Texas hill country deer and .223?

[tnieto2004]

What are the opinions on using a .223 on SMALL deer out here in East texas .. Just thinking about my options.. I have a little .223 I wanted to take hunting this year..

 

[winchester62]

The right bullet will easily do the job. Since the shot will likely be close, go for the head shot and the deer will go down fast.

 

[Blackfork]

The deer deserve a good bullet and a good shot.

I'd remember my responsibility to the deer before I took a shot at one with a 223. It might be OK....or it might be too light...and the deer deserve a definite yes or a definite no.

 

[tnieto2004]

Point taken .. I was just thinking outloud

 

[Art Eatman]

About the only caveat for these small deer is that you select one of the loads with heavier bullets and thicker jackets that are NOT the usual varmint loads.

 

[Shadow Shock]

I use my .223 almost exclusivley for white tails here in the hill country and on the rare occasions when I go to East Texas. I use Remington 55grain Pointed Soft Points. Has never yet failed to drop a deer with one well placed shot. I've taken 25 deer with it so far, from 15ft away to 300yd. My favorite rifle round.

 

[springmom]

I ordered some Federal Vital-Shok with 60 grain Nosler Partition bullets. Expensive, but what good ammo isn't these days? And yes, I'm taking my .223 out this year at some point, using that ammo.

The only difference in size between the deer around here and my Irish terriers are the length of the legs, I swear.....

Springmom

 

[Cueball]

As long as you are careful with shot placement and choice of ammo, you should be ok.

 

[ducktail]

Shot placement is the point when you use this round. Your margin of error is right low. Well, the size of the deer makes a difference also. I prefer a small tasty animal and the 223 will do the trick. The problem here is the margin of error is even smaller.

 

[mbt2001]

Make sure you get the right bullets and practice. You shouldn't have any problems. I have always advocated neck shots, and the flat shooting .223 is capable of delivering them.

 

[oregonhunter]

There has been hundresds of these threads, why. Search people search. I would at least use my .243, but I don't have a .223 so...

 

[MCgunner]

Yeah, this has been cussed and discussed about a bazillion times. I remain a .243 or better fan even on Texas mini-deer. I cannot see the advantage in .22 caliber pop guns over a good .243 other than they don't chamber ARs in .243 (I don't think). I don't like ARs, so I don't care. When I can get a Remington in a better caliber for deer, why not?

I hunt my place with a .308. Now, I probably could use a .22 of some sort, but for the big hogs that roam the place. If I ever do wanna pop one of those bigguns, (I prefer ones I don't need a front end loader to get out and 200 lbs or less taste better anyway), a .223 would be totally inadequate. Oh, sure, you could "make a head shot", but I can kill 'em right there with a .308 and a shoulder shot. My deer are pretty small, but the hogs get gargantuan.

And, hey, recoil your problem? Well, there was one guy here with an arthritic shoulder and I totally understand and sympathize with that, but I know a little lady that hunts Colorado elk on a regular basis with a .338 Winchester Magnum. Hey, she's maybe 110 lbs soaking wet, and you ain't macho enough for a .243? I wouldn't brag about it, ROFL!

Yeah, with a proper load, it don't take much to kill a Texas sized deer, though, and I'm sure the .223 out to a couple hundred yards can do the job even ethically. We ain't talkin' 300 lb New Mexico mulies after all. I just don't see a real reason to hunt with such a small, marginal caliber, that's all, when I have a choice of better. The most powerful .22 I own is a .22 WMR. I don't see a reason to own a .223 or .22-250 down here where there are no prairie dogs. If I wanna hunt coyotes, my .257 Roberts or .308 will work fine, even the .22 mag at short range.

 

[GunTech]

Two big white tail deer taken so far in central Montana. One was hit in the lungs with a 64gn PowerPoint and walked about 20 feet before dropping. The second was hit with a 53gn TSX in the heart lungs and dropped immediately. Both were shot at about 150 yards. 223 works just fine if you put it in the right place. If you put the bullet in the wrong place, it won't matter if it's 300 WM IMO.

I would limit my shots to 250 yards or less, but as that describes probably 90% of hunting, I don't see a problem.

 

[springmom]

ordered some Federal Vital-Shok with 60 grain Nosler Partition bullets. Expensive, but what good ammo isn't these days? And yes, I'm taking my .223 out this year at some point, using that ammo.

And I took the AR out to play yesterday, and ran a few of those Vital Shoks through it.

Oh, my. Even though the barrel was getting hot and therefore I'd expect accuracy to begin to suffer, it went right where I wanted to put it. I have no worries that it won't do the job.

DH says they are much louder than my usual American Eagle or Black Hills stuff, though. I'll need to definitely put in the foam ear plugs if I take that out.

But opening weekend will be with my .243...we're staying Friday and Saturday nights in a motel up near the forest, and I *really* don't want my opening day ruined because somebody saw me toting an AR and calls the sheriff at the motel. (Of course, I could put it in its case...hm.....)

Springmom

 

[Grayrock]

Been there, done that.

Mini-14: POP, Drop & flop.

Shot placement is tantamount to success. Know your rig and your capabilities and hunt with confidence when all is right.

 

[skinewmexico]

My 13 year old daughter shot three does between 100 and 150 yards last year with a 223, they all fell on the spot. We used 55g soft points. I've never had good luck with partitions in any caliber on Texas deer. Seems like the exit is always the same size at the entrance. The 223 is fine.