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

[The Guide]

I’m waiting on my 223 T3x to show up and wondering why even use another gun if you mainly hunt black bear,dear and similar game out to 400-500.
Are a lot of you doing that?
How many are killing game 6-1000 yards with all these fast new calibers.

My issue is temperatures. My DA can be anywhere from 9000' to -4000'. With my 22" 223 shooting the 77 TMK at 2714 fps I'm 1800 fps @ 425 yards when I'm seeing -4025' DA at -16⁰ F. Bring that from winter to early fall weather of 9000' DA @ 50⁰ and my distance to 1800 fps moves out to 610 yards.

In those same cold weather conditions my 22" 6CM with the 105 Berger Hybrid is 1800 fps at 660 yards, my 22" 6.5 PRC is a 720 yards with the 156 Berger EOL, and my 20" 7mm Backcountry is 1800 fps at 890 yards with the 195 Berger EOL bullet. To give you more 22 caliber info, my 22" 22 ARC is to 1800 fps at 595 yards with the 88 ELDM and my 22" 22CM is at 700 yards with an 80 ELDM in those same cold temps.

For me, having other options is a necessity based on temperature. I want to have options for the times when things go wrong at 400 yards and you are trying to do clean up at 600. If I never hunted elk in cold and snowy weather on open sagebrush flats, I could probably get away with a 22" 223 or a 16" 22 ARC for everything but I kill elk where they are and not where I want them to be.

Jay

 

[Old Hickory 45]

Pushes it around, compared to what? If you run the ballistics on it compared to say a 180gr Partition at 2850fps the 77 tmk would be pushed around less, or so close as to be negligible in wind drift.... Just sayin’...

I fully agree with you about wind drift. Many people ASSUME certain rounds have more drift when in fact, the round absolutely has less. I hunt mostly with .17 caliber rifles and lots have been said the .17 is such a light bullet it has to suffer a lot of drift but of course, does not.
Same goes with the .223 and claims from folks with no experience with the round.
I have carried M16 And M4 rifles for 30 years on duty and can testify it is a better round than it is given credit for. Our ammo then was of course, 5.56.
My most recent gun purchase is a Ruger Gen 2 Rancher 5.56 topped with a Vortex Crossfire Gen 3 3X-9X. The scope is made for the Ruger. The rig is new and I haven't shot or sighted it in yet.
I no longer hunt big game and concentrate on small game and varmints.

 

[Speaks]

I’m waiting on my 223 T3x to show up and wondering why even use another gun if you mainly hunt black bear,dear and similar game out to 400-500.
Are a lot of you doing that?
How many are killing game 6-1000 yards with all these fast new calibers.

I probably could do everything I need to do with the 223. This year at deer camp I brought both my 223 and my 6.5cm but ended up hunting with my 223. I had intended to hunt with the 6.5 but I had not shot it in quite awhile other than a quick zero check (which was off about an inch high and right but fine for what I was doing). The 223 on the other hand I had been shooting the crap out of all summer and fall and was dead nuts on. It worked great just as I expected it to.

So why am I going to hunt with a 6cm or 22cm this year? Im at about 700 ft elevation and hunt in pretty cold weather so DA can get pretty low. My 22 inch 223 is perfectly fine but the range gets a bit tight with a 16 or 18 inch barrel. Still fine for most likely shots but there can be shot opportunities that I would be comfortable with that are getting below 2000 fps and pushing close to 1800 fps. Those same shots are comfortably above 2000 fps out of either of the fast CMs and 16.5 inch barrels.

I would not feel particularly limited hunting with the 223 of whatever barrel length. But the 22 or 6cm removes any potential limitation. A three gun combo of 223, 6cm, and 6.5 PRC would cover anything I may potentially ever want to do (the range where the 6.5prc is fine and the 6cm is beyond my current abilities anyway) and there is enough overlap that any gun could sub in for any other without really causing a big issue.

If I needed a 1 gun solution for everything it would be a 223, a 223 + a 6cm 2 gun solution I think is better for me though.

 

[Flatland]

I probably could do everything I need to do with the 223. This year at deer camp I brought both my 223 and my 6.5cm but ended up hunting with my 223. I had intended to hunt with the 6.5 but I had not shot it in quite awhile other than a quick zero check (which was off about an inch high and right but fine for what I was doing). The 223 on the other hand I had been shooting the crap out of all summer and fall and was dead nuts on. It worked great just as I expected it to.

So why am I going to hunt with a 6cm or 22cm this year? Im at about 700 ft elevation and hunt in pretty cold weather so DA can get pretty low. My 22 inch 223 is perfectly fine but the range gets a bit tight with a 16 or 18 inch barrel. Still fine for most likely shots but there can be shot opportunities that I would be comfortable with that are getting below 2000 fps and pushing close to 1800 fps. Those same shots are comfortably above 2000 fps out of either of the fast CMs and 16.5 inch barrels.

I would not feel particularly limited hunting with the 223 of whatever barrel length. But the 22 or 6cm removes any potential limitation. A three gun combo of 223, 6cm, and 6.5 PRC would cover anything I may potentially ever want to do (the range where the 6.5prc is fine and the 6cm is beyond my current abilities anyway) and there is enough overlap that any gun could sub in for any other without really causing a big issue.

If I needed a 1 gun solution for everything it would be a 223, a 223 + a 6cm 2 gun solution I think is better for me though.

The NAS3 ammo is fine in a Tikka.

Good morning
I have been reading this thread for about a month and find it very informative
I am up to page 460 and decided to join Rokslide so I could ask a question
I see Tikka has several models of T3x, does it matter if a Person buys a Lite, Ranahan, Roughtec, Hunter, etc., or do they all function the same and all take the same accessories?
Thanks

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Great explanations on your reasoning.
I have a 6.5cm and 30/06 with a 16in tikka 223 on its way.
I don’t reload so im using factory ammo.
I love my 16 in 6.5cm but was just curious if it’s worth having both.

 

[omicron1792]

Great explanations on your reasoning.
I have a 6.5cm and 30/06 with a 16in tikka 223 on its way.
I don’t reload so im using factory ammo.
I love my 16 in 6.5cm but was just curious if it’s worth having both.

Problem is you’ll end up using the 223 about 95% of the time. Ha. Or at least I have.

 

[Speaks]

Good morning
I have been reading this thread for about a month and find it very informative
I am up to page 460 and decided to join Rokslide so I could ask a question
I see Tikka has several models of T3x, does it matter if a Person buys a Lite, Ranahan, Roughtec, Hunter, etc., or do they all function the same and all take the same accessories?
Thanks

I will always get a lite. I dont want a heavier barrel profile, dont need a coated action, and dont particularly care about the difference in factory stocks (I put all of mine in rokstocks but even if I didnt they are functionally the same).

 

[Speaks]

Great explanations on your reasoning.
I have a 6.5cm and 30/06 with a 16in tikka 223 on its way.
I don’t reload so im using factory ammo.
I love my 16 in 6.5cm but was just curious if it’s worth having both.

I think its always worth having a second rifle, something can happen to one etc. A 223 and a 6.5cm will cover nearly any hunting need for the vast majority of people.

 

[Flatland]

I will always get a lite. I dont want a heavier barrel profile, dont need a coated action, and dont particularly care about the difference in factory stocks (I put all of mine in rokstocks but even if I didnt they are functionally the same).

Thanks for your reply. I am wanting a rifle but didn’t want to be limited if I came across one at a discount that might make it cheaper than a Lite
If a person wanted to drop it in to a Rostock then it would not matter if it started as a Lite , Hunter, or Riughtec?

 

[Neilbob]

Not that we needed more evidence, but here is my contribution. Decent sized pig hit with a 73 grain ELDM (handload with 24 grains of TAC). I think it's going ~2,700 out of my 16" AR. Shot was about 100 yards and she was quartering to me. Entrance was in the chest and the ~2+" exit was right behind the shoulder. She ran 30 yards with a heavy blood trail and died.

 

[Brap01]

Thanks for your reply. I am wanting a rifle but didn’t want to be limited if I came across one at a discount that might make it cheaper than a Lite
If a person wanted to drop it in to a Rostock then it would not matter if it started as a Lite , Hunter, or Riughtec?

When you order the RokStock you have to specify what barrel profile you want it in. If you order in a stock tikka sporter profile it might not fit a larger barrel

 

[Speaks]

When you order the RokStock you have to specify what barrel profile you want it in. If you order in a stock tikka sporter profile it might not fit a larger barrel

Wrap sand paper around a socket and this is solved in about 5 minutes.

 

[Speaks]

Thanks for your reply. I am wanting a rifle but didn’t want to be limited if I came across one at a discount that might make it cheaper than a Lite
If a person wanted to drop it in to a Rostock then it would not matter if it started as a Lite , Hunter, or Riughtec?

Lite will almost always be cheaper.

If restocking the main difference remaining would be barrel profile. So some added weight but not a big deal.

Get a sendero profile rokstock any any of them will have a nice big gap

 

[Brap01]

Wrap sand paper around a socket and this is solved in about 5 minutes.

I know some sanding can be done. Is there a void filled with foam in the forend?

 

[Formidilosus]

I know some sanding can be done. Is there a void filled with foam in the forend?

Nope. Not that I’ve found. And I’ve sanded the holy hell out of them.

 

[Speaks]

I know some sanding can be done. Is there a void filled with foam in the forend?

Nope.

I got my first 3 and one was a sendero, the other a sporter, and another in between. Decided I wanted them all to be sendero so I found a socket that was about that size. Wrapped it in something like 60 grit and got the other 2 close in a couple minutes. Then did just a little with 120, 240, and probably 3 something. Turned out great with very little effort.

 

[mt terry d]

https://www.harborfreight.com/sanding-drum-kit-20-piece-60741.html

 

[dreamingWest]

I really can't say enough about the .223 with 77 TMK. I'm sure it's already been covered and a pretty obvious choice, but add Mountain Lion to the thread title.

My hunt got a little exciting when the lion decided to jump out of the tree when the humans arrived. I was using my Rokslide Special with a Trijicon Accupoint 1-6 Green Triangle. I got the lion in my scope (3X) as it started to jump, but too late for an ethical shot. After screaming right through us, it headed for the rock cliffs where it may have had a chance. The dogs gave chase and we scrambled to keep up.

We spotted the lion again on the run and my guide yelled "you have two seconds to shoot!". Referring to a) the amount of time he predicted before the dogs were too close, or b) the amount of time the lion would make it to a possible escape point. Luckily for me, there just happened to be a perfectly placed tree stump that even had a v-notch for my rifle. I shot the lion at about 120 yards. It rolled forward, DRT. A very exciting and unexpected ending to my first mountain lion hunt. I love having a such an effective and shootable platform for big game hunting!

 

[The Harbor Master]

I really can't say enough about the .223 with 77 TMK. I'm sure it's already been covered and a pretty obvious choice, but add Mountain Lion to the thread title.

My hunt got a little exciting when the lion decided to jump out of the tree when the humans arrived. I was using my Rokslide Special with a Trijicon Accupoint 1-6 Green Triangle. I got the lion in my scope (3X) as it started to jump, but too late for an ethical shot. After screaming right through us, it headed for the rock cliffs where it may have had a chance. The dogs gave chase and we scrambled to keep up.

We spotted the lion again on the run and my guide yelled "you have two seconds to shoot!". Referring to a) the amount of time he predicted before the dogs were too close, or b) the amount of time the lion would make it to a possible escape point. Luckily for me, there just happened to be a perfectly placed tree stump that even had a v-notch for my rifle. I shot the lion at about 120 yards. It rolled forward, DRT. A very exciting and unexpected ending to my first mountain lion hunt. I love having a such an effective and shootable platform for big game hunting!

Whoa, that's awesome! Congrats on the cat.

 

[The Harbor Master]

My first time shooting a TMK today, from Bone Frog... these shoot even better in my Tikka than the 73gr ELDm does (which usually groups 1" to 1.2" for 10rds). Very pleased, and the zero is very close to the frontier 75 BTHP (which shot 1.3" for 10rds) so I can practice without burning up my TMK supply.

No chrono yet, looking at published numbers I'd guess getting about 2500-2550fps from 18"BBL.