whats good to hunt with a .223/5.56?

[SixGunHunter]

If hunting with a .22 family cartridge is legal where you hunt then pick your bullet right.

.270 is a all time favorite of mine. Years ago, I remember hitting a small buck one year. I was using my Brother's .270 Bolt loaded with silver tips.
I lost the entire front shoulder. That bullet blew into fragments that littered the meat. Sure the Buck fell hard, but what about my steaks...what was saved was turned to burger. Never again.
There are many things to take into consideration.

 

[SixGunSam]

+1 for Tallies!

 

[olskool]

i have killed deer with a 22-250 approaching 400 yds. but not often. most shots are 100yds or less. the longest shot i ever made was in 1980 it was across a cut bean field. my daddy was in another cut bean field useing a bounce proof 22 hornet. i heard him shoot about dark then i looked across my field with my 4x scope on my 6mm rem. i saw a deer in the scope, i knew he was a long ways. i had no idea about size and in those days being a 23 years old i was willing to give it a try. now i look at things diffrent, a lot diffrent. we would bust water jugs with those rifles way across a field with a rest and holding the crosswires at the top of the jug. so thats what i did with the deer, i was on the ground and braced against a tree and thouhed it off. a ball fire came out the rifle and i thought i missed, i walked across the field and there was a very dead spike horne buck. the bullet hit the bottom of his heart and came out the other side, another inch or so lower and i would have missed. my load was 100 gr. sierra btsp. with 45 gr. of imr 4350 that was my load for years with that rifle, i went over to my daddy and he had a spike that looked just like mine. his was about a 60 yard shot. the next day i stepped my shot off and it was 488 long steps.

 

[NewFuture2012]

What bullet size are you guys using for coyotes, hogs, deer, etc? For example, I personally wouldn't consider using anything less than a 75 grain bullet for deer. Same for hogs, but with a deep penetrator bullet.

What say you?

 

[olskool]

in my 22-250s i used a 70gr. speer semi point sp. for a long time, they worked very good. but they were not the most accurate bullet. then i found a bullet in my hornady loading manual that was recomended for deer. i think the book was around 1979 it was there 60 gr. flat base hp. it is super accurate and very deadly on deer. these bullets have a thicker jacket according to the 1979 hornady book. i know they work to this day and penetrate good.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

here is another one i killed two years ago i don;t know what he weighed but he was a decent 10 point for my area. he was shot with a 6mm rem. 85gr. sierra hp. no bounce there either. it was a shoulder shot. he fell like a swictch was cut off.

Kinda glad you shot him. From the looks of him, he probably wouldn't have made it through the winter anyway.

 

[rojodiablo]

What bullet size are you guys using for coyotes, hogs, deer, etc? For example, I personally wouldn't consider using anything less than a 75 grain bullet for deer. Same for hogs, but with a deep penetrator bullet.

What say you?

For 'yotes and assorted varmints, the 55 gr. are fine unless you need to buck the wind; if so, a 70 gr would be a bit better. For antelope it's a 90-100 gr. 243. For hogs and deer, I use 165gr. nosler ballistic tips. Unless you use a shoehorn and a hammer, that bullet does not fit in a 223.....!

 

[COL Jagdog]

5.56 mm was designed as a man-stopper, particularly because the round tends to "keyhole" or tumble in people after it strikes, thus dramatically increasing lethality (a product of a high-velocity round weighing 63 gr to 70 gr) -- since Geneva prohibits soft-nose rounds
(all military rounds are FMJ), it effectively sidesteps Geneva. Another consideration was to allow infantry to carry a CBL (combat basic load)
of 300 rounds vs 200 rounds of 7.65 (basic CBL with M-14 -- 10 mags with 20 rounds vs 10 30-rd 5.56 mags).

I've seen a bad guy with an entry wound in his butt and the round ended up traversing up thru his back into his chest -- KIA with 1 round
Ought to stop your average hoodie-wearing burglar when he is trying to jack open your window at home at 3 AM. Would not be my choice for feral hogs but would be for feral people.

 

[rojodiablo]

5.56 mm was designed as a man-stopper, particularly because the round tends to "keyhole" or tumble in people after it strikes, thus dramatically increasing lethality (a product of a high-velocity round weighing 63 gr to 70 gr) -- since Geneva prohibits soft-nose rounds
(all military rounds are FMJ), it effectively sidesteps Geneva. Another consideration was to allow infantry to carry a CBL (combat basic load)
of 300 rounds vs 200 rounds of 7.65 (basic CBL with M-14 -- 10 mags with 20 rounds vs 10 30-rd 5.56 mags).

I've seen a bad guy with an entry wound in his butt and the round ended up traversing up thru his back into his chest -- KIA with 1 round
Ought to stop your average hoodie-wearing burglar when he is trying to jack open your window at home at 3 AM. Would not be my choice for feral hogs but would be for feral people.

Feral people!!!!!! ( The going joke around here is when the bathroom is looking too gamey, and the fridge is a mess, we have 'gone feral')

 

[Ervin]

I have to disagree with a post, I have taken wild hog with a 30-30 on numerous occasions in North Central Ok. one shot one kill. 243 is a phenomenal weapon. 270 it a great weapon but it requires shooting skills because of the projectile speed, it can blow right through a deer and if you dont get a vital spot you just end up with a wounded deer. this is all my opinions after hunting over 40 years with numerous calibers and rifles. Kansas legalized 22-250 for one hunting season. Just like the 270 if you didnt hit the deer just right you ended up with wounded animals, there were way to many wounded animals that died long after they were shot to make it a viable weapon so it was outlawed for the next season and since.

+ 1

I've found this to be true in my Arkansas and east Texas
deer hunting. The .243 is hard to beat - and factor in the
lower recoil - a youth hunter could use it for a lifetime.
My son and I like to have his .243 along with my 30-06
when we deer/hog hunt.
This topic interests me as well, since I am contemplating
using my sport this year in place of my 30-06, as a designated hog slayer. My son's .243 would take all of the
deer shots.