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

[Poe]

So I'm not super familiar with crimping. My Black Hills is fairly obviously crimped.
View attachment 758773

The AAC does not look crimped to me.
View attachment 758774

I'm not sure about the Hornady as it looks normal so if they crimp the primers it is done very concentric and close to the primer.

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If it is crimped, I'll quit saving it. I'm not really interested in messing with crimped brass.

Jay

If I had the option non crimped is always easier but I got around 1000 military brass for dirt cheap that was all crimped and I picked up a RCBS swadging die. It’s easy to set up and doesn’t take long to run a bunch of brass through. I have loaded around 300 so far with no issues.

 

[backcountryguide]

73gr ELDM out of a 20” gas gun . Impact velocity right at 2200fps . Buck was slightly quartering away with bullet exiting the offside shoulder.

 

[Deere_Man]

73gr ELDM out of a 20” gas gun . Impact velocity right at 2200fps . Buck was slightly quartering away with bullet exiting the offside shoulder.

What did the inside look like? How far did it go? Thank you

 

[backcountryguide]

What did the inside look like? How far did it go? Thank you

Lung soup and he maybe went 5ft . Offside shoulder was broken with a lot of bone frag

 

[Deere_Man]

Lung soup and he maybe went 5ft . Offside shoulder was broken with a lot of bone frag

Nice.

 

[Gettincloser]

Alright guys and gals. It is Friday evening. My truck broke down just before heading out of town so I will not be hunting this weekend. How about posting some pictures and letting those of us not hunting this weekend, live vicariously through you! The hogs are safe for 1 more week here but would love to see more "damage" photos.

 

[Phinehas25]

First deer with the RSS. 77TMK of course. 416 yards. Hit a litter farther back than I like but still got the lungs. He traveled downhill and toward me about 30 yards then stopped. The next bullet went through his spine and then it was over.

Both bullets passed through, but the spine shot left the jacket on the far side hide.

To be honest, the damage was less than I am used to seeing from my 30-06 and 180 Core-lokts, but not that much less.

The best part was watching the action through the scope.

 

[sierracharlie338]

First deer with the RSS. 77TMK of course. 416 yards. Hit a litter farther back than I like but still got the lungs. He traveled downhill and toward me about 30 yards then stopped. The next bullet went through his spine and then it was over.

Both bullets passed through, but the spine shot left the jacket on the far side hide.

To be honest, the damage was less than I am used to seeing from my 30-06 and 180 Core-lokts, but not that much less.

The best part was watching the action through the scope.

To be fair you were on the edge of the velocity limit for expansion possibly but clearly still within its capabilities. Nice work and congrats on the meat!

 

[Thegman]

First deer with the RSS. 77TMK of course. 416 yards. Hit a litter farther back than I like but still got the lungs. He traveled downhill and toward me about 30 yards then stopped. The next bullet went through his spine and then it was over.

Both bullets passed through, but the spine shot left the jacket on the far side hide.

To be honest, the damage was less than I am used to seeing from my 30-06 and 180 Core-lokts, but not that much less.

The best part was watching the action through the scope.

Have you shot many animals at that range with your 30-06? Just wondering if that variable is accounted for.

Not that I doubt what you're saying at all. I mentioned a few weeks ago there's nothing I've ever harvested over the last 30 years that I couldn’t have taken with a 308 and 180 Corelokts.

 

[Phinehas25]

To be fair you were on the edge of the velocity limit for expansion possibly but clearly still within its capabilities. Nice work and congrats on the meat!

Velocity at the muzzle is just over 2800 fps. 3,000 ft elevation and 65 degrees out. I should still have over 2000 fps impact velocity.

To be clear, I'm not disappointed in the performance.

 

[Phinehas25]

Have you shot many animals at that range with your 30-06? Just wondering if that variable is accounted for.

Not that I doubt what you're saying at all. I mentioned a few weeks ago there's nothing I've ever harvested over the last 30 years that I couldn’t have taken with a 308 and 180 Corelokts.

I have not shot many that far with the 30-06. One elk further, a couple deer around 350, a couple more around 300. But those are similar impact velocities to the 77tmk at 400.

The 180 Core lokt is an external ballistic turd, but a terminal ballistic champ.

So the fact that I am comparing these two cartridge/bullet combos is a testament to how hard the 77 punches above it's weight class.

 

[Pharmseller]

So the fact that I am comparing these two cartridge/bullet combos is a testament to how hard the 77 punches above it's weight class.

Well said.



P

 

[hunterjmj]

Shot this guy at about 100 yards this morning. We were in antelope from sun up. Couldn't move around much with that many eyes. My 8 year old saw him and gave me the thumbs up. Was shooting the 73 gr eldm factory rounds from my week old tikka 223. Very pleased with the results. No meat loss except a little around the ribs at the entry and exit point. As you can see, the wound channel in the lungs is large. The bullet entered through a rib and exited ribs. There was some bullet fragments on the skin side of the exit. He trotted maybe 20 yards and did the death back flip.

 

[woods89]

Entry
Exit

Some more 69 gr TMK nastiness. 30 yds, internals were soup, 30 yds death run.

 

[sierracharlie338]

Velocity at the muzzle is just over 2800 fps. 3,000 ft elevation and 65 degrees out. I should still have over 2000 fps impact velocity.

To be clear, I'm not disappointed in the performance.

Yeah you got better range than I do down south. 400 is about the absolute max for me best case scenario with a 223 and 77tmk

 

[sierracharlie338]

Entry
View attachment 776118 Exit

Some more 69 gr TMK nastiness. 30 yds, internals were soup, 30 yds death run.

Looks like you got a double (fragment) exit? Good to see. I’ll be testing some 69s out of a 9twist 223 Remington in a week or two.

 

[woods89]

Looks like you got a double (fragment) exit? Good to see. I’ll be testing some 69s out of a 9twist 223 Remington in a week or two.

I think that's what happened. I was short on time so I didn't investigate fully.
They have killed well out of my 9 twist, just not always going to exit.

 

[Moose83]

First kill with 77gr TMK. .223 RSS.

314 yds . Took out the heart and broke the offside leg. Ran maybe 40yds and piled up. Damage to shoulders was severe... more than I'm used to with a .30-06. Borderline too much of a good thing for me.... but definitely effective and I watched it all in my scope

 

[waterengineer]

Killed my third whitetail with the 77gr TMK yesterday morning. Around 85 yards using a 12.5” barrel. First time I have had a TMK exit. The exit was small. She dropped about 10 yards from where I shot her. Forgot to take pictures, but it looked very similar to Moose83’s above.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Shot this guy at about 100 yards this morning. We were in antelope from sun up. Couldn't move around much with that many eyes. My 8 year old saw him and gave me the thumbs up. Was shooting the 73 gr eldm factory rounds from my week old tikka 223. Very pleased with the results. No meat loss except a little around the ribs at the entry and exit point. As you can see, the wound channel in the lungs is large. The bullet entered through a rib and exited ribs. There was some bullet fragments on the skin side of the exit. He trotted maybe 20 yards and did the death back flip.

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Thank you for trusting the process and posting your results!