223 ammo for the wife

[camoman83]

Ok I have Stevens 223 rifle with a 1 in 9 twist was thinkig of what ammo i shood get for her to shoot deer with she will not be shooting bast 100 yrds the the weight of most deer in the are are maxing at 115 so what bullet would yall suggest. I have read and been told several things about teh rifle rate being to fast or to slow I am open
Matt

[sinman]

55gr Sierra game kings will work great for here, neck shots are great too

[1Shot]

...65gr Sierra game kings will have more thump... ;)..If you don't reload..Federal has some Power -Shok rounds in 64grs....

[laportecharlie]

+ 1 on the 65 gr Gamekings. Very accurate in my 1-9 twist Savages.
Charlie

[LHitchcox]

Factory or handload? With that twist I would load a Barnes 62 grain TSX or Nosler 60 gr. Partition. Factory load would probably Winchester 64 gr. Powerpoint.

[tiny68]

Put together a 223 for my 9 yr old a couple of years ago. Went with the 65 gr Game King. Much crap from a few of you guys. Bang.... flop. Worked as good as a 30-06 with his shoot placement. When load was 26.0 gr of Varget in LC brass with CCI primers at 0.010" off the lands. It was sub-MOA at 100 yds with the little take-off sporter barrel we got. When my youngest hunts next year, he will get the same barrel and loads. Recoil is minimal. Luck, Tim

FYI - The oldest is 11 yr old this year and he is shooting a 308 with 125 Nosler BT Hunting bullets. Using the youth loads from the Hodgdon site they made a great low recoil load for the 308. However, after letting him shot 100 rounds with a 12 ga at trap one night a week for a few months, recoil isn't much a concern anymore. Shooting trap is a great way to break someone that is sensitive.

Luck, Tim

[Altair]

Factory or handload? With that twist I would load a Barnes 62 grain TSX or Nosler 60 gr. Partition. Factory load would probably Winchester 64 gr. Powerpoint.


The 62gr TSX requires a 1:9 twist according to Barnes. They shoot fine in all my 1:9 AR's. The TSX is an exceptional hunting bullet and is what I would recommend in any light caliber. They like velocity so if you can't load to 5.56 pressure you might consider the 55gr TSX. They have great reviews from those that have hunted with them despite the lighter bullet. Since the TSX won't come apart (almost always 100% weight retention with very reliable expansion) either should work well on deer sized game.

I can't speak from personal experience as I'm not allowed to hunt with a rifle in my area unless it is pistol caliber (.357" or larger), however, I've done alot of research on the Barnes bullets and they perform very well in small fast calibers including .223

[lal357]

i might have to try those barnes myself i've been thinking about hunting with my ar this year keeping shots either head or neck only .while ya'll are talking .223 what about a hog bullet i know mine likes to shoot 75gr hpbt target loads well.

[Altair]

i might have to try those barnes myself i've been thinking about hunting with my ar this year keeping shots either head or neck only .while ya'll are talking .223 what about a hog bullet i know mine likes to shoot 75gr hpbt target loads well.


I've never hunted hogs myself but hope to some day. It is my understanding they are tough bastards for their size and require a strong bullet to prevent the bullet from coming apart and not making it to the vitals. For that reason I would again think the Barnes would be about ideal.

The 6.8 SPC is catching on with hog hunters and they love the 85gr TSX and the 95gr TTSX .277 bullets. In .223 I'd probably stick with a 62gr or 70gr TSX for hogs to make sure I had sufficient penetration. If you go 70gr make sure you have a 1:8 twist or faster, the 62gr will stabilize fine in a 1:9.

[Captain Finlander]

Inside 100 yards any of the 55 grain or heavier bullets will perform similarly. The Barnes TSX would be my choice in a 223.

[stormspotter]

Yesterday I got a nice 8 point buck with my 223 Remington. I handload Sierra 65 gr. Gamekings over 25.8 grains of BL-C(2) and took him at 80 yards with a shot to the base of his neck. While I know many will say the 223 is not a deer cartridge, he dropped in his tracks and never got up. This is the fourth one I have taken with a 223 and none has ever taken a step.

Here is a link to sierras loading info.

http://accurateshooter.net/Downloads/sierra223rembolt.pdf