Great for the up hill bits.
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A young red I shot this afternoon. Hit high in the shoulder with a 73gn ELD-M at about 50m. It went through the shoulder blade and through a rib on the way out. Left a nice neat 15mm exit hole as it departed.
Attachment 222209
Attachment 222210
Went and had a look at a couple of 223s at the local gunshop today.
They have a new Browning X-Bolt supper light CF stainless factory cut to 16.6" any thoughts on the X-Bolt?
Cheers FBD
X Bolt - good. They almost always need a trigger job which entails a new trigger spring
That CF model is only carbon colour coated. Its not a carbon stock.
I don't believe the are actually CF just hydro dipped synthetic, if your ok with that I haven't heard anything else negative about them. for me personally I find the X bolt a bit to slender for my large frame and Sasquatch hands but that's not a knock on the rifle it just doesn't fit me.
Wish Tikka did a short action
Nobody talked about shot of jaws or not been able to find mortally wounded deer when shot placement isn't perfect.
Use the right cartridge for the right job.
There's a few on here that are capable and have the judgement to call the shot to be humane with the said 223.
To be fair it's a fairly small percentage of people I have seen shoot.
Basically nobody skites about their fuckups
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A few weeks ago, I saw a hind drop with a 270 cartridge, and about 10 seconds later it jumped back up and ran up-hill for 70 yards and finally came to a rest. If it had been a 223 or 308 I think the result would have been the same. Just didn't hit enough vitals to keep it down on the spot.
Attachment 222396
My small contribution to this thread. Good sized Red hind shot at 240 mtrs with a 64 gr Winchester Deer Season round. She was sitting and chewing , it wasn't an easy shot ( for me) as she was a little tucked up in the matagouri .
Perfect conditions but I couldn't close any more distant. I have shot a lot of 223 on rabbits out to 450 mtrs so felt comfortable but not ideal.
She went lights out and never moved . I love the 223 but I do feel under gunned with it on deer . I think for me it's very capable but I prefer a bigger hitter just for peace of mind.
However with members like Tahr and Gimp nailing them it shows experience goes along way.
Ok then. I’ve screwed it up a few times. 1. Lost a fallow trophy of a lifetime with a .270, never recovered the animal after days of searching with assistance of a dog. My logic is that on the angling shot I didn’t penetrate the rib cage. 2. Took a headshot at a stag in the roar a few years ago (after successfully pulling it off many times). Went low and took his jaw off. Luckily he stood trance like long enough for me to finish it properly with a quick follow up. I will never again attempt a head shot like that. Cartridge was a .308.
In between times I shot many animals with a 6x45 and never lost a single one. I’ve seen deer run just as far with a 200+ gr bullet through the lungs from a 300WM as I have any shot with a 6x45/223 or the .243.
I killed two bull tahr with a .260 when the ‘expert’ in the camp claimed one animal after 9 shots fired from a 7mm Rem mag.
Hey it’s just my small data set, but I’ve observed; to kill it first you have yo hit it. And secondly, bullet choice (construction) matters way more than the head stamp on the case that sent it.
Re the browning - Terrible triggers. Even with the spring mod, hopeless imo. The only way to fix it is put a timney or similar aftermarket trigger in. So if your going down the browning road, factor trigger cost into your budget. Other than that, nice rifles, i liked mine alot.
60g NBT@3100fps
Attachment 222400
True. People don't talk about the bad shots they make but at the end of the day, a deer shot in the jaw is a deer shot in the jaw no matter what cartridge you are using.
There are probably more deer wounded with big magnum cartridges than 223s these days. I have watched YouTube clips of people using the big muzzle braked magnums at range and it is obvious they are not proficient with them. They seem to think that if they have a dial-up scope and a range finder the big cartridge will do the rest. Like you say with the 223, there are few on here that have the ability to use those rifles at long range in the field and get a 100% kill rate.
I haven't had any fuckups with the 223 on deer (yet) but as long as I keep clearly in mind that it is a 223rem, I am confident my judgement will prevent me from making those fuckups. It is very much like taking up bow hunting. It gives you limitations that you have to be mindful of, and that is part of the fun/challenge of using one.
Yep, I’m a Hornady 55gr SP fan
Put simply, they just work.
If I want to go bigger the 243 has the Hornady 87gr HPBT
Never felt the need to change things up TBH
I shot a spiker in the shin (operator error). Reasonably sure that isn't fatal with any cartridge.
The determining factor for fatality appears to be, based on the evidence, was it shot in an appropriate place with an appropriately constructed bullet? The selection of appropriate places available doesn't appear to be any smaller using appropriate bullets (70-80gr) in 223 than anything else
Not sure I agree. I would be reluctant to shoot a big red stag or Bull Tahr (at say 200 yards) in the most solid part of it's shoulder with a 70-80gn 22cal bullet where as I would have no hesitation with a 180gn 30cal bullet (assuming same bullet construction and MV). Physics would suggest the window for the 22cal bullet would be a little smaller.
I have done so, both species, happy with the results.
anytime that is what your carrying........ its not a matter of the 224 being just as good....its a matter of it being good enough.
Whenever a person wants to use one, I suppose? The point is more that I wouldn't consider a 223 with good bullets limiting at all in ordinary hunting circumstances.
I wouldn't try to shoot a red stag at 500 metres with the .223, I imagine. I also don't tend to find that I need to.
Know a guy that uses a 18inch barrel, 7mm TCU, in a Thomson Contender. Can't remember the actual figures but it,s something like 2800 with a 100g projectile. He's awesomely effective with it, so the little 45mm case can do some amazing things.
Not the contender, it's encore rifle, expained that as bore increases pressure drops, so you can have a real play with powders & pressures, of course the single shot does have to worry about mag length as well.
A broken 80 grn Targex from off side ribs of lung shot Fallow spiker. Just breaking the skin. Dropped on spot about 180 yds.Attachment 222406
Brian and I had a muck around this evening. I sighted my Tikka in with Targex 74 grn Bryn made for me. 2950 fps from standard barrel and shots touching (until barrel & suppressor got hot). Have 200 loaded for next week. The M7 is sighted in for 69 Targex at 3K. 100 of them loaded.
and that IS part of the problem.......
Im not saying its completely bullshit...but I would take it with grain of salt too..and if its dinky die honest to God truth..you have experienced shooter with no buck fever using firearm he uses everyday and has done for years so knows bullet path inside out .....it might have happened...but its a hell of a risk to take if a mouse farts somewhere along bullets path it will move off track.
if young job newbie reads that then tries it,he will more than likely miss completely or wound animal
no different to me picking up Philipo or dannybs long range cannon and expecting to shoot a deer at 750 yards without rangefinder or dialing up.....it might happen...but I wouldnt bet on it turning out well.
i am a new hunter and dont know where to hunt really, a bit scared to go hunt in open public hunting, is there any hunting ground in south waikato or close to auckland? is anybody can hook us or give us tips where to hunt wild animals