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

[blueduck]

I shot this NE Kansas buck on Wednesday with my Colt AR 15 A4. Range was 200 yards. Ammo was 62 grain Federal Fusion. Optic was an ACOG TA 31. Shot was further back than I wanted (liver/gut shot), but passed completely through the deer. The deer piled up about 50 yards from where I shot him. There was one spec of blood about 10 yards from where I shot him. I suspect a better lung/heart shot would have given a blood trail. With the above said, I was able to observe impact and the deer’s reaction through the scope. Very effective in my opinion. Enjoy.

 

[hereinaz]

Midway has the 77gr TMK in stock

Sierra Tipped MatchKing 22 Cal (224 Diameter) Bullets 60 Grain Polymer

MatchKing rifle bullets are super-accurate bullets with very thin jackets and are held to exacting tolerances in diameter and weight. Their accuracy has...

www.midwayusa.com

 

[Hondo64d]

http://www.asrealasitgets.net/forum/index.php?threads/looking-for-a-stunt-shooter-support-group….13328/

 

[Trevor96]

I filled my WI gun buck tag this year on a 200 lb field dressed 10 point.
First deer using the Tikka 223 with AAC 77tmk. The shot was 40ish yards and he went 100 yards.
The blood trail was poor for the first 60-70 yards but good the rest of the way. He was laying right where he had disappeared from my view.
He was quartering towards me and I shot low through the shoulder. The bullet stopped in the ribs on the off side. Some damage to the shoulder and the lungs were mush

 

[Tartan]

160lb south Texas buck. Management deer off a friends low fence property. 130 yard shot. Black hills 77 tmk. 22” tikka. Ran 50 yards and piled up.



No exit. Centered a rib going in. Little bit of damage to the opposite side. But didn’t find any of the bullet.


100 lb doe. 124 yards. She ran out to 200. I hit her a second time in same spot and she dropped. Neither exited. But I did find one bullet under the opposite hide.

 

[Tmac]

My how times have changed…

2019- “.223 calibers are way to small to kill reliably!!!”

2023- “77gr TMK’s cause too much damage”.


Haha.

There has to be some C-4 in those 77gr TMK‘s. They do kill quickly however.

 

[IDHoundsman]

I read this whole thread from start to finish, very interesting info. I do have a question that hopefully someone may have the answer to. Has anyone used the Winchester StaBall Match powder for the 223 Rem and 77 grain TMK’s? What is the load density/accuracy like at 2.26” c.o.a.l?

 

[BlackHillsShooter]

I knocked down a cow elk yesterday with the rokslide special and 77gr TMK.

We snuck into 25 yards of the outliers in this heard. They jumped, we slowed em down a little with a cow call. Thanks MT Terry.

Picked out a cow at 50 yards and hit her in the shoulder. She turned to run but just flipped over.

Funny thing. I fired and heard the bullet hit. The sound was so uninspiring that I thought, so this is all bullshit.

I'll post pics of the damage later. Unreal. Still hunting now.

 

[dirtytough]

They do kill quickly however.

I was thinking the opposite. Multiple 50+ yard recoveries posted in the last two days. The last deer posted ran 76 yards and was shot again.

 

[np307]

I was thinking the opposite. Multiple 50+ yard recoveries posted in the last two days. The last deer posted ran 76 yards and was shot again.

50-100 yards is pretty standard for a fatal vital shot that doesn't involve the CNS across calibers and loads in my experience. A deer can run that distance in a very short amount of time.

 

[sveltri]

50-100 yards is pretty standard for a fatal vital shot that doesn't involve the CNS across calibers and loads in my experience. A deer can run that distance in a very short amount of time.

Agreed, I shot a buck this year (6.5PRC) blew the top half of his heart apart and he still made it 50 yards in 3-4 seconds.

 

[N2TRKYS]

50-100 yards is pretty standard for a fatal vital shot that doesn't involve the CNS across calibers and loads in my experience. A deer can run that distance in a very short amount of time.

This is why an exit is important to me. A dead deer does me no good, if I can’t find it. A blood trail makes that easier.

 

[np307]

This is why an exit is important to me. A dead deer does me no good, if I can’t find it. A blood trail makes that easier.

On one hand, I get that. On the other hand, if I'm hunting thick brush (which I hunt plenty of) I'm going to anchor one with a high shoulder shot.

 

[dreamingWest]

I shot my first big game animal with an 18" suppressed RS special with Black Hills 77 tmk. Kansas doe at 150 yards. Frontal at base of neck. She was quartering towards but turning in a small shooting window. She either continued to turn or I made a crappy shot. It didn't matter. Large entrance into chest cavity. Massive artery and lung damage above heart. Fragment damage throughout near shoulder. She limped out of my sight picture favoring that leg. She made it less than 10 yards.

I've shot plenty of pigs, coyotes, feral cats, racoons, opossum, skunks, etc with this combo. This was my first deer. Great performance. Not sure you need anything else for typical ranges and little wind.

 

[dreamingWest]

That's a bad angle of the chest cavity. I'm guessing the permanent hole was nearly two inches where it busted through ribs. I know we don't guess on this thread, but I got in a hurry, haha. My 8 yo was ready for breakfast.

 

[Tell]

Funny thing. I fired and heard the bullet hit. The sound was so uninspiring that I thought, so this is all bullshit.

you were thinking everybody’s actually been using 30cals and the joke is on you.

 

[Tartan]

I was thinking the opposite. Multiple 50+ yard recoveries posted in the last two days. The last deer posted ran 76 yards and was shot again.

Being that the 76 yarder was mine (actually 90 yards but diagonally). I have no doubt that deer was dead on her feet when I hit it a second time. I wonder if the heart shot led to some of the distance and lack of blood since it wasn't pumping to drop the blood pressure?

I was actually thinking of diving into this in a response to my post anyways as I was surprised at how far both deer ran.

That was my first animal with the 223. The buck (second animal, ran 50) and a 80 lb pig I didn’t show (also ran 50). I have a couple dozen other animals with a 30-06 and primarily the 150 ttsx.

Internally the lungs and heart showed significantly more damage with the 77tmk than the animals with the 30-06 and monos. Not much visible from the outside, but I can stick my fist through the hole in the ribs. There wasn't much heart left in either deer. I did get an exit on the pig, didn't hit the heart, and it pumped blood everywhere.

My average recovery distance with the 30-06 definitely feels shorter, but I wasn't taking good notes at the time. A lot of deer and pigs DRT, but had some runners for sure. I can think of a couple of pigs with horrible blood trails that ran into brush that I couldn't army crawl through and never got recovered. Hard to compare a sample size of only 3 with the 223.

Sometimes animals do crazy things. The largest pig I've shot with the 30-06 weighed in at 225 lbs. I double lunged it low in the chest and it didn't take a step.

 

[N2TRKYS]

On one hand, I get that. On the other hand, if I'm hunting thick brush (which I hunt plenty of) I'm going to anchor one with a high shoulder shot.

Nothing is 100% and things don’t always work out the way they’re supposed to.

Good luck this season.

 

[Pharmseller]

They run until the brain runs out of oxygen.

That can take awhile.




P

 

[np307]

Nothing is 100% and things don’t always work out the way they’re supposed to.

Good luck this season.

Certainly nothing is 100% but I've never had a high shoulder shot animal not drop in its tracks. Good luck to you too.