Get it.
Hey man, thanks for the reasonable response. I totally agree with you and understand the point of the thread…. bullet construction and design matter more than most hunters realize. I am a die hard re loader, so I get it. You can kill most any animal with the perfect shot placement of the right bullet in a caliber you can handle. I was commenting on my fear of being underpowered on an elk hunt .
I thought this was a very reasonable response.
I totally get the fear of being underpowered. I had the same fears but had to try this for myself. Despite all the pictures and proof I just couldn’t really wrap my head around a 223 killing big game. So I switched to the 223 for my Idaho elk hunt last year and killed my bull without issue. He died just as fast if not faster than the elk I’ve killed with big 30s. Maybe get a cow tag and ease your way into it. Once you see it first hand, you’ll become a true believer.
FWIW I’ve been trying to get @Ryan Avery and @robby denning talked into funding an AK Coastal Brown Bear filmed .223 77TMK expedition for this thread and this site.
I hear a “pass the hat” thread!
So I think a lot of people read posts like this that sound entirely rational to you if you are new to this idea, and they think you are trolling them because there are literally dozens of successful bear kills documented in this thread with a 223, and dozens of elk, and even a few moose. It can be a hard thing to get your head around the fact that such a cute little cartridge can do so much damage with the right bullet. It’s also true that marketing within the industry is telling you that it can’t. But take some time to go through the information presented here. It might change how you think about a few things. And start back at the beginning of the thread where it starts out by saying “bullets matter more than head stamps”.
I think the video would benefit from having a total newb along to offer perspective that would otherwise be missed by you old professionals. I graciously volunteer my time to join this venture.
It's 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 a hunt. I hunt at a minimum once a fortnight all year round. 75% with the .223. Different countries do things differently. It all goes to a soup kitchen/charity.
Sure, for me it’s mostly about down range energy. My son and I each shot bulls last year, one at 375 yards and the other at 622. I could see the visible shock of my son’s bull through my binocs. At close quarters I believe the .223 loaded properly can be devastating, I’ve seen it make a mess of an antelope. I’m primarily hunting elk, during migrations, in some pretty nasty back country. I can’t afford to chase a wounded animal through some of that crap.
Do your due diligence here on the ‘energy’ argument.
I am willing to dive in, I’ve been considering a change for my Wisconsin and Minnesota deer hunts. With only a few exceptions all my deer have been killed at less than 100 yards. Now, the .223 thought process starts to shine for me. That’s why I started reading the thread. I’m open, I just made the mistake of starting with drawing my line in the sand with Elk. I have a bear hunt in Idaho at the end of May….maybe it’s worth a try!
New Zealand? I’m jealous.
Actually, that is a good idea…. I will grab a late season cow tag and experiment. But first a deer or two! Curious….. how far out was the bull you shot?
