Thread: 223 on deer

Originally Posted by Hook_Grass

A question on shot placement for you jokers using the heavies (70gr plus projectiles) where is your aiming point?

I don't have a 223, that's a sin in know i will fix one day soon, but a young guy at work does have a new ish 1:8 twist tikka. He's wanting to get more out of it, currently shooting cheap 55gr soft points. He's 100% of the time hunting goats and red deer on a large marlborough station, its his only rifle so even during the roar thats what he carries. He took a decent sized 3yr old stag at around 200m this year it just traveled a long ways. His 4 shots were all lethal it just took awhile. Can you shoulder shoot reds with faster results with these larger projectiles or do you stay behind the shoulder? I get that an extra 15-20grs of projectile doesn't turn it into magic just trying to get an idea of where is the most effective place to poke them through.

I lung shoot mainly but more by habit. Centre to break the shoulder or higher gives quicker kills. The heavier bullets make a disproportionate difference to shooting with 55 gn. You can get Hornady ELDM 73 grn factory ammo.