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223 bullet for deer and/or pig
- Thread starter kcub
- Start date
Txhillbilly
New member
While not the ideal cartridge for either animals,I use a 65 grain Sierra Gameking and 70 grain Speer Soft Point.But you will have to handload both of those bullets,I've never seen them in factory ammo.
The Winchester 64 grain Power Point is said to be good ammo,but I've never had any luck getting that bullet to shoot good with any powder that I've tried with them. I've never bought any of the factory ammo.
The Winchester 64 grain Power Point is said to be good ammo,but I've never had any luck getting that bullet to shoot good with any powder that I've tried with them. I've never bought any of the factory ammo.
bamaranger
New member
Nosler Partition
Have you checked on line? I'd be surprised if a box or two couldn't be located somewhere.
I have a couple boxes of slugs (60 gr Partitions) left over from the brief era when Bamaboy took a .223 bolt rifle after deer. We ended up using a Federal Bonded number, and moved to a bigger rifle pretty quickly.
I still have some 60 gr Partitions in 22-250 cases, but accuracy was not all that hot, never did take a deer with that combo. No shots.
Have you checked on line? I'd be surprised if a box or two couldn't be located somewhere.
I have a couple boxes of slugs (60 gr Partitions) left over from the brief era when Bamaboy took a .223 bolt rifle after deer. We ended up using a Federal Bonded number, and moved to a bigger rifle pretty quickly.
I still have some 60 gr Partitions in 22-250 cases, but accuracy was not all that hot, never did take a deer with that combo. No shots.
HALLAUSTIN
New member
Fusion 62gr soft point, hornady gmx, winchester PP
Roadkill2228
New member
where I live the legal minimum caliber for hunting big game is .243 winchester and I'm 100 percent in favor of such a ruling, that game may be taken humanely. That being said, feral hogs around here are not considered big game in the sporting sense, they're pests and their eradication is encouraged by any means necessary so I dont think there'd be any trouble with using .223 for that if you didn't have something more appropriate at your disposal.
Are you a handloader or are you limited to factory ammo? Factory ammo wise, there are several options available with tough, expanding monometal bullets, such as winchester razorback xt, remington hog hammer, hornady full boar ammunition, and barnes vor-tx ammunition. All of the above should be great for your purposes.
If using these monometal bullets I'd suggest deliberately shooting for the front shoulder. These bullets will have absolutely no problems with insufficient penetration even out of .223, and so you'll want to inflict as much incapacitating trauma as possible and I suspect the conventional wisdom of going for a no-bones double lung shot when using underpowered cartridges will only result in an unnecessarily slow kill in this case because with the .22 centerfires (and even the .24s) you basically have to choose between broad wounding or deep penetration, but it's hard to have both, you've only got so much bullet to work with.
If you roll your own, I would look long and hard at the 75 grain Swift Scirocco II, b.c. over .4 and tough bonded core construction combined with the ability to open up at low impact velocities while hanging together at high ones and a higher s.d. than most .223 caliber hunting bullets.
Good luck and happy hunting.
Are you a handloader or are you limited to factory ammo? Factory ammo wise, there are several options available with tough, expanding monometal bullets, such as winchester razorback xt, remington hog hammer, hornady full boar ammunition, and barnes vor-tx ammunition. All of the above should be great for your purposes.
If using these monometal bullets I'd suggest deliberately shooting for the front shoulder. These bullets will have absolutely no problems with insufficient penetration even out of .223, and so you'll want to inflict as much incapacitating trauma as possible and I suspect the conventional wisdom of going for a no-bones double lung shot when using underpowered cartridges will only result in an unnecessarily slow kill in this case because with the .22 centerfires (and even the .24s) you basically have to choose between broad wounding or deep penetration, but it's hard to have both, you've only got so much bullet to work with.
If you roll your own, I would look long and hard at the 75 grain Swift Scirocco II, b.c. over .4 and tough bonded core construction combined with the ability to open up at low impact velocities while hanging together at high ones and a higher s.d. than most .223 caliber hunting bullets.
Good luck and happy hunting.
I can tell you from daughter's experiences 55 grain Barnes TSX stops deer quickly. However, my daughter has since moved onto 125 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips for deer in the .300 Savage. She will tell you that it kills them quicker than the .223.
Unlicensed Dremel
Moderator
I've shot many a hog with fmj 223's and they drop on the spot
I don't doubt you, but it's still not a good idea to promote FMJs for hunting - a poor choice indeed. Perhaps the reason you had to track them so far with your lung shot which wasn't your ideal placement you describe is because you were using FMJs.
Buzzard Bait
New member
speer 70gr .224
Look at the speer 70gr 22cal.bullet. Used them when my daughter was young accuracy was not great because the rifle we used them in did not have quick enough rifling twist, but two young girls killed three large south Texas white tails one shoot kills all, all the shoots were about 75 yards or so bullets were under the skin on the far side.
bb
Look at the speer 70gr 22cal.bullet. Used them when my daughter was young accuracy was not great because the rifle we used them in did not have quick enough rifling twist, but two young girls killed three large south Texas white tails one shoot kills all, all the shoots were about 75 yards or so bullets were under the skin on the far side.
bb
I don't doubt you, but it's still not a good idea to promote FMJs for hunting - a poor choice indeed. Perhaps the reason you had to track them so far with your lung shot which wasn't your ideal placement you describe is because you were using FMJs.
US military 5.56 mm full metal jacket ammuntion is fine hog killers. i've killed dozens of wild hogs using the M193 5.56mm round. Never had one get away wounded.
http://the-puzzle-palace.com/files/military_bullet_wound_patterns.html
At ranges to about 150 yards when fired from a 20" or longer barrel the bullet penetrates 4-6", yaws and fragments if the bullet does not hit bone.
Old Stony is right. Regardless what kind of bullet you use; sometimes hogs, especially large hogs, will run a long ways after being double lunged. i've seen them go over 200 yards when hit in both lungs by 180 grain bullets fired from .30-06 and .300 Win Mag.
Dremel....I don't recommend fmj's for a hunting bullet, just stated that with the right placement, they work on hogs just fine. I've shot hogs with all kinds of calibers and bullets, and a lung shot on one with a 45/70 soft point still can relate to a long tracking session. I am currently using a .308 caliber loaded with Noslers for my rifle using night vision, and it doesn't drop them any faster or better than the shoulder shot with my .223 fmj's through the shoulder.
I seriously doubt there are a lot of folks out there that have shot more feral hogs than I have, and I have experimented with a lot of bullet/caliber combos.
I seriously doubt there are a lot of folks out there that have shot more feral hogs than I have, and I have experimented with a lot of bullet/caliber combos.
My Rem R-15 seems to like the TSX Barnes well enough, (55 grain TSX and 1:9 twist rate) won't win any competitions with it, but sure kills deer just fine.
Edited to add: I should have said mine are handloads. I think the original batch was with BL (C) 2 and the next will be with H335. Normally into 1.5 inches at 100 from a bench as long as I don't get twitchy.
Edited to add: I should have said mine are handloads. I think the original batch was with BL (C) 2 and the next will be with H335. Normally into 1.5 inches at 100 from a bench as long as I don't get twitchy.
Last edited:
reynolds357
New member
Kcub, I have never experienced acceptable accuracy with any rifle ammo that Remington made.
For those worried that 5.56 isn't enough - I built a 10.5" AR pistol specifically for the purpose.
It carries 1,000 foot pounds out to 85 yards with most ammo. I have 68 gr up for it in hunting tips. Application is the key item - no, it's not a long range bean field shooter, it's dense woods on the ridgetops and down in the draws thick with brush. There are open spaces, yes.
I sat down and plotted the kills I was aware of on the site over 40 years and the majority were all under 85 meters with any weapon being possible. The "minimum ethical" cartridge actually has a pretty low threshold - and shot placement is key. I've hit them with .30-06 and lost them to another hunter who put 6 rounds of x39 into them. I've seen the results of .22-250 which didn't kill one shot at 10 yards - left it standing mostly disemboweled. The other deer was it's mother cleanly taken down with .30 Carbine armor piercing. Both were shot because we pushed them along a ridgetop into other hunters we had no idea were there. Our shooters were just beyond them. It gets like that on public land. You can see a lot of great calibers do poorly, and even illegal cartridges can bring down game.
Not to forget plenty of hunters go out with handguns only, and often states allow down to 9mm as long as its not FMJ. I would suggest that 5.56 is more ethical than most handgun ammo, and certainly can do the job.
It's not for the guy who never shoots long distance but thinks he can hit a deer 200 yards away, moving thru the trees. I hear them cranking their bolt actions until they are empty every year. Big calibers mean nothing if you don't have shot placement.
It carries 1,000 foot pounds out to 85 yards with most ammo. I have 68 gr up for it in hunting tips. Application is the key item - no, it's not a long range bean field shooter, it's dense woods on the ridgetops and down in the draws thick with brush. There are open spaces, yes.
I sat down and plotted the kills I was aware of on the site over 40 years and the majority were all under 85 meters with any weapon being possible. The "minimum ethical" cartridge actually has a pretty low threshold - and shot placement is key. I've hit them with .30-06 and lost them to another hunter who put 6 rounds of x39 into them. I've seen the results of .22-250 which didn't kill one shot at 10 yards - left it standing mostly disemboweled. The other deer was it's mother cleanly taken down with .30 Carbine armor piercing. Both were shot because we pushed them along a ridgetop into other hunters we had no idea were there. Our shooters were just beyond them. It gets like that on public land. You can see a lot of great calibers do poorly, and even illegal cartridges can bring down game.
Not to forget plenty of hunters go out with handguns only, and often states allow down to 9mm as long as its not FMJ. I would suggest that 5.56 is more ethical than most handgun ammo, and certainly can do the job.
It's not for the guy who never shoots long distance but thinks he can hit a deer 200 yards away, moving thru the trees. I hear them cranking their bolt actions until they are empty every year. Big calibers mean nothing if you don't have shot placement.
To some up years of debate; you got to be able to shoot. If you can shoot any caliber will work if you stay within practical range limitations.
I tried many many. calibers for pig... I settled on .223 and used it ever since. I lost one pig. Found it the next day. Turns out it only went ten yards and I walked right past it in the dark.
I trapped lots of pigs as well, these made good testing subjects for various firearms. I could make clean daylight shots at a realistic distance to see what happened. I used .223, up to 303brit and 308. Pistol calibers from 9mm-45acp and 45lc buffalo bore. Shotgun 00, and slug.
.223 always did the job the fastest.
Shots to neck with .223 always dropped them in place. The neck happens to be a large target on pigs
I tried many many. calibers for pig... I settled on .223 and used it ever since. I lost one pig. Found it the next day. Turns out it only went ten yards and I walked right past it in the dark.
I trapped lots of pigs as well, these made good testing subjects for various firearms. I could make clean daylight shots at a realistic distance to see what happened. I used .223, up to 303brit and 308. Pistol calibers from 9mm-45acp and 45lc buffalo bore. Shotgun 00, and slug.
.223 always did the job the fastest.
Shots to neck with .223 always dropped them in place. The neck happens to be a large target on pigs