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

[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.

View attachment 776101View attachment 776102View attachment 776103

View attachment 776104View attachment 776105

Thank you for trusting the process and posting your results!

 

[PNWGATOR]

First kill with 77gr TMK. .223 RSS. View attachment 776345View attachment 776346View attachment 776347View attachment 776348

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

THANK you for sharing your experience!

Bullets matter.

Wound channels matter.

Hit rates matter.

WELL done!

Thank you for sharing your experience and results.

 

[hunterjmj]

Thank you for trusting the process and posting your results!

It's only started on antelope and so far I'm committed. Taking it deer and elk hunting here in a couple weeks.

 

[bigeyedfish]

My deer hunting this weekend was unsuccessful, but I did put the .223 to use for the first time. A coyote stepped out at last light at ~100 yards. 75 gr sabre black tip did the job. I didn't take any pictures, but the exit was smaller than expected. I'm still hoping to kill at least one whitetail with this rifle/bullet this year. I'll post a picture if I can make it happen.

 

[StupidLightweight]

Got my first kill with Black Hills' 77-grain TMK last night. From 17-inch Tikka barrel, impact speed was estimated at 2,200 fps at 330 yards. This mighty bullet (entrance shown) devastated the lungs and top of heart and then exited far side of 'lope.

Learning about this impressive bullet is one of the biggest "aha!" moments of my hunting life, and after seeing the results firsthand, I won't be going back to those big boomers like the 6.5 CM and 7x57 Mauser. Thanks to everyone for sharing the power of placing the right bullet in the right spot at the right speed.

 

[MT_Fin]

First kill with new RSS: Tikka/SWFA/UM Rings shooting BH 77TMK ammo. Around 200 yards, bang flop. No drama, insides sloshing and full of blood (gutless so didn’t see). Shot was directly behind front shoulder, minimal/almost no meat damage. Very tidy killing tool.



Entrance with undamaged front shoulder removed.


Exit with undamaged front shoulder removed.



MT’s 2 day youth season is this week so I hope the kids can put it to use on deer soon.

 

[mtnbound]

Got my first kill with Black Hills' 77-grain TMK last night. From 17-inch Tikka barrel, impact speed was estimated at 2,200 fps at 330 yards. This mighty bullet (entrance shown) devastated the lungs and top of heart and then exited far side of 'lope.

Learning about this impressive bullet is one of the biggest "aha!" moments of my hunting life, and after seeing the results firsthand, I won't be going back to those big boomers like the 6.5 CM and 7x57 Mauser. Thanks to everyone for sharing the power of placing the right bullet in the right spot at the right speed. View attachment 776896View attachment 776897

How do you like that MDT 26?

 

[StupidLightweight]

How do you like that MDT 26?

Love it. This is a very nice chassis. It’s a lot of money, but for transport or pack carry, it’s unbeatable. I’ve had an HNT26 on a Zermatt TL3 6.5 PRC for almost 5 seasons now, so I built this Tikka .223 as a little brother. I like it even more.

 

[Pharmseller]

Got any pics of the rear shoulders?

 

[E.Shell]

Got any pics of the rear shoulders?

Seems like they always get destroyed.

 

[mtnbound]

Love it. This is a very nice chassis. It’s a lot of money, but for transport or pack carry, it’s unbeatable. I’ve had an HNT26 on a Zermatt TL3 6.5 PRC for almost 5 seasons now, so I built this Tikka .223 as a little brother. I like it even more.

Has the folding action gotten sloppy after 5 seasons?

 

[StupidLightweight]

Has the folding action gotten sloppy after 5 seasons?

Zero slop so far. Hope my luck continues!

 

[woods89]

View attachment 776117
Entry
View attachment 776118 Exit

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

Just for interests sake, I processed this deer tonight, and that little bullet dead centered the dreaded shoulder bone on the entry side. Not the scapula, the bone section below it. Still worked great! Not that anyone is surprised......

 

[mt100gr.]

First kill with new RSS: Tikka/SWFA/UM Rings shooting BH 77TMK ammo. Around 200 yards, bang flop. No drama, insides sloshing and full of blood (gutless so didn’t see). Shot was directly behind front shoulder, minimal/almost no meat damage. Very tidy killing tool.

View attachment 777082

Entrance with undamaged front shoulder removed.
View attachment 777084View attachment 777085

Exit with undamaged front shoulder removed.
View attachment 777086


MT’s 2 day youth season is this week so I hope the kids can put it to use on deer soon.

Good work!

I am fired up for the MT youth hunt again this year, too. My girls have been burning powder in our RSS and we're hoping to put another couple pics up here a week from now. The .223/TMK combo has been beyond impressive for us the last few seasons. (And it's my favorite rifle to shoot, too. )

Good luck to you and the youngsters!