.223?

[tasaman]

Only thing I can add is when my boys want to shoot the prefer to grab the .223 over several other calibers. We've only shot 2 deer with the .223. Both went about 40 yards and fell over dead. I would not hesitate to let a youngun that has demonstrated he can shoot to take one with a .223 loaded with appropriate ammo. BTW varmint bullets in the .223 turn the insides into soup as good as any I've seen.

 

[mike243]

Yep the normal 100g in a 243 turn them into liquid also but the high dollar bullets pass thru and i get runners not far but more than i like

 

[TN Larry]

.223 is not my preference, but the AR is the only gun that my 6 yo daughter could shoot last year due to the length of pull, and she wanted to go. She proved worthy of making good shots so we headed out with the Caldwell field pod.

Her and my 9 yo son killed a doe the same morning with the same gun. The deer turned on her as she shot and she hit it in the ham. It demolished the ham and turned it to mush. Luckily it hit the artery, and the deer didn't go far. This was about a 75 yard shot. 2 more came through a few minutes later, and my son wanted to try the AR on one as well instead of his 7mm-08. It was about a 90 yard broad side shot. The deer jumped as high in the air as I have ever seen one and rocketed towards us as it made it about 50 yards coming straight towards and then turned and fell. I could see the blood pumping out of it.

We were shooting 62 grain Federal Fusion. Again, they are not my preferred round, but I wouldn't hesitate to let them use it again and didn't have a problem using them either after seeing what they would do based on some of the reading that I had done here.

My daughter should be big enough this year to use a youth model 30/30 with a red dot that my son killed his first 7 deer with. The red dot is awesome for a kid having a hard time finding a deer in the scope. He has gotten older and moved on to a scope with no problems, but my daughter like to have never found the deer in the scope on the AR with it standing in the middle of a wide open field. We had practiced as well at home and in the field with no problems. A cat came through the morning before in the same spot as the deer, and she got right on it. (We didn't shoot it by the way. I just wanted to see if she could get on something that small and moving. We did see it a hunt before, and she asked if she could shoot it. :super: I didn't let her but was surprised that she would even consider.)

If it's the only gun that they can use due to recoil, LOP, etc., I wouldn't hesitate with the right round and good practice with the kid.

 

[Hunter 257W]

Only thing I can add is when my boys want to shoot the prefer to grab the .223 over several other calibers. We've only shot 2 deer with the .223. Both went about 40 yards and fell over dead. I would not hesitate to let a youngun that has demonstrated he can shoot to take one with a .223 loaded with appropriate ammo. BTW varmint bullets in the .223 turn the insides into soup as good as any I've seen.

I agree provided the words I edited to RED are followed. Of course varmint bullets will churn up a deer's insides like a blender with a broadside hit that only has to punch through a rib before it explodes. But try using them on a deer that is going away from you with a steep raking shot and you are highly likely to wound the deer and never recover it or at the very least cause a lot of unnecessary suffering. When the 220 Swift came out in the 1930's people then had never seen anything like it and when a few hunters tried it on big game and got instant kills the news spread like wildfire that such high velocity would allow the tiny 48 grain bullet to kill any animal. And a lot of them got away with using it on real big game - not just deer. But then the reports of horrible wounded animals started coming in and soon they found out that while the good results were spectacular, the failures were equally spectacular. Thanks to bullet developments we now have 224 bullets that can kill deer reliably so there is no need to try varmint bullets for a job they were never intended to accomplish.

 

[Grill-n-man]

The 223 will work and work just fine especially with the advancement in today's bullet designs . Are there more powerful out there sure but aint nothing wrong with the 223. Bullet placement is no more important with a 223 than with a 300 win mag.
Now here comes the butt hurt part, Saying that one needs a more powerful caliber because of bad shots is as poor and pathetic excuse for bad marksmanship and taking a shot outside ones skill level as I have ever heard. Regardless of what caliber one uses taking a shot on an animal outside ones skill level knowing its probably going to result in bad shot placement is the shooters fault NOT the caliber. If you take a kid hunting knowing that they are not able to make a good shot on a moving animal or even one standing broadside at 70yds knowing that is probably going to end in a bad shot then that is the your fault not the kid nor caliber. Our responsibility as hunters is to kill with as clean and painless shot as we can. And yes even animals shot with 300 win mags and even bigger have been lost to bad shot placement, but it wasnt the calibers fault it was the shooters.
So in short the 223 is a fine caliber for Tennessee deer and the low recoil is a good gun for children especially small sized ones, but dont overlook a 243 or 7mm-08

 

[infoman jr.]

Bullet placement is no more important with a 223 than with a 300 win mag.

lol

 

[ewc]

I have taken about 10 deer with a .223 from 35 yards to 550 yards.

The only deer that did not bang/flop/dead right there was the 35 yard shot (165# dressed 8 point)

He was dead and didn't know it. Second shot flipped him head over hoof. Funny actually.

Anyone that thinks 223 will not work has not worked on game with one.

It's NUTS to think a 300 win mag will kill better.

These discussions go on and on. No one wins, because 50% of us are wrong - myself included.

Good luck guys-

 

[TresMon]

I'm 9 shots for 9 dead deer.(AR) Furthest one went 27 yards from where it was shot. Longest range was was 413 Lasered yards.
.223 with the right bullet is plenty for TN White tail. I use Sierra's 65 grain Game King Bullet.Which they developed for Kangaroos.

But then I can shoot. And so can kids...that is with the lesser report and non existent recoil of a .223- it set's them up for success.

 

[Powerstroke]

Without a doubt a 223 will kill a whitetail , but so will a 22 cal. With proper shot placement.So that being said a little practice goes a long ways and a lot of practice goes even further. My 12yr old daughter uses a savage 243 and has killed several deer in the past 3yrs but I have a Ruger 10/22 with a standard 3x9x40 scope that I let my daughter practice with majority of the time to learn good form especially trigger pull which I think is 80% of good shooting , then cut her loose at 125-150 yds with her 243 on a Cardwells lead sled , but the majority of the deer she has killed has been less than 50yds so it feels like a chip shot for her when the the time comes . So PRACTICE,PRACTICE,PRACTICE and yes the 223 will work just fine ....

 

[recurve60#]

I can't bash the .223. It's obviously effective. When my son was young and flinch prone, after much thought, I bought him a Rem .260 in the Model 7. What an awesome gun!
It's super short, light and with a 140gr bullet is just sweet to shoot. Recoil was not a factor for him with this gun and it's suitable for any big game. That was 20yrs ago and he has not outgrown it.

 

[260rem]

yes a .223 will kill but I likr a 300aavblac lout 125g nos .ab very low recoil

 

[Stingray]

Teach the kids how to shoot, they'll grow up and appreciate the skills you taught them, chances are they will never fall into the magnum craze.

 

[oldmanelrod]

I won't let my kids shoot one. It's not whether or not they will kill. It's been proven they will. The issue I have is deer tend to move a little. The kids will get excited. And odds are they won't get the perfect shot. Even if the deer cooperates the kid may yank the trigger. I have no desire to track a wounded deer with the potential of little to no blood trail. The margin of error just isn't there

You got that right.