Thread: howa 223 at ranges

I'm in roughly the same boat, new to .223 as a hunting round. In addition to the wisdom above, there's some great info here:
https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....23-deer-64884/ and also found some great info here: https://www.ballisticstudies.com/Kno...Remington.html

From what I've read so far:
1. shot placement is critical (i.e. knowing where to hit and ability to hit it);
2. know the limitations of calibre/projectile (range and lethality), and;
3. be willing to let something walk on if it's not within (ethical) range, or doesn't present a clean shot.

My very non-scientific analysis has noticed that people on this forum who successfully use .223 on deer, all appear to have high levels of knowledge and experience... which sort of says it all.

Looking forward to hearing how you get on!

Originally Posted by yeah_na_missed

I'm in roughly the same boat, new to .223 as a hunting round. In addition to the wisdom above, there's some great info here:
https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....23-deer-64884/ and also found some great info here: https://www.ballisticstudies.com/Kno...Remington.html

From what I've read so far:
1. shot placement is critical (i.e. knowing where to hit and ability to hit it);
2. know the limitations of calibre/projectile (range and lethality), and;
3. be willing to let something walk on if it's not within (ethical) range, or doesn't present a clean shot.

My very non-scientific analysis has noticed that people on this forum who successfully use .223 on deer, all appear to have high levels of knowledge and experience... which sort of says it all.

Looking forward to hearing how you get on!

awesome thanks for that ill have to check those out today! thanks for the tips they are very helpful and ill let you know how I get on

All good advice above.
The 223 is a capable round on deer with appropriate bullets and placement.
It does run out of energy pretty quickly tho and it doesnt have a hell of a lot to start with so while anyhing is possible a long range deer caliber it isnt.
Its a good 200m cartridge on deer and while I and others on here do shoot deer further than that I dont think any of us would recommend it for any further especially to someone starting out.

Mickys 3 inch circle is a good one.....when you can get every shot inside that circle everytime thats how far you can shoot.

Shortening the barrel will lose a bit of velocity and hence energy.....do you need to shorten it? Are you bush stalking?

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

All good advice above.
The 223 is a capable round on deer with appropriate bullets and placement.
It does run out of energy pretty quickly tho and it doesnt have a hell of a lot to start with so while anyhing is possible a long range deer caliber it isnt.
Its a good 200m cartridge on deer and while I and others on here do shoot deer further than that I dont think any of us would recommend it for any further especially to someone starting out.

Mickys 3 inch circle is a good one.....when you can get every shot inside that circle everytime thats how far you can shoot.

Shortening the barrel will lose a bit of velocity and hence energy.....do you need to shorten it? Are you bush stalking?

oh perfect thanks for that that's sort of what I'm gathering from it but by the sounds I should be able to get the distance I need out of it still after a bit of practice and mucking around. perfect thank you for that will be needing to do a bit more target shooting for practice thank you heaps, that's good to know I don't really need to shorten it as such not doing any bush stalking was just curious.

A great book to read through is Red Deer in New Zealand by Roger Lentle and Frank Saxton. (ISBN 9781869536466)

You can often find it in the local library.

Heaps of useful information in this book including a worthwhile chapter on shot placement.

YouTube has heaps of channels that look at bullet construction, and what bullets to use for what game. Quite a lot of the information presented is tainted by opinion which varies hugely from bloke to bloke. Some of the American guys for example will insist that you need a bonded bullet or that you must use a mono metal bullet like the Barnes.

The bottom line is that New Zealand red deer hunters have been using standard softpoint hunting bullets in .22 cal since the 60s and they didn’t have YouTube or Internet forums to tell them they were doing it wrong. Episode S07E02 (Back to School) of NZ Hunter Adventures had Willie Duley using an old Sako .222 with 50gr softpoints - watch that on the TVNZ app for an example of how to drop 3 deer for 3 shots, and where specifically he shot them. It’s no different to how you’d use your .223.

Originally Posted by Flyblown

A great book to read through is Red Deer in New Zealand by Roger Lentle and Frank Saxton. (ISBN 9781869536466)

You can often find it in the local library.

Heaps of useful information in this book including a worthwhile chapter on shot placement.

YouTube has heaps of channels that look at bullet construction, and what bullets to use for what game. Quite a lot of the information presented is tainted by opinion which varies hugely from bloke to bloke. Some of the American guys for example will insist that you need a bonded bullet or that you must use a mono metal bullet like the Barnes.

The bottom line is that New Zealand red deer hunters have been using standard softpoint hunting bullets in .22 cal since the 60s and they didn’t have YouTube or Internet forums to tell them they were doing it wrong. Episode S07E02 (Back to School) of NZ Hunter Adventures had Willie Duley using an old Sako .222 with 50gr softpoints - watch that on the TVNZ app for an example of how to drop 3 deer for 3 shots, and where specifically he shot them. It’s no different to how you’d use your .223.

perfect will have a look at that thank you, seems very useful and will watch that episode too thank you!

Don’t use the .223 on deer if you are flustered or rushed. It’s a caliber for cool heads and steady hands. But on the other hand it can teach you to shoot well and make correct bullet placement decisions.

Originally Posted by Tahr

Don’t use the .223 on deer if you are flustered or rushed. It’s a caliber for cool heads and steady hands. But on the other hand it can teach you to shoot well and make correct bullet placement decisions.

awesome thank you for that will keep in mind

I see you are in Otago, I recommend shooting rabbits with your 223. You get plenty of shots in and will be putting plenty of trigger time in.
I was running a 223 for rabbits and it really gets you into the zone of trigger control, body position, breathing and ranges , they are small at 250 - 400 mtrs plus . I learnt a huge amount varmint shooting.
It won't teach you where to shoot a deer but you will learn to be accurate and form some solid techniques.

Originally Posted by viper

I see you are in Otago, I recommend shooting rabbits with your 223. You get plenty of shots in and will be putting plenty of trigger time in.
I was running a 223 for rabbits and it really gets you into the zone of trigger control, body position, breathing and ranges , they are small at 250 - 400 mtrs plus . I learnt a huge amount varmint shooting.
It won't teach you where to shoot a deer but you will learn to be accurate and form some solid techniques.

yup I am, that's a good idea sort of been thinking of it but havent done it yet. that's good ill give it a go

I have a Howa mini action also. It is cut down so the suppressor just about touches the stock. It has taken a lot of animals perfectly fine, hundreds of goats and a fair few deer.
I personally have a self imposed limit of 250 yards on deer as a little bit of wind drift or shooter error with the .223 is not ideal.
A good 55gr factory load is definitely the Hornady soft point stuff. The hunting and fishing branded ammo is just repackaged Belmont and I do believe the last batch of Belmont were made with Speer projectiles vs the usual Hornady 55gr. These do not shoot as well in my rifle as the Hornady ones and I have found they don't kill smaller animals such as goats as well as they are a bit hard.

I too am a fan of the heavier projectiles, 75gr eld and 77gr tmks. These are limited to hand loading however.

End of the day shot placement is key and as far as shoulder shooting goes not all projectiles are created equal and a shoulder bone on a big red deer is quite an ask for a little projectile particularly if it isn't of stout construction. Personally I would sooner slip it into the lungs.

Originally Posted by TLB

I have a Howa mini action also. It is cut down so the suppressor just about touches the stock. It has taken a lot of animals perfectly fine, hundreds of goats and a fair few deer.
I personally have a self imposed limit of 250 yards on deer as a little bit of wind drift or shooter error with the .223 is not ideal.
A good 55gr factory load is definitely the Hornady soft point stuff. The hunting and fishing branded ammo is just repackaged Belmont and I do believe the last batch of Belmont were made with Speer projectiles vs the usual Hornady 55gr. These do not shoot as well in my rifle as the Hornady ones and I have found they don't kill smaller animals such as goats as well as they are a bit hard.

I too am a fan of the heavier projectiles, 75gr eld and 77gr tmks. These are limited to hand loading however.

End of the day shot placement is key and as far as shoulder shooting goes not all projectiles are created equal and a shoulder bone on a big red deer is quite an ask for a little projectile particularly if it isn't of stout construction. Personally I would sooner slip it into the lungs.

awesome thanks for that good to know

Barnes TTSX lifts a 223 to the next level. Shot a few red and fallow with that combination with no problems - but I passed on a few shots as well as deer not relaxed and calm. Limit myself to 175m on deer. Load the Sierra #1455 as well for the 223 and can take out most small things to 250m easy. Got a license this year to shoot pukekos on maize block and longest was 300m on calm spring evenings sitting on the hill - great fun.