Thread: 223 on deer

I was involved in 1982 studies monitoring 1080 affectiveness at Pureora, Kokako protection, Indigenious Forest Management, Forest Research Institute.
Young woody at the time, I was keen to stay out there & hunt, but no the scientists had to get back to Rotorua (wifes) 3hrs a day traveling, I would been entitled to camp allowance, you do the math. So the healthy activity of hunting got overtaken by drinking, quite common in the forest service.

'Anyway' we did grid searches, I soon realised there was no point hunting there, deer numbers at that time were not high, but we found more than expected, so a totally Successful result.

I understand that large area's of NZ that are not acessable and the only tool available is 1080, in these areas, the bottom line is, all browsers gone. Back then, there was no deer deterrent, so can't comment.

I want to see the next generation, get out hunting, for their own physical and mental health.
Leave the accessable stuff to be controlled/managed by hunters.

I'll try and get this thread back on track with the following question:
What is the 62gr hornday SPBT any good? They must be an improvement over the 55gr SP. I assume both the Serria 65gr and Targex 69gr would be significantly better- is this a safe assumption?
The reason I ask is that the 62gr is super cheap at Gunworks.

Originally Posted by Dama dama

I'll try and get this thread back on track with the following question:
What is the 62gr hornday SPBT any good? They must be an improvement over the 55gr SP. I assume both the Serria 65gr and Targex 69gr would be significantly better- is this a safe assumption?
The reason I ask is that the 62gr is super cheap at Gunworks.

Those 62sp are bloody good as are the 55 I'm not sure why I keep spending a furtune on other pills when they both work so well.

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Sorry for the de -rail just telling it from a different point of view. Love 223 a very capable round in the right hands, my vote goes to 65g game king at as near as 3000fps you can get it to, at moderate ranges.

Starting at 52/55 grain - which are good enough - the killing effectiveness at increasing ranges exponentially improves so long as you can hold the velocity up. Soft bullets are fine (the curved ball are the lighter mono's but generally they are best at the shorter ranges). Peak effectiveness seems to be reached at 70-80 grains held at over 2800 fps MV. By then you are getting out to ranges you would have traditionally reserved for the likes of the .243. Not that a comparison should be made . 'Cos if you are using a .223 bigger calibers aren't in the frame at the time of squeezing the trigger. That's my take on it.

Are the 55gr hornadys still OK for shouldering shots on deer, smaller animals?
Or really try for just behind in the crease hilar area? Still to confirm twist in mine but guarantee it won't be the heavy hobbies being referred to

Originally Posted by csmiffy

Are the 55gr hornadys still OK for shouldering shots on deer, smaller animals?
Or really try for just behind in the crease hilar area? Still to confirm twist in mine but guarantee it won't be the heavy hobbies being referred to

I smacked a big sika hind at 200m smack in the middle of the shoulder and it never moved with the good old Hornady 55sp.

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@csmiffy Here's a 55 grn Hornady. MV 3,100fps. Belmont ammo. About 200 yards. You can see the projectile sitting in the off side hole before I picked it out. The deer didn't go anywhere. Fallow doe.
Can't complain about that for performance.

Cheers. Quite well aware it's not capable of crunching stuff like a 308 for example but dontbhave to treat its made of tissue paper either

It seems there is no slowing down of .223 appreciation here , just spent quite a while catching up on posts since my last visit.
I finally found some Sierra 77gr TMK projectiles , can’t wait for them to arrive and see how they go through my rifles.
Keep up the good work / posts / photos that make this thread great .

Finally blooded my howa mini 223 on a quick south island hunt to one of my favorite old haunts in the Blue mtns. Definitely a cull buck with one very weak side with no guard tines.
75gr ELD-M did the trick.
My first deer with the 223, seems ideal for fallow/sika, joy to carry too!

I’m chasing some loading advice in regards to the 77gr TMK projectiles.
Are they picky when it comes to how far they like to be jumped to the lands ?
My hope is to seat them out as far as the magazine will allow ( my rifles have reasonably long throats ) to maximise the available case capacity.
Some projectiles can be very touchy when it comes to how far they want to be jumped , what’s your guys opinions and findings when it comes to the 77gr TMK .

Originally Posted by Ground Control

I’m chasing some loading advice in regards to the 77gr TMK projectiles.
Are they picky when it comes to how far they like to be jumped to the lands ?
My hope is to seat them out as far as the magazine will allow ( my rifles have reasonably long throats ) to maximise the available case capacity.
Some projectiles can be very touchy when it comes to how far they want to be jumped , what’s your guys opinions and findings when it comes to the 77gr TMK .

Don't seem to be fussy, but their ogive is designed to fit the 2.3" AR Mags so do work quite short. Mine are 2.3" OAL out of a tikka regardless that I have a long Waters mag. Seem to get more than enough 2206H in to push them past 2,900 fps (stnd barrel).

Originally Posted by Ground Control

I’m chasing some loading advice in regards to the 77gr TMK projectiles.
Are they picky when it comes to how far they like to be jumped to the lands ?
My hope is to seat them out as far as the magazine will allow ( my rifles have reasonably long throats ) to maximise the available case capacity.
Some projectiles can be very touchy when it comes to how far they want to be jumped , what’s your guys opinions and findings when it comes to the 77gr TMK .

I’ve tried them at -20 thou and at mag length, made no discernible difference for me. I’m using 8208 with the 77s as it’s easier to get enough in the case vs 2206h. Using 06h with 80 ELD-M though as they seat a lot longer.

I have just worked up a load for the 77 in my Tikka and tried seating at LOA to fit in a standard Tikka vs my Waterman mag seated at 20 thou off the lands.
Both shot around 1/2 moa so have gone for the 20 thou load as it's less compressed.

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