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

[260madman]

Lazered the range this morning. 227 yards.
Entrance through the shoulder



Offside behind shoulder. Might go look in the gut pile for the bullet.

 

[PNWGATOR]

What bullet?

 

[BigNate]

I'm thinking this .223/ 77gr TMK combo leads to "over-gunned" type performance.

This doe turned as the shot broke, and the damage was ridiculous.

 

[260madman]

What bullet?

The 77 TMK (see post above rib cage pics) that didn’t make it through the offside hide. There’s no lump under the hide anywhere. Ive had bullets not make it through and bounce inside the chest cavity and find them in the blood by the gut pile. I looked a bit ago and couldn’t find it but it’s been since last night and stuff is gooey and thick even when poking around in it.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Sounds like the internal damage was massive, despite no exit.

 

[Shraggs]

Looking at the exit hole, is it possible I did exit via small perforation?

 

[260madman]

No. I was poking around that area this morning.

I was hoping for a perfect broadside shot for her but this buck came out to our right. Quartering to shoulder it is then. The lungs were punched through the center and jello was inside the chest because of it.

 

[Billogna]

My biggest whitetail buck to date!! 77 grain TMK @ 100 yards…. 16” AR 15 2600 at the muzzle. Lungs were jelly… I’ll have more info when I get him skinned out. Thanks for the inspiration!! It was a bit of rodeo of a season for me but this is a great capper!! A sneaky mature 8 point… I’m already planning the AR build for my boys to hunt with!!

11/23/21 Edited to add: I'm a late bloomer getting started hunting. I've only been at it about 5 years or so. So I know I've got a lot to learn. But I pick up bits where I can but I also tend to learn the hard way (lol). 11/21/21 Approx 4:45 pm Broadside shot. First shot was high double lung. Mule kicked and hopped. I thought at first he was gut shot (I know now that is a good sign of vitals hit) so I hit him again. This time he hunched his back (gut shot) and made for the thick stuff. I lost sight of him before he entered the brush. I waited and listened for a few seconds and was positive I heard him crash down and thrash a few seconds after that, BUT in my head I had just gut shot this deer TWICE and was SURE he was headed for the next county to bed down and die. I could PUKE!! So, torn between what I know I heard, and what I was afraid of I got my 6 y.o. son out of the truck and headed into the track job. A little fearful I might push him but almost certain I heard him go down. After about an hour of searching it was full dark and time to get my son home for dinner and get a better flashlight. Did you know it takes about 90 minutes for adrenaline to completely exit your system?? Sounds about right. It wasn't until about 30 minutes or so into the second attempt that I REALLY started honestly, and calmly replaying the scene in my head. And I KNEW now that he was indeed down on that first brushy hillside somewhere. At exactly 8:15 pm I found him tangled in a wild rose thicket at the edge of the brush, in the opposite direction of where I thought he ran, and only about 40 yards from where I shot him. No exit wounds. I'm pretty sure the high vitals shot lodged in the off side hide but I won't know until this weekend when I can dress him out. The gut shot was minor, thankfully very little nasty stuff in the body cavity to deal with. I'm just relieved he didn't suffer. So it's a decisive win for the 77 TMK, and a HUGE leaning experience for me.

 

[Thisisdenny]

Pricy… but MidwayUSA does have 77gr TMK bullets and black hills loaded ammo in stock right now.

 

[Lawnboi]

Pricy… but MidwayUSA does have 77gr TMK bullets and black hills loaded ammo in stock right now.

Mid south has 100 boxes of tmk as well.

Powder seems to be the biggest hangup as of lately.

 

[307]

Perhaps it's been asked before but how does the MatchKing compare to the TMK in the same weights?

Similar or a different animal altogether?

 

[LimeSpoon]

Perhaps it's been asked before but how does the MatchKing compare to the TMK in the same weights?

Similar or a different animal altogether?

Less consistent, longer neck, much higher velocity needed to deform, tends to be less explosive at all velocities though the difference becomes more pronounced as it approaches its frag threshold. Generally depends on yaw to initiate upset rather than the more reliable mechanism of hydraulic expansion. Still works for the most part, but considerably less optimized for terminal performance.

On the plus side, they may penetrate a bit more.

 

[woods89]

Loving all the dead animals on here from the last month or so.

I've got some 77gr TMK loaded up for our antlerless season in 2 weeks. Hoping to add something.......

 

[Billogna]

Loving all the dead animals on here from the last month or so.

I've got some 77gr TMK loaded up for our antlerless season in 2 weeks. Hoping to add something.......

Same here!!

 

[ARK_Ginger]

Since I haven't graduated to TMKs yet, 75 gr Gold Dot. Second picture is exit, you couldn't see the entry because of all the trauma/blood-gel. He made it about 30 yards.

 

[GLB]

Anybody getting similar results with the regular 77 SMK?

 

[BigNate]

Anybody getting similar results with the regular 77 SMK?

Read a couple posts back.

 

[grappling_hook]

Read a couple posts back.

I don’t see any posts showing similar results with SMKs. Just past experiences that SMKs are inconsistent.

 

[WheatWhacker]

I don’t see any posts showing similar results with SMKs. Just past experiences that SMKs are inconsistent.

That is indeed correct.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[cod0396]

Since I haven't graduated to TMKs yet, 75 gr Gold Dot. Second picture is exit, you couldn't see the entry because of all the trauma/blood-gel. He made it about 30 yards.
View attachment 349068View attachment 349069

How was the internal damage? I'm really curious how the 75gr gold dot compares to the 77gr TMK.