Shraggs
WKR
Love those unique bucks! Nice
.223 for bear, mountain goat, deer, elk, and moose.
- Thread starter PNWGATOR
- Start date
Sweet buck! Very unique
McD18
FNG
Joined the .223 club after reading this thread earlier this fall. I have the Rokslide special T3X Lite chopped to 18" with an OCL hydrogen k 6.5 mm. I meant to buy the SS but accidentally got the blued barrel from europtic so I rattle canned it.
I ordered some AAC 556 w/ Sierra TMKs but the rounds were not concentric and group size sucked (1.8 moa - 8 shots).
Hornady 73 gr ELD-M groups at .8 moa (8 shots) so I rolled with this.
Day 1
-Shot an aoudad ewe from about 80 yds, she did a 180 and died about 10 yds later.
-Shot a Jake at 20 yds (rio grande turkey)
-Shot a cull buck at 100 yds, DRT
Day 2
-2 x javelina at 100 yds, DRT
-Shot an 8 pt at 200 yds quartering to, ran about 30 yds and died
No autopsy pics. Deer and aoudad all the same, small entry and meat loss on the front shoulder, far shoulder good to go. No blood trail whatsoever.
I ordered some AAC 556 w/ Sierra TMKs but the rounds were not concentric and group size sucked (1.8 moa - 8 shots).
Hornady 73 gr ELD-M groups at .8 moa (8 shots) so I rolled with this.
Day 1
-Shot an aoudad ewe from about 80 yds, she did a 180 and died about 10 yds later.
-Shot a Jake at 20 yds (rio grande turkey)
-Shot a cull buck at 100 yds, DRT
Day 2
-2 x javelina at 100 yds, DRT
-Shot an 8 pt at 200 yds quartering to, ran about 30 yds and died
No autopsy pics. Deer and aoudad all the same, small entry and meat loss on the front shoulder, far shoulder good to go. No blood trail whatsoever.
How does the 6.5 K sound? I have a 6.5 S on my RSS, but Andrew posted this last night...
McD18
FNG
It sounds great to me but I haven't compared it to anything except an RC2 and RC2 mini on an AR. I shot a few of the animals without ear pro and it was fine.
I really like the overall size and weight of it on the 18" bbl, very easy to handle. I think Andrew will be better able to answer your question but I'm gonna guess the Ti polonium will be more optimized for 223 but it looks to be a bit bigger and heavier.
I threw this rig together very recently and the Hyd K was actually in stock at silencer shop so I grabbed it also anticipating I'll get into 6mm or 6.5mm in the future. But the polonium is cool because it can handle 6mm as well, not sure how it sounds with 6mm creed.
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np307
Lil-Rokslider
Caught a knothead slipping through the pines this morning. No trouble tracking this one lol
bcmntgoathunter.
FNG
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2024
- Messages
- 15
Not making fun of you but is that a jack rabbit size deer? Or just the camera angle lol dose it still have milk on its lips?all good my man meats meat I'm sure you'll get at least a few hamburgers out of it.
np307
Lil-Rokslider
Southern riverbottom button buck. They don't get much smaller than this. Not much bigger than an average dog.
bcmntgoathunter.
FNG
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2024
- Messages
- 15
Ahhh ok im used to deer like this one I got with my cross bow
Attachments
np307
Lil-Rokslider
Cool. I hunt some other areas of the state where the deer are a little bigger but these river bottoms are fun to still hunt through. I like to brine and smoke the hams from a fawn like this.
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2024
- Messages
- 21
I guess I converted. Took my 7mm rem mag tikka t3x and put a 16.5” McGowen lite 223 barrel 1/7 twist.
Federal premium 77grain smk has shot the best so far. 2580 fps.
Looking for a much cheaper option. Hopefully can score on the 77 tmk whenever they are back in stock.
Think this could be a marginal coyote round
Federal premium 77grain smk has shot the best so far. 2580 fps.
Looking for a much cheaper option. Hopefully can score on the 77 tmk whenever they are back in stock.
Think this could be a marginal coyote round
Attachments
Hoosker Doo
Lil-Rokslider
Up until yesterday, my only experience hunting big game with a .223 was when my wife shot an antelope buck 4 or 5 years ago with my AR at 200 yards using 62 gr Federal Fusion. Despite being a low/brisket shot the buck walked a few steps and bedded down. We moved in to about 80 yards and put one in the boiler room to finish him.
After seeing that and reading this thread, I wasn't very hesitant about getting a .223 set up for my kids to start shooting in the next few years, and so that I could try it out on some deer. I'm using 73 gr. ELD-M due to a 1-9 twist. (I went with a Savage 110 for a lefty compact off the shelf. 20" barrel. I know it's a Savage. But I won't really care when my teenager in 5 or 6 years drops it, lays it in the mud/rocks, or falls on it hiking in the snow.)
Deer #1 - Mature doe @ 420 yards. Quartering sightly away. Impact velocity 1970ish fps. Entrance was in the last couple ribs. Mule kicked and ran about 80 yards and crashed.
The bullet exited the ribs leaving a nickel to quarter sized hole, but didn't exit the offside front shoulder. I couldn't feel a bullet under the hide. The front shoulder had a lot of gooey bloodshot. I'm interested to see what kind of meat damage and bullet fragments I find when I butcher it.
Deer #2 - Mature buck @ 281 yards. Impact velocity around 2,220 fps. Low chest/heart shot. Entrance was touching the point of the elbow joint with a finger diameter sized entrance through the ribs. Took a chunk out of the side of the heart, and had a dime sized exit through the ribs, and broke the opposite front shoulder. I didn't break down the buck, so I don't really have autopsy pictures, but I could feel a piece of bullet under the hide on the broken offside shoulder so I cut it out and found a deformed chunk of lead about the size of a pencil eraser. Once again, interested to see what that opposite shoulder looks like.
At the shot he fell to his face but plowed forward for 10 yards before getting his feet under him. Trotted another 30 yards or so, stopped and looked up, then dropped.
My wife also took 2 deer. A 2 1/2 year old buck at 123 yds and a button buck at 270 yds using a 6.5 CM with 143 gr ELD-X. All 4 deer were hit in the vitals. All 4 deer were only shot 1 time. All 4 deer ran between 40 and 80 yards and all 4 deer were dead within 20 seconds of being shot. The 6.5 CM did leave bigger holes, but damage between the ribs was indistinguishable. I'm actually wondering if the 6.5 would have done less damage to opposite shoulders (she did not ruin any meat with her shots) because the smaller 73 ELD-M probably entered the opposite shoulder having fragmented to a point similar to buckshot rather than a larger bullet having more mass which would still have a larger mass/shank as it pushed into the shoulder? Or maybe it would just punch a bigger hole along with smaller fragments moving outward.
I couldn't ask for more lethal performance with my shot placement. Only difference is what size/shape of holes do you like in your carcasses.
Edit to fix wrong numbers.
After seeing that and reading this thread, I wasn't very hesitant about getting a .223 set up for my kids to start shooting in the next few years, and so that I could try it out on some deer. I'm using 73 gr. ELD-M due to a 1-9 twist. (I went with a Savage 110 for a lefty compact off the shelf. 20" barrel. I know it's a Savage. But I won't really care when my teenager in 5 or 6 years drops it, lays it in the mud/rocks, or falls on it hiking in the snow.)
Deer #1 - Mature doe @ 420 yards. Quartering sightly away. Impact velocity 1970ish fps. Entrance was in the last couple ribs. Mule kicked and ran about 80 yards and crashed.
The bullet exited the ribs leaving a nickel to quarter sized hole, but didn't exit the offside front shoulder. I couldn't feel a bullet under the hide. The front shoulder had a lot of gooey bloodshot. I'm interested to see what kind of meat damage and bullet fragments I find when I butcher it.
Deer #2 - Mature buck @ 281 yards. Impact velocity around 2,220 fps. Low chest/heart shot. Entrance was touching the point of the elbow joint with a finger diameter sized entrance through the ribs. Took a chunk out of the side of the heart, and had a dime sized exit through the ribs, and broke the opposite front shoulder. I didn't break down the buck, so I don't really have autopsy pictures, but I could feel a piece of bullet under the hide on the broken offside shoulder so I cut it out and found a deformed chunk of lead about the size of a pencil eraser. Once again, interested to see what that opposite shoulder looks like.
At the shot he fell to his face but plowed forward for 10 yards before getting his feet under him. Trotted another 30 yards or so, stopped and looked up, then dropped.
My wife also took 2 deer. A 2 1/2 year old buck at 123 yds and a button buck at 270 yds using a 6.5 CM with 143 gr ELD-X. All 4 deer were hit in the vitals. All 4 deer were only shot 1 time. All 4 deer ran between 40 and 80 yards and all 4 deer were dead within 20 seconds of being shot. The 6.5 CM did leave bigger holes, but damage between the ribs was indistinguishable. I'm actually wondering if the 6.5 would have done less damage to opposite shoulders (she did not ruin any meat with her shots) because the smaller 73 ELD-M probably entered the opposite shoulder having fragmented to a point similar to buckshot rather than a larger bullet having more mass which would still have a larger mass/shank as it pushed into the shoulder? Or maybe it would just punch a bigger hole along with smaller fragments moving outward.
I couldn't ask for more lethal performance with my shot placement. Only difference is what size/shape of holes do you like in your carcasses.
Edit to fix wrong numbers.
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- Joined
- Nov 7, 2023
- Messages
- 51
I don’t have anything novel to report after my first PA buck killed with the little green bullet -just another “yep, that’s what they said would happen”.
A hunter did come over from the neighboring property to see who I was after I had flayed the deer. He thought my gun was weird (it’s hideous) and that the wound looked ghastly.
A hunter did come over from the neighboring property to see who I was after I had flayed the deer. He thought my gun was weird (it’s hideous) and that the wound looked ghastly.
Do you find the red dot to be helpful? I shot a white tailed doe with a SWFA 6x at 30 yards this fall. Did not have an issue getting on target quickly in thick timber.Public land doe opening day, -90 yards
Tikka roughtech ranch 16” 223
Swfa 6x w/ holosun 407a3 , nf rings
Krg echo
Yhm t3 w/ Cole tac cover
Factory Hornady 73gr eld
Found jacket opposite shoulder,
It winced, tried twice to take a step, but couldn’t then fell over.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
knale87
Lil-Rokslider
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2021
- Messages
- 278
Just got home from opening weekend for Pa rifle season at my family property. Brought my tikka 223 as my primary rifle using factory 73gr eldm’s. Killed a nice red fox, a doe, and a buck. Didn’t get any good pics since the deer went to a processor due to CWD regs. Very pleased with the outcome of this combination.
The fox was roughly 30 yds facing me on a log. Bullet entered the lower jaw, tore out the throat area, and ended up somewhere in the chest cavity. The fox tipped over and was dead before he hit the ground.
During a push I had a large doe group come past me at about 65 yards. I tried stopping the biggest one but she kept going. As I continued to scan the woods I noticed another doe had stopped and was facing me. One round to the front of the chest at the base of the neck dropped her in her tracks and she didn’t even flinch. Her lungs were shredded but I’m guessing either a bullet or bone fragment hit her spine. Didn’t get any pictures of her.
Shot this buck this morning from my saddle at just over 30 yards. It was an awkward angle as it was extremely still out and I didn’t want to move my feet and spook him. Hit him a little far back and shredded his liver. He bounded maybe 20 yards and stopped. He looked like he was about to go down but since he was still up on his feet, I sent another square in his shoulder. He took a couple bounds and crashed dead.
Blood trails and exits were nonexistent, but that’s ok when they drop dead in sight.
The fox was roughly 30 yds facing me on a log. Bullet entered the lower jaw, tore out the throat area, and ended up somewhere in the chest cavity. The fox tipped over and was dead before he hit the ground.
During a push I had a large doe group come past me at about 65 yards. I tried stopping the biggest one but she kept going. As I continued to scan the woods I noticed another doe had stopped and was facing me. One round to the front of the chest at the base of the neck dropped her in her tracks and she didn’t even flinch. Her lungs were shredded but I’m guessing either a bullet or bone fragment hit her spine. Didn’t get any pictures of her.
Shot this buck this morning from my saddle at just over 30 yards. It was an awkward angle as it was extremely still out and I didn’t want to move my feet and spook him. Hit him a little far back and shredded his liver. He bounded maybe 20 yards and stopped. He looked like he was about to go down but since he was still up on his feet, I sent another square in his shoulder. He took a couple bounds and crashed dead.
Blood trails and exits were nonexistent, but that’s ok when they drop dead in sight.
Yet another data point with the 77 gr. tmk. Shot a large whitetail doe yesterday quartering to. Bullet went through ball joint in front shoulder, through the heart, and stopped just under the hide on the off side. No in field pictures of the heart because it was getting dark and she died at the bottom of a steep ravine, but there was about a thumb sized hole through it.
Entrance
Entrance with shoulder removed
Hole through shoulder
Bone fragments
Entrance inside cavity
Exit
Recovered bullet
Entrance
Entrance with shoulder removed
Hole through shoulder
Bone fragments
Entrance inside cavity
Exit
Recovered bullet
Another deer for the RSS this season. Nothing new performance wise, good shot= no fuss.
My son brought it down to the wire and got his first buck on the last day of general season.
Tikka 223 BH 77gr TMK, approx 2475 impact velocity. One shot to the point of the shoulder followed by maybe a 10 yard dash before crashing. All over in about 5 seconds.
Entry under hide
Entry through hide
Onside shoulder broken
Lots of blood and carnage between the chest and shoulder
Damage on outside of chest wall and muscle with shoulder peeled back
Hole in robe cage
Chest cavity was full of blood, heart and lungs shredded, no apparent damage to offside shoulder. Onside shoulder will be almost totally trashed but will save what I can.
My son brought it down to the wire and got his first buck on the last day of general season.
Tikka 223 BH 77gr TMK, approx 2475 impact velocity. One shot to the point of the shoulder followed by maybe a 10 yard dash before crashing. All over in about 5 seconds.
Entry under hide
Entry through hide
Onside shoulder broken
Lots of blood and carnage between the chest and shoulder
Damage on outside of chest wall and muscle with shoulder peeled back
Hole in robe cage
Chest cavity was full of blood, heart and lungs shredded, no apparent damage to offside shoulder. Onside shoulder will be almost totally trashed but will save what I can.
Attachments
5 deer in an evening.
2 shot with factory PMC Bronze 55 grn. 200 yds, high shoulder. These bullets seem to work well. One dead on spot and one made it 15 yards.
Next one a Red deer hind. Neck shot with 74 grn Berger custom. 150 yds. Bang flop.
Next 225 yds high shoulder shot, 74 grn Berger custom. Staggered/tipped 10 yards.
Last one was on the run, bit far back liver shot and neck shot to finish. 74 grn again. 100 yds.
(We take the head off and leave the ears on the deer, prior to gutting - thats why the head is missing)
All of the meat to a charity soup kitchen.
.223's kill using any good bullet. Green tip or not. No blood trails from any of them.
2 shot with factory PMC Bronze 55 grn. 200 yds, high shoulder. These bullets seem to work well. One dead on spot and one made it 15 yards.
Next one a Red deer hind. Neck shot with 74 grn Berger custom. 150 yds. Bang flop.
Next 225 yds high shoulder shot, 74 grn Berger custom. Staggered/tipped 10 yards.
Last one was on the run, bit far back liver shot and neck shot to finish. 74 grn again. 100 yds.
(We take the head off and leave the ears on the deer, prior to gutting - thats why the head is missing)
All of the meat to a charity soup kitchen.
.223's kill using any good bullet. Green tip or not. No blood trails from any of them.
Freezer Bull.
80 Grain ELDX.
Yardage: 120ish (never ranged). Impact Velocity: 2,920ish. Shot Position: Kneeling Unsupported. Impact Location: High on the 5th Rib Bone. Exited 5th Rib Bone. Bullet lodged in offside fat/hide. Massive fragmentation, damaged spine, damaged lung, heart was chunked up mess. Distance Travelled After Shot: 0 Yards. Paralyzed. Heavy and labored breathing for around 90 seconds.
Entrance
Exit
A few heart chunks like this
80 Grain ELDX.
Yardage: 120ish (never ranged). Impact Velocity: 2,920ish. Shot Position: Kneeling Unsupported. Impact Location: High on the 5th Rib Bone. Exited 5th Rib Bone. Bullet lodged in offside fat/hide. Massive fragmentation, damaged spine, damaged lung, heart was chunked up mess. Distance Travelled After Shot: 0 Yards. Paralyzed. Heavy and labored breathing for around 90 seconds.
Entrance
Exit
A few heart chunks like this
Silver Wings
FNG
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2023
- Messages
- 87
I’m trying to load up on components for practice this year…bullets and brass. Has anyone seen any great Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals? I’m stocked up on hunting bullets, but would like to get a bunch for practice. Don’t want to sacrifice much in terms of accuracy since I already suck at shooting and don’t want to further confound figuring out why I missed…and of course, I’m trying to get my cost per shot down. TIA
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