Thread: .223 bullet deflection from twigs and branches

I'm trying to clear the pests out of what was once my bush paddock but is rapidly becoming an empty paddock with some tall trees. Stapling up feratox bags for the possums this afternoon, I saw 5 reds walking slowly past me on the ridgeline above about 30m away. I had the .223 scope on them very quickly but they did not drop below the skyline so no shot possibility. They didn't appear to have seen me, so once they had moved past I followed. There they were sitting in a sunny spot about 100m away. Once again I lined them up in the scope but there were heaps of dead twigs and small branches between us. It didn't look too bad by eye but through the scope the twigs were so dense the target was harder to see. Needless to say I did not attempt a shot. There was no way to get much closer without the wind giving me away, so decided to leave them to it for now.

This is the first .223 I've ever owned and I have limited experience with the round. I'm assuming any impact with any obstacle on the way to the target will deflect the projectile to some degree. Has anyone quantified this? Obviously a clear shot is the ideal, but what are the real world implications of a near-clear shot, or a partly obscured shot? I do recall reading an article about Aussie soldiers in VietNam much preferring the SLR due to the .308 having much greater ability to push through vegetation that knocked the 5.56 totally off, and even saw the same thing happening with the SKS and AK rounds coming at them. Reading that was one of the main reasons I got a 7.62x39 E cat rifle rather than 5.56 back in the "good old days".

How many of you .223 shooters take totally clear shots only, and how many are prepared to risk hitting some vegetation on the way to the target?