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

[SC HUNTER]

I shot a doe on our backyard corn pile the other morning. Corn pile is 80 yards from our back door and the kids saw her and wanted me to shoot her so she got shot. Cheap little Stevens model 200 223 using a 55 grain soft point bullet, this rifle was my crop depredation permit rifle for years and has killed ALOT.

I took 1 step out of the back door and 1 step right and hit her about an inch left of where I was aiming. She was quartered to me slightly so I sent it through her chest cavity. Lungs were a mess and her heart had a hole through it. She ran about 50 yards dumping blood everywhere, I put my mutt dog on her trail just for practice and he went straight to her. No exit, impact side shoulder was toast and offside shoulder I had to do some trimming on it. I'll continue to shoot deer with that little tiny bullet and never think twice about it. I opened a backstrap up and stuffed it with cream cheese and a roasted garlic spread last night and grilled it up. Delicious!

 

[Tmac]

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.

I probably should have been more specific. Vs what I’ve seen with mono’s and with smaller bonded bullets out of a 223, they are more destructive so far and recovery distance was short so far. The amount of destruction from a 77 gr .223 projectile was surprising to me vs what I‘d seen from a .223 to date. Looked more like a 25-06 or 270 hit with a cup and core bullet.

My sample size with the 77 TMK is very small so far, my sample size with the other bullets out of larger cartridges is fairly large. Core-Lokts, inter loks, BT’s and the like, then a fairly good sampling of mono’s. Mostly out of a 25-06, 270 Win or 280 Rem all close to 3,000 fps at the muzzle, with most shots 300 yards and under.

Going to keep my grands shooting the 77 TMK and use it some myself and see. They shoot it very well. I expect quick kills with fairly short runs and few blood trails, with a 223/5.56, from what I’ve seen so far. I’ll still primarily use my larger cartridges.

 

[Finaddictions]

I’m on page 95 of this thread and still reading, but the first third put me over the edge. I have a Proof Elevation MTR 223 with an 8 twist barrel so I ordered some 77 TMK’s and loaded them last night with 23.5 grains of Tac seated .010 off the rifling and tested them this morning. They shot incredibly well and my speeds averaged 2719 for my first 10 shots. Here’s my first 5 shot group. The low shot was my first shot through the barrel with this load and the next 4 went into .250”. I think this load is a keeper!



Now I’m going to hunt the rest of the Texas season and see if I can’t kill a couple animals for my own personal data points.

Also ran a Dead Air Nomad Ti on the 20” barrel with a Nightforce NX-8 4x32 second focal plane. Honestly think this little package is perfect for what I do!

The second target is my second 5 shot group. All and all, very happy with this combo.

 

[BlackHillsShooter]

About that cow yesterday.
77TMK.
Shot high shoulder. Damage to spine, heart blown up. Lungs intact, everything rearward intact. No damage to off side shoulder meat. Damage went as far as off side ribs and pretty much stopped there. One busted rib at entry. No wonder she went hooves up, DRT.

The hanging shot is the offside after quarter removal. I would make this shot again on an Elk with the 223.

 

[Pharmseller]

Dont take long if you poke a hole in that brain.....

I will never be a good enough shot to be comfortable taking that shot.

Beyond my skill set.





P

 

[BryanL]

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?

I have. Accuracy was very good! 10 shot group under 1.5 MOA. I believe it was 26.0 grains seated to 2.26 coal, LC brass, CCI400, but I will need to check my notes again to confirm the charge amount. I did not get to check velocity.

 

[IDHoundsman]

I have. Accuracy was very good! 10 shot group under 1.5 MOA. I believe it was 26.0 grains seated to 2.26 coal, LC brass, CCI400, but I will need to check my notes again to confirm the charge amount. I did not get to check velocity.

Was it compressed? 26.0 sounds fairly heavily compressed, but then again, it is a ball powder. Having trouble finding XBR so thought about trying this stuff since it’s supposedly temp stable.

 

[KChunter71]

Only two offerings for the 77 gr tmk factory loaded? Black hills and federal

 

[ThatDUDE]

Only two offerings for the 77 gr tmk factory loaded? Black hills and federal

Stand 1 Armory RCP 223 77gr Sierra Tipped Match King (TMK) - Stand 1 Armory

Stand 1 Armory 223 77gr Sierra TMK 77g Sierra Tipped Match King (long-range precision): These polymer tipped 77g Sierra TMK bullets buck the wind very well and produce extremely consistent results at distances out to one mile. These are the best long-range 223 bullets on the market, and are...

stand1armory.com

 

[grappling_hook]

Some great pics showing wound details. The photos on this page are averaging better as far as showing the damage.

 

[BryanL]

Was it compressed? 26.0 sounds fairly heavily compressed, but then again, it is a ball powder. Having trouble finding XBR so thought about trying this stuff since it’s supposedly temp stable.

I just checked. It’s 24.0 grains.

 

[StupidLightweight]

Wow, I did it! After reading every word of 5,479 posts, I made it to the end. Thank you for everyone who contributed, and thank you to the countless animals who made the ultimate sacrifice to convince people that even "small" bullets are lethal at incredible distance. Even though I'm an experienced hunter with many kills under my belt, I learned so much on this journey and have no doubt this will change the future of hunting. Just imagine how many "future flinchers" will now be "future killers." Well done, Roksliders. I'm proud to be a card carrying member of SCOPT (Small Caliber, Optimized Projectile Team).

The biggest issue now is changing state regulations so every hunter can benefit from this crowd-sourced knowledge. Until then, I'll be launching a line of brass. Dimensionally, it will be the same as 5.56 but headstamped "6mm LMFAO," which stands for "Lead-free Magnum For Anywhere Ordnance." Be warned, however, that this brass will only function in Tikkas with a 1:8 twist.

 

[Hunter609]

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.

I shot a buck last year with 180 hybrid, impact was around 2700fps and it ran 125-150 yards. Here’s the heart.

 

[wirehead]

absolutely love this...

if 223 with 1:8" twist using 77 TMK is good... 22-250 with 1:8" twist using 77 TMK must be great?

 

[Billy Goat]

absolutely love this...

if 223 with 1:8" twist using 77 TMK is good... 22-250 with 1:8" twist using 77 TMK must be great?

Just more distant, or range available.


Probably 250 yards, but just guessing.

Edit, looks like roughly 400 fps difference with them, so I'd say 200ish yards gained with 22/250

 

[KHNC]

Stand 1 Armory RCP 223 77gr Sierra Tipped Match King (TMK) - Stand 1 Armory

Stand 1 Armory 223 77gr Sierra TMK 77g Sierra Tipped Match King (long-range precision): These polymer tipped 77g Sierra TMK bullets buck the wind very well and produce extremely consistent results at distances out to one mile. These are the best long-range 223 bullets on the market, and are...

stand1armory.com

You will have a tough time getting an order placed with these people.

 

[KHNC]

Ok, redid my 5.56 AR, yet again. lol. Got my SWFA 10x42 mounted last night. 16" Barrel , YHM with Omega 30 suppressor from Silencerco. I rotate the O30 between rifles. 77TMK Black Hills Factory Ammo. Taking it hunting this weekend as long as I have time to confirm zero before dark today. This time change stuff really fks things up for after work stuff.

 

[wirehead]

Just more distant, or range available.


Probably 250 yards, but just guessing.

Edit, looks like roughly 400 fps difference with them, so I'd say 200ish yards gained with 22/250

+250 yards on top of the 800 yards (77 TMK - 1440 fps) @Formidilosus shot an elk at? So 22-250 seems unnecessary...

 

[Billy Goat]

+250 yards on top of the 800 yards (77 TMK - 1440 fps) @Formidilosus shot an elk at? So 22-250 seems unnecessary...

I go off of 1800 fps, seems safer to me. So I can get 460 yards with my RSS. If I ran numbers correctly, I could get 650yards with a 22" 22/250.

 

[wirehead]

I go off of 1800 fps, seems safer to me. So I can get 460 yards with my RSS. If I ran numbers correctly, I could get 650yards with a 22" 22/250.

ahhh thanks for running the numbers for me on that... so does seem 22-250 would be value-add vs 223.