.223 for deer?

I would put a brake on the 270 to get rid of the recoil. This is the 20th century. We have put men into space and miles underwater. There is no need to suffer recoil anymore.

If you still want a new rifle I would recommend the 6mm Rem over the 243. It shoots a bit flatter. For range work I would get it in a bull barel and still put a brake on it so you can watch your own hits. Something like that should be able to brain a deer at 300 yards and still have the power to shoot through the vitals at 500 yards.
 
I just solved that dilemma the day after Thanksgiving this year. I shot this 8pt through the heart at 200 yards...needless to say he didn't go far. I was using a 50gr jhp and believe it or not I got a pass through.
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Trigger, if you're not locked in on .243 cal, consider a 7mm-08 with 120 gr Nosler ballistic tips. I have seen this combination kill deer without fail, even the one I liver shot. Also, a 400 lb feral boar hog that ran less than 50 yds after I shot him in the heart with this load. In a 7 1/2 - 8 1/2 lb rifle, recoil is very mild without a muzzle brake, so you don't need earplugs when you're hunting. (use them at the range, though). In a 12 1/2 lb rifle like mine, recoil is so light you can see the hit. At the range, use a Caldwell Lead Sled and shoot all you want to without any discomfort, and when you're hunting, you won't feel recoil anyway.

7mm-08 is the smallest caliber I've ever hunted deer with, but I recommend it without reservation. Can't say that about .22's or 6mm's.

Just my opinion, based on a fair amount of experience.

Good hunting with whatever you decide on, Tom
 
I'm definitely not set on any caliber at this point. What I am set on is picking up a new Browning BLR in the next year or so - I just like the rifle and want one. Thus, trying to select a caliber for it.

I suffered a severe case of viral meningitis back in my college days that left my brain somewhat sensitive to motion and shock, such as muzzle blast. Sometimes even my .243 varmint rifle will give me a headache after only 2 or 3 shots...sometimes I can go all day. I'm looking for something, other than a .22LR, that I can enjoy shooting, reloading for, and hunting with.
 
Sorry to hear that....I know that this will sound wierd but have you tried shooting with your mouth open? Like your'e popping your ears? I can't remember who I heard it from but it might work. If it does work let me know. You might look a little wierd doing it but hey if it keeps you shooting longer I say go for it.
 
Their is alot more that plays into killing a deer than the size of the bullet or how much energy it has , Proper bullet placement has a realy big part as does a reasonable amount of energy but saying that you realy need 1000lbs of energy to cleanly kill deer is totaly ignorant. Hydrostatic shock is the biggest killer when it comes to taking game unless you shoot the spine or brain. If you shoot a 200lb buck at 100yds broad side , centered through the ribs with a 223 factory loaded 64gr Winchester powerpoint , he is gonna die quickly no if and or buts about it , make that same shot on the same animal with a 50BMG and a 671gr FMJ ball round and he will run off likely a pretty good ways despite having several several more TONS more energy , why , bullet performance , the 64 gr powerpoint is going to expand and fragment slowing down very fast leaving most if not all of the energy is makes in the animal , their for you have a perfect Kenitic energy transfer than sends a shockwave through the animal effectivly shutting down its organs and nervous system.
Now the huge 50 cal bullet is generating WAY more energy but the bullet desgine is not going to allow it to deposit hardly any of that energy its just gonna poke a 1/2" hole through him , granted that 99% of the time if you poke a 1/2" hole through both of an animals lugs he is gonna die but he is going to die of suffication which can take several minutes and a deer can go a long **** way in 60 seconds !!!

I have personaly seen several deer shot perfectly with guns ranging from 7mm through 338 win mag but the bullets used were desgined for big game soe the expansion and energy transfer was minimal on the relitivly speeking small deer so that ran a long way before expiring on the same note I've seen deer shot with 80gr soft point bullets out of a 243 not go 20yds after being shot and the bullet rarely exited so all the energy was expended in th animal.

A rounds power and effective killing power are to differant things , with the proper bullets just about all common centerfire rounds will cleanly kill and do so fairly quick , but the same rounds loaded with bullets desgined for massive penitration isin't going to be as effective.

Down here their is alot of good ol boys that think that you have to have a magnum round to kiil deer "waayyy out their" meaning 400yds. I've gotten is argument after argument about the guns I use not being effective , despite taking these guys money on bets that they wittnessed , one being a doe taken at a lasered 618yrds with a factory loaded 308 , a doe taken at around 100yds with a factory loaded 223 round ouit of a 14.5" AR-15 , both cases the deer went less than 40yds. I shot a doe at around 200yds with a hot loaded 22-250 Ackley , a 50gr bullet at over 4000fps behind the shoulder, the deer just fell over like sombody unpluger her never kicked or took another step , in this case the bullet never even made it into the off side lung yet it was completely destroyed as was the heart and neither was ever touched with anthing more than a hydrostatic shock wave.

The same thing goes for people thicking that they have to have big handguns to use for self defense , as long as the bullets were desgined to do the job then the round will work , case in point A walther PPK loaded with a Blue Glaser round will kill a man VERY fast put him down in just 2-3 seconds with a center mass hit yet a man shot 10 times with a 45ACP and 230gr ball rounds in the chest and abdomen was able to run several blocks before dieing , but the 45 ACP is noted as being a "man stopper" and the 380 is a marginal womans gun not even on par with the 22 mag. But the Glaser round was desgined to stop and man ASAP and the ball round from the 45 was not.

so with the proper bullets for the task at hand the 223 will kill deer very well at ranges within reason for this round , say 200yds max. Are their better rounds for the job , yep , would I choose another round if that option is availabe , yes. But if a fella gets a great deel on a H&R handi rilfe in 223 and that is the only thing ha can afford at the time they all he needs to do is get some decient bullets and make decient shots and their will be little to no worries.
 
i use speer 60gr soft points in a 222. its a savage 222/20ga and i keep a slug in the 20. neither barrel is accurate past 80-100 yards so the little 222 gets er done

a 454 may do a better job, but the little 223 will do it too. i wouldnt try for the head shots tho. the small bullet can very easily just bust the jaw or pierce the nasal cavity. the deer will run off looking like it was unhit, and die a very miserable death. ive always thot the head shot was about on par with a hip shot.... it might work, it might not.... i dont like the taste of the critters anyway... if i dont get the good broadside (rifle) or quartering-to (454 or slug) shot, ill just leave it to run by me another day...:)
 
Now that it has started here are some of my thoughts on deposited energy and hydrostatic shock.

They don't matter in the least when dealing with big game animals and typical hunting cartridges.

I would agree that if a chipmunk is struck with a bullet from a 223 Win and the bullet stops in the chipmunk there is some significant effect from deposited energy, similarly we would probably see this with a 5" round hitting a critter the size of a deer or person if the round stopped in the critter. For most big game animals the total energy from the round impact as compared to animal weight produces an insignificant effect, the effect of the wound channel is what is desired.

Hydrostatic shock... I don't know a solid definition of what folks intend by this but I often hear reference to the watermelon or gallon milk jug and the resultant 'explosion' when struck by a fast bullet. The objects most often put forward as examples of hydrostatic shock during discussion I'm familiar with are relatively in-elastic bodies with a high water content (non-compressible material). Animals, for the most part, are not contained within an in-elastic container, skin and tissue stretch to accommodate the passing of the projectile, some damage does remain from the temporary and of course permanent wound channels but there will be no 'explosion' of the beast UNLESS the temporary wound channel exceeds the stretch capacity of the organ, limb or bony structure (cranium in particular). Small rodent shot with high speed projectiles WILL 'explode' because the beast cannot stretch enough to contain the wound channel, a larger game animal will do likewise is struck with a VERY LARGE projectile with a significant impact velocity.
 
22's work fine on deer

I am not totally sure about a 223, but I had a 22-250 AI fast twist built for me and I took four deer with it this year. The longest one was taken at 450 yards with a 75grain vld. I should add that I am up north here and I am mostly hunting deer on snow so I can track the smallest drop of blood if I need to. I had my 300 rum with me in the truck but did not use it. I just Know when I point my 22-250 at something it hits it every time. If you are going to shoot a light gun on deer you need to know your gun and take your time. If I was not shooting on snow I would not shoot my 22-250 out past 200 and I would still be very careful where I put the shot. I took 7 deer in total this year and lost the 8th one it was with my 30-06 on a shoot I should not have taken so a bigger gun is no substitute for good hunting practice.
PS the Berger VLD bullets do a wonderful job as a hunting bullet
 
can't begin to tell how many deer I've took with a 223, used the 64 gr win pp's for awhile, then went with just plain ole' 55 gr sp's, shot placement, common sense and dicepline are the key, take the good old pretty sunday front leg foreward double lung shot, and they sprint 60 yards to a pile-up. sure takes 40 to 50 yrds to pick up a bloodtrail, but they will leave a trail exit or not.
Most of the blood you get from a lung shot deer with small to med calibers is blown from the nose and mouth as the lungs fill with blood. I use to help farmers cull deer from cornfields and my weapon of choice was a rem. 788, 223 with a 4x12x40 on it. doe season I would set up my RRA varminter and never had an ounce of trouble taking deer with the 223's.
There are better choices, as has been said before but the 223 is adequate.
RR
 
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