.223/5.56 White Tale Rounds??

[tmulah7]

Are there any that exist? Are they worth it?

 

[whacko]

Are there any that exist? Are they worth it?

Do you mean soft points? Yes they exist...plenty of brands. Are they worth it? I'd never hunt deer with 5.56......so.....youll have to figure that out on your own.

 

[tmulah7]

I really don’t think I would either but I have seen videos of federal MSRs that claim they are good for deer. I was wondering if anyone has tried anything similar or used any that work well. More curious than anything.

 

[Uzi2]

For anything other than a head shot or spinal neck shot, .223 is really not enough gun in my experience.

I know many will disagree, but I've tried it ( behind the shoulder lung shot on a fast walking buck) and had to blood track him several hundred yards into my lower fields.
I won't hunt deer now with anything smaller than .308, 8mm or 12ga shotgun slug.

Sans a heart shot or brain/upper spinal shot you'll likely not drop one dead in their tracks.

 

[tmulah7]

That’s what I figured. Will only put a small hole and you will be tracking for a while. I use a 12ga mostly but want a good deer riffle for NH/MA hunting since I only have an MCX.

 

[JRT]

That’s what I figured. Will only put a small hole and you will be tracking for a while. I use a 12ga mostly but want a good deer riffle for NH/MA hunting since I only have an MCX.

Can you hunt with a rifle in Mass now? I lived there in the early 00 and it was shotty only.

 

[Uzi2]

A 30.30 makes a great deer rifle for most NE woods hunting where visibility is ususally short. Pretty sure MA is shotgun only.

 

[whacko]

Can you hunt with a rifle in Mass now? I lived there in the early 00 and it was shotty only.

Mass is still shotgun and muzzle loader only on deer.

 

[smokey-seven]

Head or neck shot only. 556 HP will make 3" x 6" of cranberry sauce. 223 HP are frangible.

 

[Mudflap621]

That’s what I figured. Will only put a small hole and you will be tracking for a while. I use a 12ga mostly but want a good deer riffle for NH/MA hunting since I only have an MCX.

IMO it’s not a good deer rifle either save your money and buy a bolt or lever gun. For NH that is I wouldn’t try it in MA

 

[one-eyed Jack]

Just get a 6.8 SPC upper for your AR. Jack.

 

[PappyM3]

Don’t have personal experience on deer, but it seems 77gr TMK does a good job. If you want more penetration, there are various solid copper expanding options now.

 

[Mark from MA]

For anything other than a head shot or spinal neck shot, .223 is really not enough gun in my experience.

I know many will disagree, but I've tried it ( behind the shoulder lung shot on a fast walking buck) and had to blood track him several hundred yards into my lower fields.
I won't hunt deer now with anything smaller than .308, 8mm or 12ga shotgun slug.

Sans a heart shot or brain/upper spinal shot you'll likely not drop one dead in their tracks.

A lung shot with a .223 would not be good, small hole, no tracking blood.

Stick to head, shoulder/spine intersection only.

Personally a .243 is the smallest I'd hunt with, and its not that much more of a kick if you use a 100 soft point.

 

[Uzi2]

Don’t have personal experience on deer, but it seems 77gr TMK does a good job. If you want more penetration, there are various solid copper expanding options now.

Penetration really wasn't/isn't the problem, delivery of enough energy from the borderline small projectile was/is. My shot was through and through. 1/4 inch entry, elongated 2" exit. Not sufficient for an adrenaline driven deer in survival mode.

 

[PappyM3]

Penetration really wasn't/isn't the problem, delivery of enough energy from the borderline small projectile was/is. My shot was through and through. 1/4 inch entry, elongated 2" exit. Not sufficient for an adrenaline driven deer in survival mode.

The 77 TMK I mentioned doesn’t have that problem of not delivering the energy. But may have penetration issues with certain angles, hence why I brought up penetration.

 

[tmulah7]

The 77 TMK I mentioned doesn’t have that problem of not delivering the energy. But may have penetration issues with certain angles, hence why I brought up penetration.

View attachment 386228

That looks like it would make a good size hole. Within 100 yards penetration shouldn’t be an issue with the look of those ballistics