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

[goalie]

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]

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.

 

[Te Hopo]

Hearing protection plus a suppressor makes for a fun gun, my friends daughter was 8yo in thus vid and its been her favourite rifle to shoot for years

 

[dreamingWest]

My daughter bang flopped her first buck (first animal of any kind) this morning. 77 TMK, supressed Tikka 223. Pics and more to say later, but this combo is simply superb.

 

[sierracharlie338]

My daughter bang flopped her first buck (first animal of any kind) this morning. 77 TMK, supressed Tikka 223. Pics and more to say later, but this combo is simply superb.

That’s awesome

 

[Hardly_Hangin]

Federal 62gr Fusion.

Federal 62gr Fusion or the identically constructed Speer Gold Dot 62 and 75gr.

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

 

[FredH]

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.

 

[Tahr]

Hearing protection plus a suppressor makes for a fun gun, my friends daughter was 8yo in thus vid and its been her favourite rifle to shoot for years

That was a strange accent

 

[BrowningGuy88]

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]

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.

 

[BrowningGuy88]

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]

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]

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]

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.

 

[FredH]

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

What I meant by "better" and I used the word might, is straight line penetration "might' be better if spun faster. I posted some pictures of a deer hit with a 75 gr. Hornady HPBT shot from a 1-9 twist barrel that 2 out of three shots wildly diverged from sight line. That bullet is shorter than the 73 grain ELDM . .981 to 1.046, length is what decides how much spin is needed. In my 1-9 twist 223 the 75 gr. HPBT Hornady is not the most accurate bullet for that barrel and I am not going to waste any of my 73 gr. ELDMs in testing. Precision is but one criteria.

 

[FredH]

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.

More powerful rifles do require more practice to shoot well. Was there any mention of how much shooting each of the participants did? My Model 7 in 7-08 is harder to shoot well than a varmint weight barreled 223 without question. It won't shoot half inch groups no matter who is behind the trigger.

 

[Justin Crossley]

More powerful rifles do require more practice to shoot well. Was there any mention of how much shooting each of the participants did? My Model 7 in 7-08 is harder to shoot well than a varmint weight barreled 223 without question. It won't shoot half inch groups no matter who is behind the trigger.

It doesn't matter how good a shooter you are. Lighter recoil is always an advantage in hit percentage.

 

[WestTN2288]

Anybody used the 60 TMKs?

 

[FredH]

It doesn't matter how good a shooter you are. Lighter recoil is always an advantage in hit percentage.

Not at all unless you are talking about long strings. It very much matters how good a shooter you are. Hunting usually means one and done unless shooting prairie dogs and the average prairie dog rifle isn't much of a kicker, after all they weight less than 3 pounds. Do I enjoy how my 7MM RM kicks? Not really but I can shoot small groups for 20 or so shots with it before I get tired of shooting it.

 

[Justin Crossley]

Not at all unless you are talking about long strings. It very much matters how good a shooter you are. Hunting usually means one and done unless shooting prairie dogs and the average prairie dog rifle isn't much of a kicker, after all they weight less than 3 pounds. Do I enjoy how my 7MM RM kicks? Not really but I can shoot small groups for 20 or so shots with it before I get tired of shooting it.

I used to think exactly the same way but this is false.

Can I get prone and shoot a 338 Lapua very well? Yes I can.

Can I shoot a 223 better consistently? Yes

Go try it in multiple field positions and see if you change your mind as I did.