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

[BLJ]

Those of y'all using the 77gr TMK bullets, in factory or hand loadings, what is the measured COAL? I'm trying to see if this might be usable in my ARs as well.

My reloads are 2.26 COAL and fit in 10 and 30 round Magpul Pmags.

 

[BAC]

Outstanding, thank you gents.

 

[jofes]

Anyone use the 75gr. OTM from AAC?

 

[woods89]

Goodness, someone update the thread title to include ", and mountain goats."

Maybe it should just be shortened to "223 for big hairy animals."

 

[Thegman]

Related to this point, for folks using the TMK and ELDM bullets in .223, how much has fragmentation and lead spoiling been a concern? It's hard to tell from just the pictures how much these bullets are retaining their mass. Some of it is clearly being lost but it looks like a fairly large amount is staying together. One of the goals of my learning to hunt is to fill the freezer, but looking at the good places to shoot vs the largest quantities of meat, I think I should still get 90+% of what I'd ordinarily harvest even with a really big fragmentation path?

I don't have much experience with the 77TMK compared to some others here, but if you shoot through ribs-lungs/heart-ribs you will loose very little meat. Not too different with respect to meat loss than shooting a Ballistic Tip through the same in my (limited) experience. I try to maximize salvageable meat as well and avoid shoulders when I can.

 

[BAC]

Sounds like I ought to pick up a couple boxes of the BHA 77gr TMK's to have on hand then. Would be interesting to see how they group in my AR and nice to have on hand for when I pick up a bolt gun. (Note, "when", not "if"... I've seen enough in this thread now to be pretty damned convinced this is a good or great route to go)

 

[The Guide]

Sounds like I ought to pick up a couple boxes of the BHA 77gr TMK's to have on hand then. Would be interesting to see how they group in my AR and nice to have on hand for when I pick up a bolt gun. (Note, "when", not "if"... I've seen enough in this thread now to be pretty damned convinced this is a good or great route to go)

Make sure you have a 8 twist or faster barrel. The heavy girls like to be spun fast across the dance floor so they don't tumble before impact.

Jay

 

[Deadspace]

8208 XBR is in stock at powder valley

 

[BAC]

Make sure you have a 8 twist or faster barrel. The heavy girls like to be spun fast across the dance floor so they don't tumble before impact.

Jay

Standard Colt with standard 1:7 twist. Should be fine, I expect.

 

[Lawnboi]

Blue collar has big boy boxes in stock.

Sierra 22cal 77gr TMK

Product Information Caliber: 22cal Bullet Diameter: 0.224” Bullet Weight: 77 Grains OAL: 1.072" Bullet Style: Tipped MatchKing Boat Tail G1 BC: 0.420 Part Number: 7177 or 7177C Quantity: 100ct or 500ct

www.bluecollarreloading.com

 

[Formidilosus]

@Formidilosus if someone were to go the Tikka Route and wanted to maximize their effective range, what would be your choice between the .223/77TMK, 6ARC/108 or 103, or the new 22 ARC/88 ELDM? I have a Tikka .223 bolt on the way and I have really been debating about having it sent off and opened up to run one of the ARC's.

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.

 

[Luke S]

Okay so we have convincing evidence a 223 rifle will work for big game. Now how about a 308 with TMK bullets or something similar for a grizzly bear. Maybe a soft bullet for a chest shot and premium bullets for backup if the bear charges? I'm half serious. I have shot two Grizzlies with a 375 Ruger. That combo works very well. It is overkill for black bears in Caribou those tougher bullets actually don't expand much more on smaller animals than a 308 does. So 8375 with premium bullets definitely beats a 308 with premium bullets. But a 308 with a softer bullet at high velocity I wonder. I'm curious because I have a 308 I really like but I often don't use it because I might want to hunt a grizzly bear. If I lived in a lower 48 I would probably use that 308 for everything. If people are killing elk with a 223 I wonder if I could make my 308 work responsibly for a grizzly

 

[jofes]

Okay so we have convincing evidence a 223 rifle will work for big game. Now how about a 308 with TMK bullets or something similar for a grizzly bear. Maybe a soft bullet for a chest shot and premium bullets for backup if the bear charges? I'm half serious. I have shot two Grizzlies with a 375 Ruger. That combo works very well. It is overkill for black bears in Caribou those tougher bullets actually don't expand much more on smaller animals than a 308 does. So 8375 with premium bullets definitely beats a 308 with premium bullets. But a 308 with a softer bullet at high velocity I wonder. I'm curious because I have a 308 I really like but I often don't use it because I might want to hunt a grizzly bear. If I lived in a lower 48 I would probably use that 308 for everything. If people are killing elk with a 223 I wonder if I could make my 308 work responsibly for a grizzly

I've used a 6.5.creedmoor with 143 factory eld-x on a small grizz, should be fine

 

[wind gypsy]

Okay so we have convincing evidence a 223 rifle will work for big game. Now how about a 308 with TMK bullets or something similar for a grizzly bear. Maybe a soft bullet for a chest shot and premium bullets for backup if the bear charges? I'm half serious. I have shot two Grizzlies with a 375 Ruger. That combo works very well. It is overkill for black bears in Caribou those tougher bullets actually don't expand much more on smaller animals than a 308 does. So 8375 with premium bullets definitely beats a 308 with premium bullets. But a 308 with a softer bullet at high velocity I wonder. I'm curious because I have a 308 I really like but I often don't use it because I might want to hunt a grizzly bear. If I lived in a lower 48 I would probably use that 308 for everything. If people are killing elk with a 223 I wonder if I could make my 308 work responsibly for a grizzly

You musta missed the begging and pleading for a rokslide sponsored brown bear trip with 77 TMKs

The outfitter i used didn't have any issue with me using a 6.5. I think you're thinking of it right. I'm sure a 308 with TMKs would make just as big of wounds as a 375 with hard bullets.

Even the AK F&G seems kind of anti big boomers https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=hunting.firearms

 

[The Guide]

There is a guy on the forum that killed a grizzly with his 300 Ham'R which is a 30 cal 223 variant.

Check it out. I think you should be able to make that happen.

Jay

Post in thread 'Ultralight Ultralight Rifles' https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/ultralight-ultralight-rifles.329402/post-3293231

 

[Thegman]

I've killed grizzlies with 300 WM, 30-06, 308 Win and 300 HAM'R. Used hard bullets (ETips e.g.) and soft bullets (BTs, e.g.). None died noticeably slower than the others. Actually, the fastest kill was probably from a 168 BT from a 30-06. Broadside and no exit. Probably acted like a giant 77 TMK.

You'll kill grizzlies just fine with a 308. I plan on testing a 77 TMK on one this spring.

 

[Moosehunter]

I've killed grizzlies with 300 WM, 30-06, 308 Win and 300 HAM'R. Used hard bullets (ETips e.g.) and soft bullets (BTs, e.g.). None died noticeably slower than the others. Actually, the fastest kill was probably from a 168 BT from a 30-06. Broadside and no exit. Probably acted like a giant 77 TMK.

You'll kill grizzlies just fine with a 308. I plan on testing a 77 TMK on one this spring.

Post the results...

 

[ThatDUDE]

You'll kill grizzlies just fine with a 308. I plan on testing a 77 TMK on one this spring.

Darn you people who live in cool places and get to hunt so many cool animals. I need to move.

 

[Thegman]

I will. From what I've seen so far, I predict it will kill about as fast as the 30 cals have, as long as it's placed properly, which goes for the 30 cals as well.

 

[Luke S]

Just to clarify...
Plenty of examples exist of bears shot with tiny rifles. But often they are brain shots. What is interesting about this thread is the evidence 223 with the right bullet can do well on body shots. A lot of bigger guns are probably wasting energy because they blast through with a to tough bullet. To give an example, my 375 makes a half inch entrance wound and a 2 inch exit on smaller animals. My 308 does basically the same. The difference seems to be the 308 probably has less energy left as it exits but so what? The animals die about the same. Now a softcTMK out of my 375 might do more damage as in, to much. But that extra energy is nice on a bear because I might need to shoot through the skull or take a Texas heart shot up the stern of a wounded bear headed into the brush. Despite all the pictures I don't the a 223 would do well there. But if a 223 can handle a moose my 308 could certainly kill a grizzly. I'm just a bit hesitant about going that light. Grizzlies are the only animal that stops my 375 broadside. So the extra energy and frontal area may not be wasted. If I recall the would was wider and the bloodshot area was huge.