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

goalie

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Dec 22, 2020
Messages
183
Location
Midwest
I’m in love with my cheap OCL polonium 556. Really quiet with my 223 and will work fine on a 22creed and any 6mm. Can’t wait for the hydrogen model.
This. Heck, even my Gemtech Tracker on a .223 with thread adapter is WAAAAAY better than shooting unsuppressed. But the Polonium punches way above it's price point that's for sure.
 

ElPollo

WKR
Joined
Aug 31, 2018
Messages
1,663
I’m with you on ear pro. I double up with one exception - my 223 with the Magnus when hunting. I *think* it’s hearing safe. But it’s unwieldy length wise, even with the 16.5” barrel
I have an AB raptor with a 3” reflex that I use on all my guns. I wouldn’t shoot a lot of rounds out of it without ear pro, but a few out of my 18” Tikka does not cause significant differences in my current tinnitus level. Would not do that out of an AR though. The Tikka has similar recoil to a spring position airgun with the can. Highly recommend the suppressor even for 223s. I don’t shoot centerfire rifles without them anymore.
 

FredH

FNG
Joined
Dec 2, 2021
Messages
81
What are the best impact velocities for the TMK and ELDM bullets? I know there is expansion down to 1800 fps but It would seem a little more speed would be better. I see a lot of people shooting 16 inch barrels and from a 223 with a 77 grain bullet I don't believe many are going to see 2700 fps if that. Where I hunt visibility farther than 200 yards is just not going to happen. 50 yards is far more the norm. I ran an 80 grain ELDM through some jugs this morning, blasted through 2 and ended up in the third. This is it. Water tends to separate jackets from cores as they slow down and all of this was in the third jug.

 
Joined
Dec 2, 2024
Messages
2
I have a Ruger AR with a 1:9 twist, so 77 TMK is out for me. That said this thread made me buy and try some Hornady 73 ELD match. I zeroed it today and it’s a 2 MOA load for my rifle, but that’s more than ok where I can’t see to shoot more than 200 yards.

I’ve killed a lot of animals on depredation permits with a 55 grain soft point so I am very interested to see how these 73 ELD-M perform. I’ve always been a neck shooter with the 55’s and it works, but I wanted something my kids could shoot easy and shoot behind the shoulder shots.

I’m seriously contemplating a Tikka 223 and 7-08 matched pair for family rifles and that’s mainly because of this thread!
 

FredH

FNG
Joined
Dec 2, 2021
Messages
81
I have a Ruger AR with a 1:9 twist, so 77 TMK is out for me. That said this thread made me buy and try some Hornady 73 ELD match. I zeroed it today and it’s a 2 MOA load for my rifle, but that’s more than ok where I can’t see to shoot more than 200 yards.

I’ve killed a lot of animals on depredation permits with a 55 grain soft point so I am very interested to see how these 73 ELD-M perform. I’ve always been a neck shooter with the 55’s and it works, but I wanted something my kids could shoot easy and shoot behind the shoulder shots.

I’m seriously contemplating a Tikka 223 and 7-08 matched pair for family rifles and that’s mainly because of this thread!
The 73 gr. ELDM out of a 1-9 twist is on the edge. That bullet is designed to be run in AR15's but maybe you will have good luck with it. 1-8 or faster would be better.
 
Joined
Dec 2, 2024
Messages
2
Yeah it’s on the edge. I am going to buy a 1:8 bolt action in the spring.

Kids are shooting deer 50-75 yards over a corn feeder so it isn’t like a long range setup is needed for the rest of this season.
 

Reddish

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Apr 1, 2023
Messages
272
62gr fusion vs 75gr gold dots for sub 100yd shots and shoulder busting? Or does it come down to grouping? Would you generally expect pass through with either?

16" barrel 1:8 twist
2600fps MV with 75gr hpbt
I get pass throughs with the 62gr. 75’s are pretty much impossible to find these days.
 

WIDrake

FNG
Joined
Jul 30, 2024
Messages
32
The 73 gr. ELDM out of a 1-9 twist is on the edge. That bullet is designed to be run in AR15's but maybe you will have good luck with it. 1-8 or faster would be better.
And here I am somehow getting good results out of my bolt action with a 9 twist running the 75s long and fast. 2.5coal at 2850 in the cold weather and it's still running nicely right around 1moa 10 shot at 100. Granted it all goes to hell under 20° but above that we're golden
 

rclouse79

WKR
Joined
Dec 10, 2019
Messages
1,911
Is it just me, or is there a disproportionate amount of magnum rifles in the classifies? I think this thread is working. Saw a cool video last night where the backfire guy on YouTube compared rifle price to group size. He found a much higher correlation when he compared group size to the ratio of recoil to rifle weight. Pretty much what has been preached on here.
 
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