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

[packgoatguy]

Everyone should have the 223/Tikka rifle- so if you don’t have that, that is where I would start. As for maximizing range, the large .224 and 6mm are where that is. 22 cm and larger fast twist .224’s, and the large 6mm’s starting at 6cm and especially something like the 6UM is where maximum terminal range comes in.

Form, not to beat the dead horse here, and apologize in advance if i missed this specific answer already... but assuming we already have the tikka 223rem setup covered for 400 yards and in... when you personally head out for the hills and have to grab one "do it all" rifle, are you taking a 223rem tikka with 77tmks, a 22creed with 77tmks, a 6xc (6creed) with 108eldms, or a 6um with ??? Or some other combo? And why?

 

[packgoatguy]

For those who have have access to a chronograph; with Stand1 77tmk, I've been getting about 2900fps out of a factory length tikka 223, and 2750 from a 16 inch tikka. How does the Blackhills 5.56 tmk or 223 tmk factory loads compare?

If I wanted to handload the tmk, will I be able to match the stand1 velocity, or do they use a special unicorn powder to get that velocity?

What brass/powder/primer/seating depth combo works best in a 16 inch cut tikka barrel to get into that 2750fps range (or even more)?

What accuracy can be expected from the several factory 77tmk options out there? Any better than others? With the stand1 stuff, when I do a 10 round group, I usually get 8 inside an inch with 1 or 2 that bring the total group to 1.2-1.4moa. Is that a common theme for other brands, does the handloading tighten that up? Or is that just my shooting ability?

 

[fwafwow]

For those who have have access to a chronograph; with Stand1 77tmk, I've been getting about 2900fps out of a factory length tikka 223, and 2750 from a 16 inch tikka. How does the Blackhills 5.56 tmk or 223 tmk factory loads compare?

Going to the range is on my to do list, which I hope to do this week. I have a brand new Xero I need to test, and I have Stand 1 and Black Hills ammo to shoot out of my 16.5” - but with a suppressor. I can report back the results.

 

[Formidilosus]

Form, not to beat the dead horse here, and apologize in advance if i missed this specific answer already... but assuming we already have the tikka 223rem setup covered for 400 yards and in... when you personally head out for the hills and have to grab one "do it all" rifle, are you taking a 223rem tikka with 77tmks, a 22creed with 77tmks, a 6xc (6creed) with 108eldms, or a 6um with ??? Or some other combo? And why?

Depends on the situation and expected range of shots on animals. Generally if shots will be inside of 600 yards and wind isn’t crazy, the 223/77gr TMK. If shots are over 600 yards frequently, and/or the wind will be difficult, 22CM/6XC/6cm/etc. If shots will frequently be past 800 yards (I don’t suggest doing so) then that is where the 6UM comes in.

 

[sveltri]

For those who have have access to a chronograph; with Stand1 77tmk, I've been getting about 2900fps out of a factory length tikka 223, and 2750 from a 16 inch tikka. How does the Blackhills 5.56 tmk or 223 tmk factory loads compare?

If I wanted to handload the tmk, will I be able to match the stand1 velocity, or do they use a special unicorn powder to get that velocity?

What brass/powder/primer/seating depth combo works best in a 16 inch cut tikka barrel to get into that 2750fps range (or even more)?

What accuracy can be expected from the several factory 77tmk options out there? Any better than others? With the stand1 stuff, when I do a 10 round group, I usually get 8 inside an inch with 1 or 2 that bring the total group to 1.2-1.4moa. Is that a common theme for other brands, does the handloading tighten that up? Or is that just my shooting ability?

I was almost touching 3k fps with 77TMK, N540, CCI#41, virgin starline brass, no visual pressure signs on brass, POSSIBLY very little stiff bolt lift, 24" Tikka Varmint .223. I'm still a group size chaser (working on it, but some habits are hard to break) and accuracy/precision just weren't there for me running that hot. I am going to revisit things with some different primers and see how it runs.

 

[Huckleberry Hound]

Got a hundred rounds of black hills 77tmk to test out. Going to be trying it today in a savage 223 wylde with an 8 twist 16" barrel. Curious how theyll perform accuracywise compared to my 64tgk. Not sure exactly what ill do with the tmk bullets though. Big game here requires 6mm, except cougar, and it sounds like cougar is likely going to a minimum 6mm starting next year.
Im going to go back and look through pics in this thread but i dont recall seeing any coyotes or bobcats shot with the 77tmk. Kinda have a hunch theyd be rough on fur.

Edit. First 5 shots with the black hills 77tmk. Not bad but not great either. Plenty good enough for the ranges i hunt at though. Im sure i can do better. Just really not digging the horseshoe ad dot reticle. Going to put a scope with normal crosshair on the rifle soon. Has a sig sauer 1-10× scope right now. Feel i can do better with a 1-6 with a more traditional reticle over a 1-10 with a horseshoe.

 

[Huckleberry Hound]

So i wasnt letting the gun cool between shots, but after the first group i let the gun cool for a while. Second 5 round group here. Im thinking the one flyer was probably operator error. Seems to be good ammo, and negligible poi shift from my 64tgk ammo. Was a little concerned that my 8 twist short barrel might not like this stuff, but seems to be doing just fine. Ill be interested to see if my groups shrink up when i swap my scope out for one with a better reticle. So what do you guys think, bad idea to use these bullets on coyotes and bobcats?

 

[Huckleberry Hound]

Just putting up one more and ill stop. I know this thread is about performace on game, but figured some guys might appreciate seeing results on paper from the black hills factory ammo. Ill call myself a very average shooter. Went out and shot a 5 round group at 200, aiming at the orange square sticker. Honestly better than i expected, as i was struggling to really aim at that orange spot on the yellow background with my horseshoe dot reticle. Either way, i feel comfortable switching to this ammo from my 64tgk, just to see what it does to a coyote. Once again, no cool down time between shots.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I killed my second deer with my Rokslide Special this afternoon. I liked this one alot better. Although I didn’t get an exit, he bled like a stuck hog. Ran about 40-50 yards. Bled the last 30 yards of his run. Very good blood trail. 40 yards shot, slightly quartering away. Shot was low behind the shoulder. I’m sure it got his heart. Very good deer for my area. 8 point and weighed 220 pounds.

 

[N2TRKYS]

 

[Tahr]

View attachment 640362

A great friend of mine got another data point last night (he's not a member here)
89yd broadside shot, Henry Long Ranger 1:9 with a 62gr Federal Fusion. Hit a little farther back than ideal, but caught a rib on the way in with a maybe ½" entrance. Passed between 2 ribs on the way out but left a 2" tear through the flank & hide. Both lungs were completely obliterated (I'd guess around a 3" permanent cavity, if I jigsawed them back together)
30yd death run, but very little bloodtrail.

He said that he was shocked at how quickly it dropped with a not ideal shot.

I think he's a convert......

Can you guys still get the 62 Gold Dots in the US? Haven't seen any here for about a year but for some reason they have just turned up on our shelves. No 77TMK though and when they are on the shelves they are 107NZD/100. Ouch. Ive still got 380 so am ok. There are plenty of 80 ELDM here.

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

"if it goes 50 yards or more without a blood trail...."

If stuff is that thick shots can't be very long. Why not just brain shoot it?

I've tracked bow shot elk several hundred yards on soft needle covered forest floors with little more than a droplet of blood here and there and I'm not the world's best tracker by far. Sure, bears are harder but it's not uncommon for their fat to plug the hole(s).

I'm not implying that you guys don't know there's an art to tracking, I just think you may be forgetting it for the sake of conversation.

Where I hunt, we most often carve food plots and shooting lanes out of pine plantations. In a lot of cases the animals are passing through and don't stay still for long at all. It's hard for people who have never hunted in some of what we have to comprehend how thick the vegetation is.

This is a shooting lane in plantation pine. That's a 223 stoked with 60 grain Partitions.




It's hard to tell, but the vegetation is impossibly thick. This gives a little idea of how thick vegetation is in a lot of the areas we hunt.



We also hunt a lot of green fields. Shots can be a bit long for head shots. The deer are constantly moving their heads too. These green fields are often surrounded by similarly thick stuff.





Now add in that we are often shooting after sunset, and tracking can be an absolute goat rope in the dark.

 

[robtattoo]

Can you guys still get the 62 Gold Dots in the US? Haven't seen any here for about a year but for some reason they have just turned up on our shelves. No 77TMK though and when they are on the shelves they are 107NZD/100. Ouch. Ive still got 380 so am ok. There are plenty of 80 ELDM here.

I just checked Speer's site & yeah. They're in stock for $35/100

 

[Drenalin]

I killed my second deer with my Rokslide Special this afternoon. I liked this one alot better. Although I didn’t get an exit, he bled like a stuck hog. Ran about 40-50 yards. Bled the last 30 yards of his run. Very good blood trail. 40 yards shot, slightly quartering away. Shot was low behind the shoulder. I’m sure it got his heart. Very good deer for my area. 8 point and weighed 220 pounds.

What bullet?

 

[SC HUNTER]

@Fartrell Cluggins that looks alot like the places I hunt in Sothwest Georgia. People that hunt out west will say "how can you not follow a blood trail?" I've tracked alot of deer and a good number of those I've been crawling through privet thickets and grown up clear cuts. Pretty places you have there!

 

[Chris_in_Idaho]

That's a 223 stoked with 60 grain Partitions.

I've been curious about these lightweight Savages. They are 1/9 twist, correct? Out of curiosity have you tried any 77 TMKs out of it?

 

[ID_Matt]

LRI/proof not disappointing so far, you know it’s going to be a shooter when it shoots like this for the first 10 shots.

The Magnus sounds real nice on there too.

View attachment 639337View attachment 639338

Proof?? Did you have LRI contour the whole barrel or do they make a thin profile barrel I didn't know about?

 

[Lawnboi]

Proof?? Did you have LRI contour the whole barrel or do they make a thin profile barrel I didn't know about?

Proof used to make tikka lite contour blanks, I picked one up cheap a few years ago before they discontinued. That tikka lite contour is thin!

 

[N2TRKYS]

What bullet?

77 grain TMK reloads

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

I've been curious about these lightweight Savages. They are 1/9 twist, correct? Out of curiosity have you tried any 77 TMKs out of it?

They are 1-9 and pleasantly accurate too. I have not tried the 77s, and I probably won't. I have tried 69 TMKs at the range they group great. As you can see from the pics, the distances at which we shoot don't demand much for accuracy or BC. I'll probably stick with 60 grain Partitions, 64 grain Nosler Bonded. I also load 62 grain Swift Scirocco and 70 grain Accubonds. I have had such great results with Partitions and Bondeds, that I don't see a need to change. My grandkids have land that abuts a wildlife management area in Mississippi. I load those two bullets for them and they have a high percentage of DRT. None have ever run more than 30-40 yards. These two bullets shrug off bone contact very well too.