Thread: 223 on deer

What ranges are you guys comfortable shooting a deer at with your .223 I have a Tikka with Nightforce NX8 running 73gr ELDM's - reason for my question is I have a spot where I shoot and there is almost always deer in one spot but it's 530yds away I have validated my loads and dope out to 550 and shot paper at this distance with very consistent results, i have shot deer out to 350yds with the same set up - with a good rest and plenty of time, would you take the shot?

Originally Posted by MP270

What ranges are you guys comfortable shooting a deer at with your .223 I have a Tikka with Nightforce NX8 running 73gr ELDM's - reason for my question is I have a spot where I shoot and there is almost always deer in one spot but it's 530yds away I have validated my loads and dope out to 550 and shot paper at this distance with very consistent results, i have shot deer out to 350yds with the same set up - with a good rest and plenty of time, would you take the shot?

Wind drift will be the biggest factor

Originally Posted by MP270

What ranges are you guys comfortable shooting a deer at with your .223 I have a Tikka with Nightforce NX8 running 73gr ELDM's - reason for my question is I have a spot where I shoot and there is almost always deer in one spot but it's 530yds away I have validated my loads and dope out to 550 and shot paper at this distance with very consistent results, i have shot deer out to 350yds with the same set up - with a good rest and plenty of time, would you take the shot?

A way to assess effective terminal range is to consider whether your bullet will expand. Based on various sources of information, you should probably expect an ELDM to expand down to around 1800fps. Penetration increases inversely related to velocity - so sufficient penetration will not be a problem.

Do you have sufficient retained velocity at that range? If a heavier .224" ELDM hits the animal in the vital zone, and expands, it will kill it.

I'd expect effective expansion from my load (80ELDM) to about 475 metres. I have shot deer to about 420 metres with good results.

Hit probabilty is another consideration, however that is a similar problem with any cartridge at these ranges. You really need to be honest with yourself about your capabilities if you are concerned about missing or shooting animals in the wrong place. Can you regularly hit a 200mm circle first round from the positions you'll be shooting in, in the conditions you'd consider shooting in?

My .223 load outperforms a .308 with a 155gr ELDM in the wind. Many people would be comfortable to recommend the .308 load out to this range. I can make more consistent hits with the .223 in reality.

Originally Posted by gimp

A way to assess effective terminal range is to consider whether your bullet will expand. Based on various sources of information, you should probably expect an ELDM to expand down to around 1800fps. Penetration increases inversely related to velocity - so sufficient penetration will not be a problem.

Do you have sufficient retained velocity at that range? If a heavier .224" ELDM hits the animal in the vital zone, and expands, it will kill it.

I'd expect effective expansion from my load (80ELDM) to about 475 metres. I have shot deer to about 420 metres with good results.

Hit probabilty is another consideration, however that is a similar problem with any cartridge at these ranges. You really need to be honest with yourself about your capabilities if you are concerned about missing or shooting animals in the wrong place. Can you regularly hit a 200mm circle first round from the positions you'll be shooting in, in the conditions you'd consider shooting in?

My .223 load outperforms a .308 with a 155gr ELDM in the wind. Many people would be comfortable to recommend the .308 load out to this range. I can make more consistent hits with the .223 in reality.

It will kill a deer even if it doesn't expand. Just because a projectile expands doesn't mean a thing and certainly shouldn't be used to base the terminal performance of a bullet off.

A good cast subsonic load will still expand at 150 yards if it hit a bit if bone, maybe even if it didn't hit bone. Can assure you it will kill the animal if you hit it in the vitals, might just have to track it for a couple of hundred metres. Same effect as using a .223 at a longer range.
Expansion is only a part of the equation.

I've seen plenty of slightly miss placed .223 shots in my line of work and most of the time the deer is gone never to be seen again. Slightly misplaced shots with something like a .308 with eldms or similar soft projectiles often results in a very short track.

Don't get me wrong, I love my .223 but they are simply not the caliber you would take out to try and shoot deer over 500 yards.

Originally Posted by TLB

It will kill a deer even if it doesn't expand. Just because a projectile expands doesn't mean a thing and certainly shouldn't be used to base the terminal performance of a bullet off.

A good cast subsonic load will still expand at 150 yards if it hit a bit if bone, maybe even if it didn't hit bone. Can assure you it will kill the animal if you hit it in the vitals, might just have to track it for a couple of hundred metres. Same effect as using a .223 at a longer range.
Expansion is only a part of the equation.

I've seen plenty of slightly miss placed .223 shots in my line of work and most of the time the deer is gone never to be seen again. Slightly misplaced shots with something like a .308 with eldms or similar soft projectiles often results in a very short track.

Don't get me wrong, I love my .223 but they are simply not the caliber you would take out to try and shoot deer over 500 yards.

Make your mind up.....which is it??? Either a non expanded projectile sliding through making a narrow wound will kill of it won't. Calibre is how fat that non expanding hole is...full stop. Both gimp and tahr have said 350/375 is about maximum range for them. I'm half that.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

Make your mind up.....which is it??? Either a non expanded projectile sliding through making a narrow wound will kill of it won't. Calibre is how fat that non expanding hole is...full stop. Both gimp and tahr have said 350/375 is about maximum range for them. I'm half that.

Everything will kill won't it. My point if you read both the post I commented on and mine was just because a projectile expands well it doesn't mean it kills well. A soft cast going subsonic still expands at quite a range and even placed into the vitals kills slowly. Just because a .223 projectile expands at close to 500 yards doesn't mean it's going to kill well.
A soft eldm out of a .308 is simply going to give you more margin for error at 500 yards than an eldm out of a .223.

Long story short, the first post that Gimp replied to was querying about shooting deer at 530 yards with a .223. Gimp stated "A way to assess effective terminal range is to consider whether your bullet will expand."
I was pointing out that just because a bullet still expands doesn't mean it kills well. Quite simple really.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

Make your mind up.....which is it??? Either a non expanded projectile sliding through making a narrow wound will kill of it won't. Calibre is how fat that non expanding hole is...full stop. Both gimp and tahr have said 350/375 is about maximum range for them. I'm half that.

I'm sure Gimp says above that he has shot deer out to 420m, which is about 460 yards, with them. Tahr stated he is most comfy out to 300 with maximum shots out to 375 yards.
Big difference between those two ranges than the 530 yards than MP270 was genuinely querying about.

And both Tahr and Gimp are not your average everyday hunters, their limitations will be a lot higher than most.

Originally Posted by TLB

I'm sure Gimp says above that he has shot deer out to 420m, which is about 460 yards, with them. Tahr stated he is most comfy out to 300 with maximum shots out to 375 yards.
Big difference between those two ranges than the 530 yards than MP270 was genuinely querying about.

And both Tahr and Gimp are not your average everyday hunters, their limitations will be a lot higher than most.

I'm definitely more limited than most hunters

Your comment re soft eldms and a slight miss hit equals expansion.so again make up your mind.

We are going to have to get Tahr to make a ruling.

Is the .223 just as good as a .308 at 475 metres.

Originally Posted by BillyDixon

We are going to have to get Tahr to make a ruling.

Is the .223 just as good as a .308 at 475 metres.

But it's not that simple is it... .308 goes from 110-220grn from pure varmits explody to fmj or solids. The 223 goes40-80 grn varmits through to solid. If you can place your shot into a vital bit..for sure it will kill. How cleanly and quickly is different story..but we all know that.

Originally Posted by gimp

My .223 load outperforms a .308 with a 155gr ELDM in the wind. Many people would be comfortable to recommend the .308 load out to this range. I can make more consistent hits with the .223 in reality.

A decent wind at full value moves a 150 gn .308 pill 30-40 cm at 300 meters and a 55 gn .223 further.

With and with out wind post 300 m are different discussions even with a .308 for the knowing.


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An unexpected encounter but the little 223 did the trick again.

Originally Posted by Hayden C

Attachment 256840

An unexpected encounter but the little 223 did the trick again.

Iv shot a lot of pigs over the years but Im yet to shoot one that's had a stick stuck in its mouth, though everyone on the internet seems to be able to find them. I must be looking n the wrong places.

Originally Posted by sneeze

Iv shot a lot of pigs over the years but Im yet to shoot one that's had a stick stuck in its mouth, though everyone on the internet seems to be able to find them. I must be looking n the wrong places.

It's only if you shoot them very early in the morning or last thing at night when you catch them cleaning their teeth.