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

[BLJ]

No, but we are exploring .223 options and this one caught our eye. Scheels has a used stainless American in .223 for $400 we are liking as well. 1:8.

I’d buy it.

 

[Pharmseller]

Yup. Dad got me a wood stock savage 300 winchester for my first hunting rifle....That is child abuse LOL!

Winchester model 70 30-06, no recoil pad, 180 grain green box Core-Lokts. Prone.




P

 

[PNWGATOR]

Not denying,but why? I understand keeping eye on target for follow up shot. I understand less recoil makes a better shot.

But is there not a bigger caliber suited that meets this?

Hunting open country where recovery is easy, probably less of issue.

Is our goal that a 10 year old can shoot a bear?

I am not saying you can't. But asking why?

Why?

Because it’s the most efficient way.

Read my fist post. Read the thread. This entire journey has been purposeful. I’m not trying to prove anything. I simply listened to those who have MUCH more experience than me and literally listened.

I want to kill efficiently.

There is a lot to that statement. This thread is a step in that direction.

Can I handle more recoil and delivering a heavier bullet out of a larger cartridge? Of course. I do regularly. Lots of people can and do so effectively. That said, why would I?

Well, if I’m hunting BIG open country where my shots are expected to be a poke…yeah, I’ll take an 8mph bullet with impact velocity good to 1k+. That said, it’s not necessarily a 16lb platform delivering a 300gr bullet!

A lot of mental masturbation went into this journey before it began. It's been a damn fine journey and one that I’m going to continue.

 

[Tahr]

What knife is that?

Bark River Skinner

 

[Tahr]

I don't use the 77 Sierra Tipped exclusively from my .223 but when I do I'm
always impressed.
This is the exit on a recent deer. 150 odd yards. Its the biggest exit Ive witnessed from them.

 

[khuber84]

Does anyone have experience running these at higher mv? I am building a 22gt 22" 7.5tw with 120 freebore. With my experience using this cartridge in a 26" pipe with 170fb, I know it'll run 90s at 3100fps easily. Losing 100fps with shorter barrel but dropping bullet weight by 15% I'd expect the 77s to run in the 3050-3150 range. My 18" 22 creed does just this, with ability to run another 100fps higher. I have not tried 77s in the creed, but 75eldm did well on 2 deer last year from 250-480y at 3100mv. I have serval thousand of the 77tmk and want to start using them up. I don't own any 223 bolt guns, just ar15s.

 

[Pharmseller]

An observation:

Those who advocate for the .223 and 77 TMK (or 75 ELDM, among others) tend to show the results as proof. They say “This combination works, and here are the details.”

I have yet to see any of the advocates tell anyone that others must, or even should, use the .223 on big game. The advocates are simply showing the .223 as a valid option, should one so choose. But the choice is, of course, up to the hunter.

I cannot say the same for the opposition. Those who oppose tend to criticize the advocates, and recommend against the .223.

So one side says you can, yet the other side says you must not.

Weird.



P

 

[Nomosendero]

An observation:

Those who advocate for the .223 and 77 TMK (or 75 ELDM, among others) tend to show the results as proof. They say “This combination works, and here are the details.”

I have yet to see any of the advocates tell anyone that others must, or even should, use the .223 on big game. The advocates are simply showing the .223 as a valid option, should one so choose. But the choice is, of course, up to the hunter.

I cannot say the same for the opposition. Those who oppose tend to criticize the advocates, and recommend against the .223.

So one side says you can, yet the other side says you must not.

Weird.



P

"tend to show the results as proof"
I would ask the naysayers, is there a better proof available than actual results?

 

[khuber84]

"tend to show the results as proof"
I would ask the naysayers, is there a better proof available than actual results?

I have to agree. Repeatable results are hard to argue with. My uncle, for as long as I knew him, hunted pretty much everything with a lever(savage or win) 22-250 running varmint bullets, this was in 70s-90s. He had some massive white tail and muley mounts in his basement. So 22 cal with the appropriate bullet and energy does just fine. The fellas killing elk with them, well that's probably where I'd go up a bullet dieameter or two, personally. But obviously they work! I'd really like to see some 95tmk become available again, as my lighter 6gt would likely run them 2900-3000fps. It'd just be a lil more of the tmk goodness, with some extra bc.

 

[Nomosendero]

Yes, I would think the 95TMK in a 6CM would be a great choice for Varmits up to Deer for me and beyond if desired but I have to have a reason to keep my 6.5PRC and my 300WM!

 

[chamois]

Does anyone have experience running these at higher mv? I am building a 22gt 22" 7.5tw with 120 freebore. With my experience using this cartridge in a 26" pipe with 170fb, I know it'll run 90s at 3100fps easily. Losing 100fps with shorter barrel but dropping bullet weight by 15% I'd expect the 77s to run in the 3050-3150 range. My 18" 22 creed does just this, with ability to run another 100fps higher. I have not tried 77s in the creed, but 75eldm did well on 2 deer last year from 250-480y at 3100mv. I have serval thousand of the 77tmk and want to start using them up. I don't own any 223 bolt guns, just ar15s.

I load them in my 22-250 at 3,150 fps and they hold up pretty well. So far I have found their performance to be impressive.

 

[kkp005]

Does anyone have experience running these at higher mv? I am building a 22gt 22" 7.5tw with 120 freebore. With my experience using this cartridge in a 26" pipe with 170fb, I know it'll run 90s at 3100fps easily. Losing 100fps with shorter barrel but dropping bullet weight by 15% I'd expect the 77s to run in the 3050-3150 range. My 18" 22 creed does just this, with ability to run another 100fps higher. I have not tried 77s in the creed, but 75eldm did well on 2 deer last year from 250-480y at 3100mv. I have serval thousand of the 77tmk and want to start using them up. I don't own any 223 bolt guns, just ar15s.

I have an 18” 22-250… I’m getting 3000 fps and it kills well.. Shot big hogs in the shoulder , no problem

 

[Castle Rock]

I load them in my 22-250 at 3,150 fps and they hold up pretty well. So far I have found their performance to be impressive.

Same here

 

[Der Schwabe]

I just finished reading this entire thread. Took me a week. This may be the best use of the internet since its inception.
I had a 1-9 twist 22 PPC listed for sale before reading. I have since taken it back and ordered a metric ton of 69gr TMKs. Guess I'm going to shoot the heck out of it until deer season in Wyoming. This makes a lot of cartridges obsolete.
I don't think it's overstating it to say that this is a sea change in big game hunting.
Thanks to all the contributors.

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

I just finished reading this entire thread. Took me a week. This may be the best use of the internet since its inception.
I had a 1-9 twist 22 PPC listed for sale before reading. I have since taken it back and ordered a metric ton of 69gr TMKs. Guess I'm going to shoot the heck out of it until deer season in Wyoming. This makes a lot of cartridges obsolete.
I don't think it's overstating it to say that this is a sea change in big game hunting.
Thanks to all the contributors.

If you’re hunting above 7,000 feet in WY you’ll probably be just fine shooting 77 TMKs in your 9 twist barrel. All the internet stability calculators indicate so.

 

[Der Schwabe]

We start at 5000 and only get up to about 5600 feet in Wyoming. I live at 700 feet above sea level, which is where I do my shooting. Will the TMK be accurate at 100 or 200 yards? I assumed a 1-8 twist was necessary for that bullet.

 

[Formidilosus]

We start at 5000 and only get up to about 5600 feet in Wyoming. I live at 700 feet above sea level, which is where I do my shooting. Will the TMK be accurate at 100 or 200 yards? I assumed a 1-8 twist was necessary for that bullet.

Maybe at that speed. It’s certainly worth trying.

 

[Der Schwabe]

Thank you. I'll have to locate some.
What bullet do you recommend for a 1-8" twist 6 BR?

 

[Formidilosus]

Thank you. I'll have to locate some.
What bullet do you recommend for a 1-8" twist 6 BR?

95gr TMK, Hornady 90gr and 103gr ELD-X as well as the 108gr ELD-M, Berger 105gr VLD and Hybrid.


108gr ELD-M is probably the easiest.

 

[BjornF16]