Opinions/ideas/bullets!??
Shoot them in the head or get good at tracking. I know a fellow that uses a .204, DRT every time so far. Shoots them in the eyeball.
Mark
Pioneer 222 Sportfish Yamaha F300
Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy but they’re definitely dirty. But, a dog’s got personality. Personality goes a long way.
“Life’s tough…It’s even tougher if you’re stupid” John Wayne
.243 is the smallest recommended caliber for deer in sc (per DNR). if you’re going any smaller than that, i agree with salty.
Being a sniper you should have no problem.
I like the motto of “Go big or go home.” I shoot em with a 7mm Mag. They don’t run–ever.
As long as you shoot them in the head, you will be fine, but deer don’t always tend to stand exactly where you want them, and they tend to move around anyway they like. If you end up shooting one with a 5.56 little 80 grain bullet, be prepared to track a tiny blood trail for a while. The bigger the deer, the more probelms you will have with that small of a round. deer are tougher than the credit we give them sometimes, and it is just not very wise to use a 5.56 on those tough rascals. I would recommend bigger.
2012 Skeeter ZX22 Bay
Yamaha 250 hp SHO
Minnkota Riptide 101
No
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The smallest I would go with is a 243.
WS Tarpon 120
WS Tarpon 100
Heritage Ultralite 9.5
Ghennoe & 6hp Suzuki
Scout 153 & Yamaha 60
quote:
Originally posted by Skeeter22I like the motto of “Go big or go home.” I shoot em with a 7mm Mag. They don’t run–ever.
2012 Skeeter ZX22 Bay
Yamaha 250 hp SHO
Minnkota Riptide 101
Doesn’t matter what normal rifle cartridge we use here in our deer woods, if you don’t put the bullet in the right place they will run. We had a member shoot one with a .300WSM last year, we tracked that deer for 4 hours. I finally put 3 rounds of .40 in his chest. When another member went to grab it, the deer turned its head and tried to bite him. A fourth round finished him off. He shot him through the back ham, took his twig and berries off and part of the other ham. Deer was about 3/4 of a mile from where it was shot.
I’d rather have a smaller cartridge that was accurate and I shot well than a larger one that I didn’t. I do like my 7mmMag but my go to is a 7mm08. I don’t aim at a deer with it, I pick the hair I want to split.
Mark
Pioneer 222 Sportfish Yamaha F300
Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy but they’re definitely dirty. But, a dog’s got personality. Personality goes a long way.
“Life’s tough…It’s even tougher if you’re stupid” John Wayne
Head or neck. Do not bother wounding one with a body shot. A .223 40gr ballistic tip will remove the lid on a deer very effectively 
No ruined meat unless you like eyeballs or brains.
I use a 45-70 for short shots and brush, 280 for open shots. Son uses a 243 and I condider it the smallest caliber for general deer hunting, but I know of many deer dispatched with a 22 hornet.
Hydra-Sports 22 Bay Sport
225 Rude
Barnes bullet, or similar round. High shoulder shot for youths. Head/neck shots for more experienced shooters, no problems.
For the few that I know that do use a .223, it’s always a head shot. It takes a little more patience and restraint to wait for the right shot. I guess kind of like bow hunting but at a distance.
What Saltydog said about accuracy. A miss placed shot with any caliber usually leads to a bad hunt.
What others have said, I shoot a few each year with my ar and always aim for the base of the skull. If you hit em, they don’t run. Either hit or miss, you don’t have to track anything. Hornady vmax55gr.
'06 Mckee Craft
184 Marathon
DF140 Suzuki
I use to use my .223 on deer - 40 gr vmax head shot a one small bucks and a few does head shots. Stopped using it after I head shot a nice 10 pt walking away from me. Deer hit the ground , I got down from the tree and the deer jumped up and stumbled away. 2 weeks later another hunter saw him walk across the same road. I guess if a heavier bullet was used the results would have differed but the gun doesn’t group anything over 45 gr very well.
Key West Stealth
150 V-max
Used a .223 for many years. Since then I’ve had a .270 and a 7mmMag. Killed more with the .223 than I EVER have with the other two combined. Probably because I was more conscious with the shot than with the larger calibers. Never did I aim for, or shoot one in the head or neck. Always a solid shoulder shot.
I never used anything other than a 55gr hollow point.
Ruger Mini-14…it ain’t a long range setup, but it put alot of meat on the ground for me.
.223 Isn’t an ideal round for deer hunting, to small. Its that simple. Shot placement is key with any round but I wouldn’t go smaller than .243 personally. High shoulder shot with a decent caliber rifle equals DRT every time, no need to get fancy. Also, if your going to take a deer’s life take it as quickly and efficiently as possible.
BECAREFUL!!! I would recommend a .243, even then be careful. The blood trail may not be that great. I am a firm believer in a .284(7mm-08) its about the same recoil and much more punch if wanting to shoot small bullets.
Ive rode around with a farmer that shot deer with one. I bet he killed close to 200 last year. However his reasons were that the bullet was cheap and they ran off far enough not to smell when they died. But imo if your planning on recovering the meat I’d go with atlest a 243. So I guess it all depends on whether your trophy hunting or on population control.
That 7MM-08 is one bad mammer jammer. I shoot a .270 for distance and a 30-30 for brush busting, but if were to buy a new weapon it would be the 7MM-08. I had a Weatherby 25-06 way back that was a tight group at 200 yrds with decent knock down. I also had a Weatherby 300Mag that I was too scared to shoot. That thing was a beast. I think I went a little deef from sighting it in.
Sol Mate
Mako 20B
225 Optimax
No
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quote:
Originally posted by tree_my_dogIve rode around with a farmer that shot deer with one. I bet he killed close to 200 last year. However his reasons were that the bullet was cheap and they ran off far enough not to smell when they died. But imo if your planning on recovering the meat I’d go with atlest a 243. So I guess it all depends on whether your trophy hunting or on population control.
That farmer is a piss poor shot.