Speed goat vs .223
- Thread starter riley
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Bambistew
Well-known member
I haven't' used a 223, but killed a number of them with a 22-250. Make sure to use a well constructed bullet and not a varmint type bullet. They are pretty easy to kill and are not big animals.
npaden
Well-known member
I think Barnes makes a TTSX in 62 grains for the .223.
My son has now killed 3 Texas whitetails with a .223 shooting a 55 grain TSX. 2 of them were pretty good sized deer, somewhere between 175 and 200 pounds on the hoof.
I think you need to limit shots to around 200 yards though. At 300 yards your ft/lbs of energy is below 500 with that setup.
My son has now killed 3 Texas whitetails with a .223 shooting a 55 grain TSX. 2 of them were pretty good sized deer, somewhere between 175 and 200 pounds on the hoof.
I think you need to limit shots to around 200 yards though. At 300 yards your ft/lbs of energy is below 500 with that setup.
TXinTN
Member
Here’s my boys lope from last year. He’s a bit noise and recoil shy and didn’t want to shoot my .308. I told him if he wanted to use our ar-15, he would have to get inside 100 yards. Three blown stalks later, we were finally 80yards and perfect broadside. At the shot, the buck ran over the hill. I thought for sure he missed! We walk over to look for blood and nothing. We walk over the hill and he’s dead 60yrds from where he was standing. Perfect heart shot, but not a drop of blood. Hornady 68gr BTHP
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Gunner46
Well-known member
1st thing that popped into my mind was 'Why'?
Unless it's the only weapon you have available, I see no logical reason to attempt to hunt with such a limited cartridge other than "See what I did".
It's just my $0.02, but don't we owe the game we pursue, and all our other brothers afield, the responsibility to use the most practical cartridge available to us ?
Unless it's the only weapon you have available, I see no logical reason to attempt to hunt with such a limited cartridge other than "See what I did".
It's just my $0.02, but don't we owe the game we pursue, and all our other brothers afield, the responsibility to use the most practical cartridge available to us ?
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spinal tap
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A friend of mine hunts whitetail with that 55gr TSX almost exclusively. He's really happy with the performance.
npaden
Well-known member
The reason my son uses the .223 is because it was easy to set up for his length of pull by using an adjustable stock on an AR-15. Because it has almost no recoil (especially with the heavy AR-15 it is coming out of) he is able to practice a lot and be comfortable with it. I feel that he is able to shoot much more accurately with it than he would with a larger bore rifle that doesn't have the correct LOP for him and he would be worried about the recoil on. Of course I am looking to move him up to a 7mm-08 or 6.5 Creed for next year when he turns 12.
It does have limitations though. Even 200 yards is pushing it with kinetic energy dropping very fast after that. 2 of the 3 deer he has killed with it, the bullet didn't make it all the way through the animal. On one it went through the shoulder, blew up the vitals and stopped before even getting into the other shoulder. That was a Hornady soft point. I switched to the Barnes TSX and the last one we recovered made it through the ribs and lodged in the other side before breaking through to the skin. Had to actually cut into the meat just a bit to get the bullet out, it wasn't laying inside the skin like most of the bullets that I've recovered were. That was at 200 yards.
I would agree that if you are a full size able bodied adult there are a lot better choices out there.
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Washington Hunter
Well-known member
Myself and my brother have killed a few antelope with the 223 WSSM, and 64 grain Winchester Power Point bullets. Works great.
Bigjay73
Well-known member
You could replace the barrel with a 6.5 grendel. Not saying a .223 won't do it, but for a few hundred bucks, you could make your AR a lot more potent. 20" barrell will shoot a 120gr bullet around 2500 fps. Good for lopes out to 400 yds.
hsargent21
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Riley....I grew up shooting whitetail in East Texas with a .223. My oldest daughter shot her first 5 whitetail with a 22 hornet with a 40 grain bullet. None went over 75 yds. If you put a 60 grain bullet through the lungs of a antelope it will not go far. I just returned from Wyoming and shot three antelope on the trip. All three could have been easily killed with a .223. I would keep my shots at 200 yds or under and you should be just fine. I think the most important thing is to practice with the rifle you will hunt with and practice a lot. Know what the gun is going to do at a given range under various conditions and you will be successful.
spinal tap
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Just a follow-up note to say that I used the 55gr TSX this weekend on a whitetail doe and was not entirely pleased with it. The bullet did not exit, but blew up inside the chest cavity and made a big mess. I felt lucky to have had a blood trail when I found her, but the internal trauma was enough to leak blood out of the entry wound. Even with massive heart, lung and esophageal damage, the doe ran 30-40 yards. I may give it another try or let my son use it this season, but just wanted to throw my $0.02 of firsthand experience into this thread. YMMV, of course - especially with 60 grains or more. I am likely finished with .223 for deer hunting after this year. Maybe 6.8 SPC? That seems like an interesting cartridge.
A TSX "blew up"?!?
I've shot one doe pronghorn with a 223 with a 55gr PSP. One shot at 170yds and she went less than 30yds. I'd have no problem going after them again with a 223 and I'd lean away from Barnes bullets for it...
I've shot one doe pronghorn with a 223 with a 55gr PSP. One shot at 170yds and she went less than 30yds. I'd have no problem going after them again with a 223 and I'd lean away from Barnes bullets for it...
Rancho Loco
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How was this a problem??
Rancho Loco
Well-known member
If you reload, the 64 gr. Game King is an awesome bullet in the .223
spinal tap
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It didn't exit, I didn't find it and it caused massive trauma internally. Call "blowing up" a figure of speech if you'd rather. The deer was 100% dead, so I can't say the bullet was a failure. I just didn't like it. As I said, YMMV.
p.s. You may also struggle with "100% dead."
Rancho Loco
Well-known member
Holy balls, if blowing up a critter's insides is poor bullet performance, I guess I've been out of the loop.
spinal tap
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I had no heart to grill as a result. Otherwise, your implication that it wasn't a problem is entirely correct. It was graveyard dead as a result of being shot. I simply didn't like the failure to exit and was surprised by all the internal trauma given the distance it traveled. No big deal - I'm just not yet or may never be a .223 55gr Barnes fan for deer hunting.
