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

[gtriple]

Personally, I'm sticking with something bigger I feel more comfortable with. Even with all the data and your success, I'd still be in my head about it and feel like that would impact my shot.

Shoot something with it and see if it changes your mind. Maybe not a once a year elk hunt, but a doe whitetail?

 

[SloppyJ]

Great stuff. I took my daughter out this weekend to shoot hers as well. IMO the 75bthp won’t come close to terminal performance of the TMK despite the fact that the bthp might group smaller. Personally I would settle for slightly less “accurate” and better terminal performance with the TMK.

That's what I figured. The TMKs didn't group horribly and I bet I can get them to a better group. I think the ticket is the seating depth as much as some people here say it doesn't matter.

Probably end up getting a waters mag or one of the 3d printed ones pharmseller was mentioning.

 

[Formidilosus]

That's what I figured. The TMKs didn't group horribly and I bet I can get them to a better group. I think the ticket is the seating depth as much as some people here say it doesn't matter.

Probably end up getting a waters mag or one of the 3d printed ones pharmseller was mentioning.

Is the TMK load over 2 MOA for ten rounds? Are you shooting deer past 600 yards or so?

 

[Pharmseller]

You're killing me smalls! I did not know if someone was selling them directly or if the was a link to a file to download with the prefered material!...

That was a good laugh!

Tikka .223 T3/T3X 2.55" OAL Magazines For Sale

Hello Everyone, My name is Adam and my company is Ascension Industries. I was approached by a friend and member of this forum about a project that he wanted me to take a shot at. He explained to me the capabilities of the Tikka .223 T3/T3X series of rifles and how they were limited by the...

www.24hourcampfire.com

 

[MoeFaux]

I was raised by a man who likes big bores, and he always brought more than enough gun to get the job done in the field. Consequently, I would have spent my life swearing up and down that a 223 is just barely enough to down a whitetail, and it would be irresponsible to shoot it anything bigger or tougher.

But this thread and a few others like it have changed my thinking.

Now, I'm still gonna shoot my 45-70 at bears, my 7mm Rem Mag at elk, and my .357 at pigs and deer. I'm not gonna be one of those weirdos who shoots everything with a 22 caliber bullet. . . but at least I won't tell them they're wrong anymore

 

[Pharmseller]

I was raised by a man who likes big bores, and he always brought more than enough gun to get the job done in the field. Consequently, I would have spent my life swearing up and down that a 223 is just barely enough to down a whitetail, and it would be irresponsible to shoot it anything bigger or tougher.

But this thread and a few others like it have changed my thinking.

Now, I'm still gonna shoot my 45-70 at bears, my 7mm Rem Mag at elk, and my .357 at pigs and deer. I'm not gonna be one of those weirdos who shoots everything with a 22 caliber bullet. . . but at least I won't tell them they're wrong anymore

FYI, you don’t need a 7mm Rem Mag for elk…








7mm, but not a magnum…




P

 

[Ajsomp]

Big thank you to everyone for all of the info on the kids rifle thread. I took my son (7) out to shoot his new 16" Tikka for the first time this weekend. I loaded up some 77tmks and 75 BTHPs since I have a boatload of those.

We started with the 22 and he is damn good on that spinner target with a red dot. So then we went to the Tikka at 50yds. First shot, bullseye. He shot about 15 through it and then I did some load testing. I left the chrono at home on accident but I certainly found the 75BTHP load it wants with 5 shots in the picture below. 24.5gr varget at 20 off.

I had a decent 77tmk load but I know it can do better so I'll keep testing. Can't wait to see what these will do to a whitetail in a month or so. Anyone had any luck with the hornady 75hpbt on game? If it keeps shooting this good it's going to be hard to swap to 77tmks unless they're that much better.

The 75 HPBT can be used for practice - same with the AAC 75 Sabre black tip. I’d still stick with 77TMK for game and actual data collection for the gun.

Reminds me, I need to pick up more ammo.

 

[Thegman]

I was raised by a man who likes big bores, and he always brought more than enough gun to get the job done in the field.

It seems that the guys using 223s are indeed bringing more than enough gun to get the job done.

I really appreciate all the data presented in this thread. It has opened up an entirely new angle on hunting that has, so far, been really useful and really successful.

If you're thinking about it, the only way to really be sure is to give it a "shot". It may not be something you'll keep doing, but it will not likely fail.

 

[SloppyJ]

Is the TMK load over 2 MOA for ten rounds? Are you shooting deer past 600 yards or so?

No, the TMK shoots just fine by those standards. I know the argument and the data about group size versus the human error and wind. But I'm OCD when it comes to loading and like to see what variables affect the load and group size. If I can make it tighter then I'm going to try. If not, then it will suffice. I like tinkering I guess.