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

[Pharmseller]

We don’t need no stinking badges!

 

[24valve]

Lack of Authority should be taken seriously. I put badges on all my rounds so that they arrive with authority and animals don’t resist. It has affected my BC. But the seriousness of the authority makes up for that.

 

[Deere_Man]

View attachment 987370

Cartman with the nightclub….he has both authority and wallop!

 

[Hardly_Hangin]

 

[mad_angler]

So... I'm about to drink the koolaid...

Looking at this rifle on Eurooptic:
$569 https://www.eurooptic.com/tikka-t3x-lite-223-rem-16-1-8-bbl-synthetic-blued-rifle-jrtxe312sb

I'll have my local smith thread the barrel.

Is that what I need or should I be looking at a different model?

 

[mad_angler]

Or should I get this one that is already threaded:

Tikka T3x Lite 223 Remington Rifle

Tikka T3x rifles are built with long-standing gunsmith expertise based on tradition and innovation, allowing you to choose between different

www.scheels.com

Is there any other difference between these rifles?

 

[Chris in TN]

Or should I get this one that is already threaded:

Tikka T3x Lite 223 Remington Rifle

Tikka T3x rifles are built with long-standing gunsmith expertise based on tradition and innovation, allowing you to choose between different

www.scheels.com

Is there any other difference between these rifles?

Do you have a local Scheel's?

I've never bought a rifle from them, but just as a general rule I am a tiny bit reluctant to assume too much when buying online, if there's been a slight model change. If you google the current SKU number of certain rifles from certain makers, it's possible to end up looking at an older version of the same rifle and think you've found a deal when in reality you've found someone trying to move old stock with a different twist rate or unthreaded barrel.

Now, assuming you're getting a current SKU with the proper barrel length, twist, and threads, you'd be fine that way.

Honestly, buying the unthreaded one and having it threaded might be the easy button. It really depends on how certain you are of the rifle from Scheel's (it's easy if they are local to you and you can examine before purchase) and maybe how much your local guy charges for threading.

(And yes, I'd trust EuroOptic to sell me exactly what they advertised. Other online sellers, maybe a bit less so without some investigation before purchase)

 

[nm.otter]

The 2025 Lite has a bit of a bell at the muzzle and 5/8"-24 threads. The EuroOptic closeout is the old taper, which can be threaded 1/2"-28.

 

[Kaleb]

So... I'm about to drink the koolaid...

Looking at this rifle on Eurooptic:
$569 https://www.eurooptic.com/tikka-t3x-lite-223-rem-16-1-8-bbl-synthetic-blued-rifle-jrtxe312sb

I'll have my local smith thread the barrel.

Is that what I need or should I be looking at a different model?

I bought that model for my oldest daughter and just had the barrel threaded.

 

[mad_angler]

I've read most of this thread. It seems:

• 0.223 is fun to shoot and easy to shoot. It can facilitate more practice. More practice can work to improve shooting skills and start to eliminate bad habits from larger cartridges
• 0.223 with 77 grain TMK is quite deadly on elk and deer. But... there is often no significant exit wound or blood trail. Animals are usually dead within 50 to 75 yards.
• Nearly all the necropsy pictures in the thread are for very good shot placement. This round is demonstrated to be very deadly for well placed shots.

I'm wondering about marginal shots...

I imagine that gut shots with the 0.223 TMK are just as deadly as other shots. They might even be more deadly due to the significant trauma caused by the little round. Bigger rounds might just pass through with less damage.

What about bone shots? If you hit the thick part of an elk shoulder blade or a deer knuckle, how does the little round perform?

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I'm wondering about marginal shots...

I imagine that gut shots with the 0.223 TMK are just as deadly as other shots. They might even be more deadly due to the significant trauma caused by the little round. Bigger rounds might just pass through with less damage.

What about bone shots? If you hit the thick part of an elk shoulder blade or a deer knuckle, how does the little round perform?

Gut shots with any cartridge and bullet combination are generally lethal, eventually. But for quick, humane kills, as far as I know, there’s no shoulder-fired hunting cartridge and bullet combination that will overcome poor shot placement.

It’s been a while since I went through this thread, but I recall several pictures of .224 caliber bullets that punched right through the thickest bones in an elk or deer to reach the vitals.

 

[Anschutz]

I've read most of this thread. It seems:

• 0.223 is fun to shoot and easy to shoot. It can facilitate more practice. More practice can work to improve shooting skills and start to eliminate bad habits from larger cartridges
• 0.223 with 77 grain TMK is quite deadly on elk and deer. But... there is often no significant exit wound or blood trail. Animals are usually dead within 50 to 75 yards.
• Nearly all the necropsy pictures in the thread are for very good shot placement. This round is demonstrated to be very deadly for well placed shots.

I'm wondering about marginal shots...

I imagine that gut shots with the 0.223 TMK are just as deadly as other shots. They might even be more deadly due to the significant trauma caused by the little round. Bigger rounds might just pass through with less damage.

What about bone shots? If you hit the thick part of an elk shoulder blade or a deer knuckle, how does the little round perform?

See my previous post on blood trails (last page). There's plenty of pictures of broken bones in here but I try to avoid them because it really makes a mess of the meat.

 

[Drenalin]

I've read most of this thread. It seems:

• 0.223 is fun to shoot and easy to shoot. It can facilitate more practice. More practice can work to improve shooting skills and start to eliminate bad habits from larger cartridges
• 0.223 with 77 grain TMK is quite deadly on elk and deer. But... there is often no significant exit wound or blood trail. Animals are usually dead within 50 to 75 yards.
• Nearly all the necropsy pictures in the thread are for very good shot placement. This round is demonstrated to be very deadly for well placed shots.

I'm wondering about marginal shots...

I imagine that gut shots with the 0.223 TMK are just as deadly as other shots. They might even be more deadly due to the significant trauma caused by the little round. Bigger rounds might just pass through with less damage.

What about bone shots? If you hit the thick part of an elk shoulder blade or a deer knuckle, how does the little round perform?

There's a moose humerus and at least one elk humerus in this thread. And a lot of elk scapulas. I've put 73 ELDMs and 77 TMKs though a lot of deer (WT) bones without issue.

 

[fwafwow]

I've read most of this thread. It seems:

I'm wondering about marginal shots...

What about bone shots? If you hit the thick part of an elk shoulder blade or a deer knuckle, how does the little round perform?

I think if you read all of the thread, you would see these topics have been covered, sometimes more than once.

 

[doc holiday13]

I think if you read all of the thread, you would see these topics have been covered, sometimes more than once.

Not possible... This thread only contains 628 full pages(20 post per page) of content and banter. Not nearly enough time to explore every whim and want

 

[mad_angler]

I think if you read all of the thread, you would see these topics have been covered, sometimes more than once.

Sorry. At 629 pages, I've probably missed a few...

 

[omicron1792]

I high shoulder all my Whitetails with 77gr tmk. Haven’t had one not drop immediately.

 

[HuntHarder]

I high shoulder all my Whitetails with 77gr tmk. Haven’t had one not drop immediately.

How much meat are you losing? I high shouldered a MD a couple weeks ago and had lots of meat loss. Cool to watch him drop, but not cool when I cut him up.

 

[omicron1792]

How much meat are you losing? I high shouldered a MD a couple weeks ago and had lots of meat loss. Cool to watch him drop, but not cool when I cut him up.

You def lose the front shoulder.

In Alabama we have a three buck limit and unlimited does (a doe a day). So losing one shoulder for me has negligible effect.

As stated here a ton the woods often get so thick you can’t walk through them. Literally can’t. So a deer dropping on the spot is important. A lost shoulder is better than a lost deer.

 

[HuntHarder]

A doe a day is wild. Losing 10-20lbs on a doe is nothing, if you can shoot that many.