Question about a hunting bullet for .223

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

Matt Dillon

Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2003
Messages
839
Location
Houston, TX
Folks, I would like to find an accurate bullet with which I can develop a hunting round. I tried 75 grain amax bullets, but he are too long for my 1:9 twist barrel on an AR.
So, I am looking for something in the 69 grain range. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Do you know where I might find your choice of bullets in stock?
Thanks so much in advance!
 
Sierra has a 65gr GameKing .224" bullet, part #1395 and a 63gr Varminter bullet, part #1370. Either will perform well in a 1:9 twist barrel.

If you like Hornady give their 60gr V-Max bullet a try, part #22281 although I would probably stick with the 2 Sierra bullets above.
 
What are the laws in Texas regarding bullet restrictions? I know many states require the use of bullets designed to expand. In some states you can use match grade hollow points, but that doesn't make it a good idea. What will you be hunting? Texas whitetail? 65gr Sierra Gamekings or 64gr Nosler Bonded solid base bullets would be good choices for whitetail out of a 1:9 barrel.
 
I have heard that the Winchester 64 gr powerpoint has a good reputation Ive gotten some but havnt had the chance to try on game as yet.
 
Barnes 55 gr TSX flat base is what I use, although never shot a deer with one. Makes a big ol' nasty mess out of a coyote though. Bullet passed all the way through with exit wound in rib cage I could put a fist into. DRT.
The Barnes tactical (LE or whatever they call it) is the exact same bullet in a different package and sometimes tends to be in stock when they are out of the regular "civilian" version.
Don't get too heavy with the Barnes bullets since they are much longer than conventional bullets of the same weight. Copper vs. lead and all that. I would think anything over 62 gr Barnes would be pushing it with 1/9 twist.

Did some testing by shooting into six milk jugs full of water and the Barnes penetrated into the 4th jug, putting a dent in the 5th jug. First 2 jugs were exploded to shreds, third jug had entrance/exit wounds and swelled out of proportion, 4th jug just an entrance hole and a dent in the rear wall. Bullet was laying in bottom of 4th jug.
Perfect 4-petal mushroom and it still weighed 54.8 grains.
 
The Barnes in a 50-55 gr moving as fast as you can push them, or any 60-62 gr softpoint will work just fine.
 
It would matter in my opinion what you were planning on hunting. Tailor the round to the target. Varmints are one thing, but larger game may demand something different. In my state, 223 is illegal for deer.
 
A friend of mine shot a 400 pound hog with the Barnes X bullet, not sure what grain, had tremendous penetration and wound channel. He was using an AR with a 1-8 twist. One shot. He just wanted to see if it was feasible to hunt big hogs with a .223. He has many other more powerful guns more suited for big game, but he said he wouldn't hesitate to use the AR again.
 
I'm not sure of Texas law regarding 223, but ideally, I would like a round firWhitetail deer as well as hogs. That is why I'd like to use as heavy projectile as possible with the 1:9 twist.
 
+1 on the Nosler suggestion.
They have a nice 69g custom comp. projectile that will do a number on coyotes at a distance. LOL

The 64g bonded solid base is another great projectile from Nosler. Great expansion while retaining weight.

Both rounds shot through a 1:8 twist with no complaints from me:)

*Nosler projectiles purchased at Sportsmans Warehouse
 
Last edited:
You don't necessarily have to go heavy to get good terminal performance. For medium game from a 1:9 twist, there are certainly more quality bullet options available now than ever before.

60g Nosler Partition
64g Nosler Bonded Performance
62g Swift Scirocco
55g Barnes TSX
62g Barnes TSX
70g Barnes TSX (these seem pretty long for a 1:9 twist, but that's what Barnes lists as minimum)
55g Barnes TTSX
65g Sierra GameKing

And, I'm sure there are more. Just pick one or two and start working up some loads.
 
...Hunting what? If you want to hunt something for meat, use another gun/round. .223 destroys a lot of meet....
 
My 9 year old has had GREAT results with 64gr Speer Gold Dots and 62 gr Fusions. I think he's up to 6 DRTs on whitetails, and about that many on hogs.

GREAT penetration and wound channel, we've yet to retrieve a bullet, they've all been through and throughs, one traveled over 26" through a hog (end to end).

Finding the pills might not be very easy, but it's absolutely astounding what the new generation of bullets will do.
 
Killed several deer with a Hornady 55gr SP ahead of 27.6 gr of BLC-2 in a 1:9 twist bolt rifle. All were neck shots up to 150 yds with 3 point brace and all were DRT. That round gives me .5 MOA consistently.
 
I think the op stated hogs and whitetail was the game but for anything smaller. Im using nosler varmiggeddons
 
I've taken deer with headshots with a 68 grain Hornady matchking. It literally turns the brain into a deep red jelly. And I've shot some Sierra 69 grain with mixed results. My AR likes the Hornady better.
 
I would like a round firWhitetail deer as well as hogs. That is why I'd like to use as heavy projectile as possible with the 1:9 twist.
Click to expand...

If you want penetration for hogs shot at bad angles the 55 gr Barnes will outpenetrate any of the conventional lead bullets, in any weight in a 223. As long as you can keep impact velocity up to at least 2000 fps you will get reliable expansion as well.

Typical lead bullets lose 25%-80% of their weight on impact. A 70 gr bullet might only weigh 30 gr or less 1" into an animal. The copper bullets retain 100%, or very near it, after impact. That means a 55 gr bullet will still weigh 55 gr after it completely penetrates an animal that stops a frangible 70 gr slug 6" inside.

If you put the shot in the lungs it doesn't matter, you only need a few inches to let the air out of the lungs. Do that with any bullet and anything drops shortly.
 
I have seen deer shot with a 60 grain Partition that dropped right there. I have also seen deer shot with factory Remington Corelokt that dropped right there. Hogs might be another matter, they are a little tougher.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

W
  • Locked
Max weight bullet in M4gery
Replies
5
Views
328
dagger dog
dagger dog
L
  • Locked
75 grn AMax
Replies
3
Views
346
helotaxi
H
G
  • Locked
Lighter bullets in .223 due to bullet scarcity
Replies
11
Views
793
traderpats
T
S
  • Locked
Question on 223 loads w/52 gr Hornady a-max
Replies
12
Views
4K
jeepmor
J
D
VV N140 for 5.56/223 Heavy Bullets
Replies
9
Views
394
JEBruns
JEBruns
Back
Top