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

[waspocrew]

View attachment 741509Thought some of you might be interest. I just grabbed a few rounds to test out.

I’ve shot a few hundred prairie dogs and rock chucks with the 62 gr version and it works very well. The 75 gr version didn’t group well out of my Tikka and had a disappointing ES of 324. Not sure what I was expecting for the price, but definitely not ideal.

 

[Big_wals]

I’ve shot a few hundred prairie dogs and Rick chucks with the 62 gr version and it works very well. The 75 gr version didn’t group well out of my Tikka and had a disappointing ES of 324. Not sure what I was expecting for the price, but definitely not ideal.

View attachment 741544

Wow, thats a crazy es. Ive never shot em out of my bolt gun, but they group great from my ar, for the price at least. Usually around 1 3/4 inches for ten shots.

 

[waspocrew]

Wow, thats a crazy es. Ive never shot em out of my bolt gun, but they group great from my ar, for the price at least. Usually around 1 3/4 inches for ten shots.

Here’s a 5 shot group (L) and 10 shot group (R) from the 75s at 100 yards. Usually my CTR stacks shots fairly well, so was a little bummed to see this. White squares are 1”.

 

[Big_wals]

Here’s a 5 shot group (L) and 10 shot group (R) from the 75s at 100 yards. Usually my CTR stacks shots fairly well, so was a little bummed to see this. White squares are 1”.

View attachment 741560

I hear ya. Im just using em for hog hunting, and shots are usually under 100 yards anyways with the way we hunt. They work great for that.

 

[SteveAndTheCrigBoys]

For those of you in the know, what companies/shops offer a "deal/discount" on the Tikka T3x rifles? I see that Tikka is offering a $75 rebate if bought between June 1 and November 30. But it would be nice to get a deal on a deal!

Check wiki arms. Picked one up for $741 off defense depot recently. Just got it so have to submit for the rebate still. Search for JRTXB312.

 

[Gettincloser]

Ended up going through Grab a gun for $788 for the stainless T3X Lite. Then the $75 rebate makes it nice.

 

[Telford29]

Coyote has stole two chickens from us. He was apparently stealing our labs toys also. 77 tmk put a stop to that this morning.

 

[sierracharlie338]

Coyote has stole two chickens from us. He was apparently stealing our labs toys also. 77 tmk put a stop to that this morning.View attachment 741741

Nice work

 

[Nomosendero]

Higher than average in my experience. Here’s a recent post of mine from another thread…

I’m up to somewhere around 40ish Tikka and Sako replacement barrels.

Most of them have shot as expected out of the box, however, I don’t normally put too much stock into the first 100 rounds. I’ll start getting a realistic and consistent velocity from the chrono at 100-200 rounds. Even with factory ammo and the large potential spreads.

When I used to clean my barrels I would wait at least 50 rounds before taking them on a big game killing trip. Probably not needed but it worked for me.

These days I don’t clean at all and I’ve found the barrels last the same amount of rounds or more usually within 200-300ish rounds before being “shot out”.

It doesn’t surprise me at all that your rifle shoots a bit better after a couple hundred rounds. I’ve seen this on multiple tikka and Sako barrels (not all barrels, but probably 20ish percent of them).

Good news with these barrels is, you never need to clean them, and they just keep on shooting very well.

My stainless 22” .243 Tikka barrel is finally dead after 7,000+ rounds. I just recently replaced a Tikka Stainless fluted .260 Rem barrel as well that made it 5,500+ rounds. A Sako stainless non-fluted .260 barrel made it 7,500+ rounds (my buddy in Finland who used to work for Sako at the time had me send it to him). A stainless fluted .204 Sako barrel made it 4,500 rounds before I bought a new one. A blued Sako 20” .223 barrel made it 8,000+ rounds.

Keep in mind that all of these barrels still functioned as expected and shot okay. They just didn’t meet accuracy/consistency specs needed any longer.

These are just a few examples of some round counts I had kept track of and had written down for a friend who was curious.

Never clean, interesting
I don't clean as often as I used to without issues, maybe I will try that.

 

[waspocrew]

Never clean, interesting
I don't clean as often as I used to without issues, maybe I will try that.

I’m at 1200 rounds on my 223 CTR - never cleaned the rifle and it’s still shooting very well.

 

[pilgrim7]

Sorry for the long response. Since beginning to read the thread I've started building an 18 inch 1/8 AR and have a 16.5 inch Ruger Ranch on the way . I'll be taking my wife out to get her first deer this season and can't think of a better set up to build good shooting fundamentals and keep her from developing a flinch. Both will be suppressed. Unfortunately my state requires .24 cal or larger for bears so I'll still be toting the old glue horse (t3x lite in .308) during concurrent seasons til my bear tag is filled. I've also got a boar hunt coming in Oct.

My shots are mostly going to be in thick timber and short (5-75 yds) with an occasional power line, strip mine, or ridge to ridge shot out to 250 or so. I'm thinking I'll go with a 62 gr fusion factory loads for both rifles, and shoot factory unless I can't find a load that is adequate at said ranges in both guns.

My question is, am I preventing any meat damage on <50 yard shots by dropping down to 62 gr fusion vs 77tmk? Id rather not go the copper route as I've had them do everything from pencil through at 100 yds with a .308 to leave an exit you could fit your fist in at 240 yds with a 6.5.

 

[BLJ]

@pilgrim7. I haven’t used the 62 Fusions on deer.
But, last year I killed deer with the 77 TMK from a RAR (2562 MV) and a 180 A Frame from a 308 (2510 MV). Both under 75 yards. Both caught ribs in and out.
I didn’t notice any difference in meat loss between the two deer.
Not a comparison between your chosen bullets, but maybe a representation showing that meat loss with the TMK is not that different than anything else. IME.
Wish I had some pictures.

 

[Formidilosus]

My question is, am I preventing any meat damage on <50 yard shots by dropping down to 62 gr fusion vs 77tmk?

In general, yes. Meat damage with 77gr TMK’s with pure rib/lung shots is minimal, however with scapula hits it can be pretty bad. The 62gr Fusion won’t kill quite as quickly when seen in large sample sizes, but is pretty solid and way better than monos.


A couple 62gr Fusion/Gold Dot deer-


300’ish yards if I recall correctly-





270’ish yards-





Since people like seeing bullets, both of these were sub 100y IIRC-

 

[KHntr]

Stone sheep hunt starts tomorrow gentlemen.
Kimber Montana 223 AI goes along this time, instead of my usual 280AI Mountain Ascent.

Was quite tempted to go with 77 TMK’s, but I have a suspicion I’m the first person to bust moose shoulders with an 88 ELD m, and a stronger suspicion I’m the first guy to do it two years running. Adding a Stone to that would be icing on the cake.

However, 223 cartridges being as small as they are, it’s no big deal to carry a jag of each. Might as well stuff that little Montana with TMK’s for the walk in.

 

[Grundy53]

Stone sheep hunt starts tomorrow gentlemen.
Kimber Montana 223 AI goes along this time, instead of my usual 280AI Mountain Ascent.

Was quite tempted to go with 77 TMK’s, but I have a suspicion I’m the first person to bust moose shoulders with an 88 ELD m, and a stronger suspicion I’m the first guy to do it two years running. Adding a Stone to that would be icing on the cake.

However, 223 cartridges being as small as they are, it’s no big deal to carry a jag of each. Might as well stuff that little Montana with TMK’s for the walk in.

Can't wait for some pictures!

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

 

[Reddish]

Sorry for the long response. Since beginning to read the thread I've started building an 18 inch 1/8 AR and have a 16.5 inch Ruger Ranch on the way . I'll be taking my wife out to get her first deer this season and can't think of a better set up to build good shooting fundamentals and keep her from developing a flinch. Both will be suppressed. Unfortunately my state requires .24 cal or larger for bears so I'll still be toting the old glue horse (t3x lite in .308) during concurrent seasons til my bear tag is filled. I've also got a boar hunt coming in Oct.

My shots are mostly going to be in thick timber and short (5-75 yds) with an occasional power line, strip mine, or ridge to ridge shot out to 250 or so. I'm thinking I'll go with a 62 gr fusion factory loads for both rifles, and shoot factory unless I can't find a load that is adequate at said ranges in both guns.

My question is, am I preventing any meat damage on <50 yard shots by dropping down to 62 gr fusion vs 77tmk? Id rather not go the copper route as I've had them do everything from pencil through at 100 yds with a .308 to leave an exit you could fit your fist in at 240 yds with a 6.5.

Federal Fusion 62gr and 62gr Gold Dots haven’t caused excessive meat loss for me. I’ve killed quite a few deer with them now.

 

[Erebor]

At 400 max I’d absolutely go for it. A .223 will do the job.

 

[Don Fischer]

DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ 176 PAGES? HERE'S THE CHEAT SHEET.

---

“Bullets matter more than headstamps.”

“Spent primers offer the supreme tutorial”.

I’ve read it here and elsewhere online. It got my attention. I started digging and asking questions and listened.

The 77gr TMK delivered by a .223 is where I ended up after many discussions and objective data regarding bullet performance and numerous pics of field results.

Now for the delivery system. Accurate. Repeatable. Reliable. Reasonable weight to afford steady shot placement and the ability to spot my own impacts yet packable. Tikka T3x, vertical grip, Sportsmatch rings, SWFA 6x MQ in mills. Replaced the trigger spring with a yo Dave, adjusted to my liking, then degreased everything and locked all of the screws down with loctite and got started.

The package checks all of the boxes. Plus, it’s FUN! Time at the range is spent learning to call wind, trigger control, spotting your own impacts and figuring out why a shot did or did not end up where you wanted it. No brake. No flinch. Inexpensive to shoot. The fun factor plus the ability to be able to afford to shoot a lot goes a long way to learning and understanding shooting, accuracy and precision.

With all of that said, I’ve decided to use 77 TMK out of a .223 from this delivery system for bear, deer and elk this season.

Opportunity presented itself a couple of days ago. I killed a mature, dry sow with the 77 TMK. Bullet performance exceeded all expectations! The terminal performance is on par with anything I’ve seen in a .284 or .30. Unreal performance. The bullet is a BEAST!

Practice will continue throughout the summer in preparation for the upcoming deer and elk seasons.

Based on my sample of one, the 77 TMK out of a .223 is truly a lethal combination well suited to a dedicated lower 48 big game rifle.

Would love to hear about others experiences with this bullet or similar bulletts!

I'd read years ago that Eskomo's prefered rifle was the 22 hornet. Don't know if that true or not but I would not try that. I think with the right circumstances and bullet selection and bullet placement it would work. Other cartridges give better selections of bullets and placement. I don't know if anyone is aware of it or not but the Eskomo's do run into Polar bears now and then and I understand they are bigger and tuffer than Grizzlys.

 

[WRO]

I'd read years ago that Eskomo's prefered rifle was the 22 hornet. Don't know if that true or not but I would not try that. I think with the right circumstances and bullet selection and bullet placement it would work. Other cartridges give better selections of bullets and placement. I don't know if anyone is aware of it or not but the Eskomo's do run into Polar bears now and then and I understand they are bigger and tuffer than Grizzlys.

They shoot most as head shots at close range.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[The Guide]

Got a chance to go shoot the AAC ammo I ordered. Did not shoot for groups as it was pushing sunset and I was playing with my Xero Crono trying to learn it as this was my first time using it. I shot a 5 shot string for speeds using the Black Hills 5.56 77tmk as a base line. Accuracy was acceptable from all shot strings given the falling light and the fact I was shooting out of the bed of my truck. All shot from my Howa 223 heavy barrel 20", no suppressor, no brake.

AAC "SABRE BLADE BLACK TIP" 5.56 NATO 75 GRAIN AMMUNITION


AAC 5.56 NATO 77 GRAIN SIERRA TMK AMMUNITION


BLACK HILLS 5.56 77TMK


Nothing spectacular but nothing terrible either. Should work in many rifles and many situations for target, varmints, and hunting if your gun likes them. I bought 10 boxes of each and will see how they shoot in my other "trainer" and maybe in an AR or 2.

Jay