 50 Gr Moly Vmax. So I purchased the 60 grain partitions and a can of Reloder 15. To my surprised, they gave me a group of around 1" for a three shot group and 1.75" for a 8 shot group. Eight was all I loaded to see if they would function in my AR. That was good enough for me, because I had planned to limt my shots to less than 100 Yds.
The little 90 lbs doe I shot(45 yds.) with the partition did just like the ones shot with the other calibers, less than 20 steps she was dead. No recovered bullet either, passed through just like the others.
I have around thirty bullets left out of that box, so I have not searched for more deer bullets since the supply has gotten better.
Jimmy K
I thought about my past experiences with the Nosler Partition when I went to the gun shop to purchase bullets to try my .223 out for deer. My experiences with partitions in both the 25/06 and the 243 were less than stellar as far as accuracy was concerned. Performance wise, I could find no fault though as the deer I shot were dead within just a few steps of where I shot. I did not recover any partition as they were pass throughs.
When I got to the gun shop, the only one around for many miles that carries any reloading products, the selection was extremely limited as far as .224 bullets. Matter of fact they only had one box of partitions and some 50 Gr Moly Vmax. So I purchased the 60 grain partitions and a can of Reloder 15. To my surprised, they gave me a group of around 1" for a three shot group and 1.75" for a 8 shot group. Eight was all I loaded to see if they would function in my AR. That was good enough for me, because I had planned to limt my shots to less than 100 Yds.
The little 90 lbs doe I shot(45 yds.) with the partition did just like the ones shot with the other calibers, less than 20 steps she was dead. No recovered bullet either, passed through just like the others.
I have around thirty bullets left out of that box, so I have not searched for more deer bullets since the supply has gotten better.
Jimmy K
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