.223 for bear, mountain goat, deer, elk, and moose.

ORJoe

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Nov 8, 2021
Messages
180
Location
Southern Oregon
Somebody around Page 140 said "No cheat sheet" but I say "Yes cheat sheet"


Page 1 thru 10: Lot of arguing, couple of pictures. Some urban legend type of stuff, I can see why somebody would abandon thread because it looks like it's going to be another 160 pages of memes and shitposts

Page 10 thru 40 though, it gets interesting with lots of pictures of dead things
Form kill pics
Many pics, pic, pic, pic, Moose scapula, 4 elk

PNWGator:
OP's wife shot a moose
A frigin moose, holy shit
I mean, if a chick can do it...

Other posters kill pics
62gr TSX, deer
75gr Gold Dot, deer
antelope
62 TSX, deer
antelope
deer
deer gold dots
More damage from 223 (pictured) than 300RUM (not pictured)

After around page 40 the pictures of dead things slowed down.

A hunting season starts around page 60, pics roll in
deer
pic
Form, multiple deer
deer
deer
deer
deer
deer
deer
deer
Form, elk, 18" AR
deer
deer
deer

Pages 70 to 100ish lots of loading, rifle set up and complaining about component availability

Another year of hunting season starts, 104 thru 124 or so
deer
deer
elk
elk, 22Creed
same elk, 22 creed
antelope lookin thing, 330m, 22-250
elk, 22-250, 270yd
Another friggen moose, 223
bear and moose (same moose?)
deer(?) 393 yards
deer
deer
deer

125 to 131 or so, lot of rifle talk.

multiple elk, all 223 77TMK
deer(?)
elk (over 800 yards?)
elk (maybe same elk?)
deer
deer
bunch of deer

Page 144ish, complaining about availability continues
Nothing huge since then

I read the thread pretty thoroughly on the first go around, but skimmed on putting together this cheat sheet.
There are pictures scattered in everywhere, but after a while I only grabbed the ones that caught my attention with either exploded insides, long range, or being elk or moose. Skipped the coyotes because nobody really doubts that .223 is a coyote gun. Same with the hogs.
So if I missed your picture, no offense intended. If I linked your picture and got something wrong, let me know. It's not always easy for me to tell what animal I'm looking at with just a picture of the inside.

But you never post pics of the ones that got away!
Near the start of the thread, .30 caliber, it "got away"

==================
October 2023 Edit:
Not a lot between this page and page 230

Those are all cow elk! Why come nobody shoots a bull with one, huh?
Bull Elk
Bull Elk
Cow and Bull Elk
22 Creedmagnum Bull Elk
Page 255 bull elk

I was going to wait for the end of the hunting season for the update, but they're knocking these bulls down like dominoes!

Bear with an ultralight AR, lots of inside pics - And the parts list on that AR
Deer, messy insides
Another one of those French Mountain Antelopes
Moose
A few deer on Page 247
Mountain goat and a deer below that
More deer on 258 and 259
Wound pics on deer from both 300 Win Mag and 223 77gr TMK
Bear

Character limit reached for this message, LOL.
Part 2
 
Last edited:
Joined
Dec 16, 2020
Messages
774
Location
Idaho
There’s a guy on YouTube I found awhile back that does this kind of testing. Shoots the same bullets at a few different velocities into gel. Pretty interesting. I’ll see if I can find the channel.


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Simplemindedfella

Great content IMO, looks like he has put a lot of time and money into the gel testing.

I believe he tests (and hunts with) mostly 30 cal projectiles. He did test the 77tmk in one video (last year I believe??), and got good expansion at about 1650fps, but not good expansion at about 1250fps (paraphrasing his analysis).

About the 77tmk, he said (quote):
"These are a very thin jacketed bullet not necessarily designed for hunting but could apply in the right situation and they come apart and dump a lot of energy very quickly at the higher velocity... I know a few people that love the 223 rem for antelope, personally I only use them for varmints"

A year or so before he also tested the 168 tmk if I recall correctly, and got good results above 1700fps, but I don't believe he tested between 1200 and 1700fps. I could be wrong though.

But I haven't seen all if his videos, so there might be more out there that I'm not aware of.
 

ElPollo

WKR
Joined
Aug 31, 2018
Messages
1,601
Somebody around Page 140 said "No cheat sheet" but I say "Yes cheat sheet"


Page 1 thru 10: Lot of arguing, couple of pictures. Some urban legend type of stuff, I can see why somebody would abandon thread because it looks like it's going to be another 160 pages of memes and shitposts

Page 10 thru 40 though, it gets interesting with lots of pictures of dead things
Form kill pics
Many pics, pic, pic, pic, Moose scapula, 4 elk

PNWGator:
OP's wife shot a moose
A frigin moose, holy shit
I mean, if a chick can do it...

Other posters kill pics
62gr TSX, deer
75gr Gold Dot, deer
antelope
62 TSX, deer
antelope
deer
deer gold dots
More damage from 223 (pictured) than 300RUM (not pictured)

After around page 40 the pictures of dead things slowed down.

A hunting season starts around page 60, pics roll in
deer
pic
Form, multiple deer
deer
deer
deer
deer
deer
deer
deer
Form, elk, 18" AR
deer
deer
deer

Pages 70 to 100ish lots of loading, rifle set up and complaining about component availability

Another year of hunting season starts, 104 thru 124 or so
deer
deer
elk
elk, 22Creed
same elk, 22 creed
antelope lookin thing, 330m, 22-250
elk, 22-250, 270yd
Another friggen moose, 223
bear and moose (same moose?)
deer(?) 393 yards
deer
deer
deer

125 to 131 or so, lot of rifle talk.

multiple elk, all 223 77TMK
deer(?)
elk (over 800 yards?)
elk (maybe same elk?)
deer
deer
bunch of deer

Page 144ish, complaining about availability continues
Nothing huge since then

I read the thread pretty thoroughly on the first go around, but skimmed on putting together this cheat sheet.
There are pictures scattered in everywhere, but after a while I only grabbed the ones that caught my attention with either exploded insides, long range, or being elk or moose. Skipped the coyotes because nobody really doubts that .223 is a coyote gun. Same with the hogs.
So if I missed your picture, no offense intended. If I linked your picture and got something wrong, let me know. It's not always easy for me to tell what animal I'm looking at with just a picture of the inside.


Near the start of the thread, .30 caliber, it "got away"
Wow. Lot of work here to link all this stuff. This post should get moved to the beginning of this thread. It might significantly reduce some of the duplication of doubter arguments that keep happening.
 

ElPollo

WKR
Joined
Aug 31, 2018
Messages
1,601
Simplemindedfella

Great content IMO, looks like he has put a lot of time and money into the gel testing.

I believe he tests (and hunts with) mostly 30 cal projectiles. He did test the 77tmk in one video (last year I believe??), and got good expansion at about 1650fps, but not good expansion at about 1250fps (paraphrasing his analysis).

About the 77tmk, he said (quote):
"These are a very thin jacketed bullet not necessarily designed for hunting but could apply in the right situation and they come apart and dump a lot of energy very quickly at the higher velocity... I know a few people that love the 223 rem for antelope, personally I only use them for varmints"

A year or so before he also tested the 168 tmk if I recall correctly, and got good results above 1700fps, but I don't believe he tested between 1200 and 1700fps. I could be wrong though.

But I haven't seen all if his videos, so there might be more out there that I'm not aware of.
I like SMF’s YouTube channel, but sometimes he confuses me. He seems to be a big supporter of ELDMs in 6.5 cm for deer and elk, but then makes statements like you mentioned about the TMK which seems to be a bit tougher and deeper penetrating bullet than the ELDM. He also seems to like ABLRs and bonded bullets that are the opposite of the ELDM and TMK. That said, I support anyone who does high and low velocity gel tests in real 10% Knox gelatin. There a lot of good info in his tests, even if you don’t always agree with his conclusions.
 
Joined
Feb 25, 2012
Messages
895
Location
South Dakota
I like SMF’s YouTube channel, but sometimes he confuses me. He seems to be a big supporter of ELDMs in 6.5 cm for deer and elk, but then makes statements like you mentioned about the TMK which seems to be a bit tougher and deeper penetrating bullet than the ELDM. He also seems to like ABLRs and bonded bullets that are the opposite of the ELDM and TMK. That said, I support anyone who does high and low velocity gel tests in real 10% Knox gelatin. There a lot of good info in his tests, even if you don’t always agree with his conclusions.

I agree with this.

In his 77 TMK test I thought even the low velocities, I think like 1,000 and 1,200 fps they had better wound channels then some of the mono bullets I’ve seen tests on.


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Joined
May 6, 2018
Messages
9,652
Location
Shenandoah Valley
Somebody around Page 140 said "No cheat sheet" but I say "Yes cheat sheet"


Page 1 thru 10: Lot of arguing, couple of pictures. Some urban legend type of stuff, I can see why somebody would abandon thread because it looks like it's going to be another 160 pages of memes and shitposts

Page 10 thru 40 though, it gets interesting with lots of pictures of dead things
Form kill pics
Many pics, pic, pic, pic, Moose scapula, 4 elk

PNWGator:
OP's wife shot a moose
A frigin moose, holy shit
I mean, if a chick can do it...

Other posters kill pics
62gr TSX, deer
75gr Gold Dot, deer
antelope
62 TSX, deer
antelope
deer
deer gold dots
More damage from 223 (pictured) than 300RUM (not pictured)

After around page 40 the pictures of dead things slowed down.

A hunting season starts around page 60, pics roll in
deer
pic
Form, multiple deer
deer
deer
deer
deer
deer
deer
deer
Form, elk, 18" AR
deer
deer
deer

Pages 70 to 100ish lots of loading, rifle set up and complaining about component availability

Another year of hunting season starts, 104 thru 124 or so
deer
deer
elk
elk, 22Creed
same elk, 22 creed
antelope lookin thing, 330m, 22-250
elk, 22-250, 270yd
Another friggen moose, 223
bear and moose (same moose?)
deer(?) 393 yards
deer
deer
deer

125 to 131 or so, lot of rifle talk.

multiple elk, all 223 77TMK
deer(?)
elk (over 800 yards?)
elk (maybe same elk?)
deer
deer
bunch of deer

Page 144ish, complaining about availability continues
Nothing huge since then

I read the thread pretty thoroughly on the first go around, but skimmed on putting together this cheat sheet.
There are pictures scattered in everywhere, but after a while I only grabbed the ones that caught my attention with either exploded insides, long range, or being elk or moose. Skipped the coyotes because nobody really doubts that .223 is a coyote gun. Same with the hogs.
So if I missed your picture, no offense intended. If I linked your picture and got something wrong, let me know. It's not always easy for me to tell what animal I'm looking at with just a picture of the inside.


Near the start of the thread, .30 caliber, it "got away"

You really missed your calling.


Should have been a Memer.
 

jadkins223

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 21, 2022
Messages
115
Location
Oklahoma
Let’s get this baby back on track… so I have the ruger predator 223 and it’s a fine rifle. Really considering the tikka as well. Am I missing on much by not having the tikka ? Academy has the blued barrel in stock right now. Prefer the stainless tho! I just sold my Bergara b14 6.5 last night due to it being too heavy for my liking.
63d6cb27bfb7f9e4f633d5738fe6cfa6.jpg



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jadkins223

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 21, 2022
Messages
115
Location
Oklahoma
Something else that caught my attention this week was a Winchester xpr 223! Pretty nice rifle in my opinion


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Hnthrdr

WKR
Joined
Jan 29, 2022
Messages
3,506
Location
The West
Let’s get this baby back on track… so I have the ruger predator 223 and it’s a fine rifle. Really considering the tikka as well. Am I missing on much by not having the tikka ? Academy has the blued barrel in stock right now. Prefer the stainless tho! I just sold my Bergara b14 6.5 last night due to it being too heavy for my liking.
63d6cb27bfb7f9e4f633d5738fe6cfa6.jpg



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I own one, it’s a great rifle at its price point, but tikkas fit and finish is much nicer, which is why I got a tikka in .223 as well, I may have a problem haha
 

jadkins223

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 21, 2022
Messages
115
Location
Oklahoma
I own one, it’s a great rifle at its price point, but tikkas fit and finish is much nicer, which is why I got a tikka in .223 as well, I may have a problem haha

Haha the money from the Bergara sale is already burning a hole in my pocket. My ruger is plenty accurate and my can just got approved so maybe I’ll just keep rolling with it. I held a tikka 270 this week and was like my oh my it’s nice !


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BLJ

WKR
Joined
Jan 19, 2020
Messages
2,412
Location
WV
Let’s get this baby back on track… so I have the ruger predator 223 and it’s a fine rifle. Really considering the tikka as well. Am I missing on much by not having the tikka ? Academy has the blued barrel in stock right now. Prefer the stainless tho! I just sold my Bergara b14 6.5 last night due to it being too heavy for my liking.
63d6cb27bfb7f9e4f633d5738fe6cfa6.jpg



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I’ve got the Ranch version with a 16” barrel and have shot it a bunch. I like mine. Not a Tikka, but very serviceable.
 

Hnthrdr

WKR
Joined
Jan 29, 2022
Messages
3,506
Location
The West
I’ve got the Ranch version with a 16” barrel and have shot it a bunch. I like mine. Not a Tikka, but very serviceable.
I have the predator, I wish I had a shorter barrel, which is why I’m thinking of chopping the tikka from 20 down to 18 or 16 but leaning 16
 

jadkins223

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 21, 2022
Messages
115
Location
Oklahoma
I have the predator, I wish I had a shorter barrel, which is why I’m thinking of chopping the tikka from 20 down to 18 or 16 but leaning 16

I’ve got several ARs. 16,18, and 20” so I’ve got those bases covered. I forgot the tikka isn’t threaded huh. Are you wanting shorter for a can? I hunt big ag fields so a 400 yard shot isn’t out of the question so I like the 22” for this reasons. I did harvest a doe at 410 yards this year with the 20” AR and 77 tmk. It absolutely pile drived her


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Hnthrdr

WKR
Joined
Jan 29, 2022
Messages
3,506
Location
The West
I’ve got several ARs. 16,18, and 20” so I’ve got those bases covered. I forgot the tikka isn’t threaded huh. Are you wanting shorter for a can? I hunt big ag fields so a 400 yard shot isn’t out of the question so I like the 22” for this reasons. I did harvest a doe at 410 yards this year with the 20” AR and 77 tmk. It absolutely pile drived her


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Yeah I want it shorter for a can, and it will probably be my daughters hunting rifle for antelope or whitetails if we go to wyo, mt or Az. For me it will be my go to predator rig and practice rifle since Co says no shooting big game with a .223
 

jadkins223

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 21, 2022
Messages
115
Location
Oklahoma
My kids really like shooting the 16-20” ARs with the adjustable LOP on the stock. I ordered the youth ruger stock but it’s still a tad big for 8 & 9 year olds.


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BLJ

WKR
Joined
Jan 19, 2020
Messages
2,412
Location
WV
I have the predator, I wish I had a shorter barrel, which is why I’m thinking of chopping the tikka from 20 down to 18 or 16 but leaning 16

With the Tikka I’d go short. Mag length will be your friend with it. I don’t know if the Predator uses the AR mags or not, (I think it does) but in my RAR that’s a real limitation for me. OAL at 2.26 makes for a very full case. IMO of course.
 
Joined
Dec 20, 2019
Messages
1,132
Let’s get this baby back on track… so I have the ruger predator 223 and it’s a fine rifle. Really considering the tikka as well. Am I missing on much by not having the tikka ? Academy has the blued barrel in stock right now. Prefer the stainless tho! I just sold my Bergara b14 6.5 last night due to it being too heavy for my liking.
63d6cb27bfb7f9e4f633d5738fe6cfa6.jpg



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If you have a Ruger that functions as designed, celebrate!

What could the Tikka do for you that the Ruger doesn't.
 
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