How far can I use my .223 Savage one in nine twist to shoot?

[Wizard of Oz]

Hi everyone, I have a .223 1/9 twist Model 114, I bought it for feral animla control, mainly Foxes cats and dogs, however, recently Deer have been invading my area, (in Australia) Fallow, Sika and Red, My question is at what range can I reasonably expect to be able to take down one of these with my .223?. I am more at home shooting varmit style, I've shot pigs and goats successfully with this calibre, but never a Deer. I reload and I am an experenced hunter...would 69gr, Bergers do the trick or should I stick with my 64gr Nosler bonded's ?. Cheers from Oz and Best wishes for 2017

 

[FEENIX]

Hi everyone, I have a .223 1/9 twist Model 114, I bought it for feral animla control, mainly Foxes cats and dogs, however, recently Deer have been invading my area, (in Australia) Fallow, Sika and Red, My question is at what range can I reasonably expect to be able to take down one of these with my .223?. I am more at home shooting varmit style, I've shot pigs and goats successfully with this calibre, but never a Deer. I reload and I am an experenced hunter...would 69gr, Bergers do the trick or should I stick with my 64gr Nosler bonded's ?. Cheers from Oz and Best wishes for 2017

Welcome to LRH and enjoy!

"MY" unwritten rule is 1000 FT-LBS of energy for a deer size game and 1500 FT-LBS for elk size game at point of impact, but that's just me. As you already know, shot placement is still the key.

Good luck!

 

[Black67]

For the 223 and deer sized game, about 100 yards should be max. I have hunted deer with the 223 in the eastern US, and past 100 yards it was iffy on a good shot. I also follow Feenix's idea on energy of the bullet at impact. That is part of the reason for the 100 yard max shots.

At the time, we liked the Sierra 69 gr bthp for how they dropped whitetail deer.

If I was using a 223 today, I would try a Nosler 60gr Partition, Barnes 62gr TTSX, or the Barnes 70gr TSX. The Nosler 64gr bonded should work too, if they stay together.

I am not sure of the Berger's, as I have never tried them in any caliber. I have used the Partition's and Barnes in the past with good results in other calibers.

Also see what your gun likes, if it can't shoot them good, it would be too iffy for me.

 

[Longrang3r]

. As you already know, shot placement is still the key.

This exactly. Shot placement is everything.

 

[Wizard of Oz]

Thanks Fennix, that sounds like a good general rule to apply, easy to remember too. Any ideas on shot placement?, I generally shoot Foxes, cats and dogs in the head, but deer????, neck, heart and lung?. They can't run too far or out of sight as they're hanging around an orchard.

 

[Wizard of Oz]

Thanks Black67, I'm consistantly getting around .7 moa for my 64gr Noslers, still working on the loads for the 69 gr HPBT' s. Haven't tried the Barnes copper things yet as I have a stockpile of Z Max ( 50gr x 2500) Berger 69gr x 300, and 400 of those Nosler 64gr bonded's........ I've gotta stop buying stuff when it's on sale!. Cheers and thanks

 

[PGJPJ]

I'd probably stick with the 64 grain Nosler Bonded bullets, if they are shooting well for you. Only because you are going to need all the penetration you can get on deer size game with the 223. Barns bullets will also work well, so would the 60 grain Nos Partitions. But since you already have the 64 grain'ers...

I've never gone for anything but a heart/lung shot on deer. Just because it's a bigger target.

 

[Wizard of Oz]

I'd probably stick with the 64 grain Nosler Bonded bullets, if they are shooting well for you. Only because you are going to need all the penetration you can get on deer size game with the 223. Barns bullets will also work well, so would the 60 grain Nos Partitions. But since you already have the 64 grain'ers...

I've never gone for anything but a heart/lung shot on deer. Just because it's a bigger target.

Thanks PGJPJ, these Deer are about three of four times the weight of our feral goats so I'll take your advice as well as the others advice about keeping the range under 100yrds. Cheers to you all.

 

[FEENIX]

Thanks Fennix, that sounds like a good general rule to apply, easy to remember too. Any ideas on shot placement?, I generally shoot Foxes, cats and dogs in the head, but deer????, neck, heart and lung?. They can't run too far or out of sight as they're hanging around an orchard.

I've never gone for anything but a heart/lung shot on deer. Just because it's a bigger target.

Heart/shot vital zone is also my preferred target area.

 

[COBigJohn]

I shoot a Savage Model 12 in .223 with the 1:9 twist and after reloading many, many bullets for this gun, it absolutely loves the Sierra Match King 69's. If I go any longer or heavier with a bullet, the groups start to spray. On a calm day, I can get 0.25 MOA with this gun and bullet combo. I would love to shoot the longest and heaviest bullets, but I would have to switch barrels to a 1:7 twist or so.

So.....I would hope that you can get the 69 gr hunting bullets to stabilize and group nicely as well in your 1:9 twist barrel.

 

[BergerFan222]

Most guys should start out limiting their range to 100 yards.

At some point, experience hunting, confident shot placement, good load development and bullet selection might stretch the distance to 200 yards.

But if a bigger rifle is available, I would prefer to bring it if shooting past 100 yards.

 

[Kansaswoodguy]

Poachers use the 22lr to take countless deer it has less than 200ftlbs at the muzzle. I think shot placement is way more important than ftlbs. I don't think the 1000ftlb suggestion is a bad one it may keep relatively inexperienced hunters from taking unethical shots beyond their ability. Most handgun hunters however would laugh at the 1000ftlb's as some handgun rounds used for hunting struggle to get that at the muzzle and even some muzzle loaders would be hard pressed to pull it off. I don't think that 22lr in ethical by any means but I also don't feel 1000ftlbs is set in stone perhaps 500ftlb is a more practical benchmark.

 

[FEENIX]

Poachers use the 22lr to take countless deer it has less than 200ftlbs at the muzzle. I think shot placement is way more important than ftlbs. I don't think the 1000ftlb suggestion is a bad one it may keep relatively inexperienced hunters from taking unethical shots beyond their ability. Most handgun hunters however would laugh at the 1000ftlb's as some handgun rounds used for hunting struggle to get that at the muzzle and even some muzzle loaders would be hard pressed to pull it off. I don't think that 22lr in ethical by any means but I also don't feel 1000ftlbs is set in stone perhaps 500ftlb is a more practical benchmark.

Since I am the one that started the 1000 FT-LBS of energy as noted and properly highlighted ...

"MY" unwritten rule is 1000 FT-LBS of energy for a deer size game and 1500 FT-LBS for elk size game at point of impact, but that's just me. As you already know, shot placement is still the key.

If anyone wants to established their own benchmark or rule, by all means do so. I'd rather set a higher energy level than under cut it. It's "MY" self-imposed rule and ethical standards to humanely harvest a game. I also set a max range for me in harvesting a game to 1000 yards at this time. My farthest harvest was 931 yards on a MT bull elk. Yes, nothing is set in stone!

The same is true for me in bowhunting; I practice up to 30/65 yards but try to keep the distance to 30/35 yards on game because of KE at POI.

Cheers!

 

[Kansaswoodguy]

FEENIX

I meant no disrespect to you in my post. I'm simply trying to expand the conversation to what might actually be a good loosely held benchmark for most hunters. I can with 223 place with good precision first round hits at 400yards and even 600yards with 75gr bullets. The US Army says max effective range for 5.56 NATO is in the 600yard range. Using 500ftlb would but my max range for 223 at around 300yds with the 55gr bullets I hunt with. If the OP is very proficient with his chosen weapon system I don't think 300yds is out of the question. Conversations about what we each have chosen as our max effective range always seam to get a little heated. I was simply trying to give the OP more information to base his personnel decision of max range on. What might actually be a better benchmark is at what vilosity your chosen bullet reliably opens to cause max hydrolic shock to the surrounding tissue. I sometimes wish bullet manufactures would list this speed as normal info with BC and SD ect..