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

[HairyScandinavian]

I bought some but havent shot it yet. Its listed at 2700 fps so maybe a little slow. Should get to shoot a few this weekend.

Looking forward to the report. You got a Chrono?

 

[omicron1792]

Another instance where perfect placement pays off.

Yep. Smaller calibers sure help with that.

 

[vonb]

What's your barrel twist?

Tikka .223 20". 8 twist.

 

[FredH]

Yep. Smaller calibers sure help with that.

Shooter plays the most important role.

 

[Pharmseller]

Shooter plays the most important role.

Are we still doing this?

 

[ElPollo]

Daughter shot this stud this morning with my 22ARC. 140yd heart shot with an 88ELDM. Went 10 yards

View attachment 984502

View attachment 984504

That is a good shot through the heart on a nice buck. Congrats to your badass daughter. But it’s also the kind of bullet performance that makes me less than confident about using the 88 eldm. Looks like it pencilled through at least half the animal on a shot with plenty of impact velocity.

 

[Gettincloser]

I have my experience with the 88 eldm listed on the 22 ARC page. Short version, I feel (in my limited experience) that the 80gr eldx has better expansion performance and I prefer this over the heavier 88 eldm.

Maybe an 88gr eldx or 88gr TMK is in the future... I would be very happy camper to see those in factory 22 ARC loads!

 

[Robinhood21]

That is a good shot through the heart on a nice buck. Congrats to your badass daughter. But it’s also the kind of bullet performance that makes me less than confident about using the 88 eldm. Looks like it pencilled through at least half the animal on a shot with plenty of impact velocity.

It absolutely did not pencil through this Deer. The bullet expanded completely & did not exit. It took the top part of the heart as pictured and obliterated the bottom of the lungs. We have shot five deer now with the 88gr ELDM and the results have been devastating. Last year, my daughter shot a doe frontal shot in the chest at 30 yards with my 22 Creedmoor w/ 88s and you could stick your fist in her chest.

Trust me, the 88s do not pencil through

 

[FredH]

Are we still doing this?

Hah! Yes. Really can't argue that the shooter plays the most important role now can you?

 

[ElPollo]

It absolutely did not pencil through this Deer. The bullet expanded completely & did not exit. It took the top part of the heart as pictured and obliterated the bottom of the lungs. We have shot five deer now with the 88gr ELDM and the results have been devastating. Last year, my daughter shot a doe frontal shot in the chest at 30 yards with my 22 Creedmoor w/ 88s and you could stick your fist in her chest.

Trust me, the 88s do not pencil through

Hard to tell without the rest of the wound cavity for context. Just looked like the bullet zipped through the heart without a lot of damage. Meant nothing personal by it. The word on the street about the 88 ELDMs is they are not super consistent compared to the 140/147g versions. Halfway into an animal at 140 yards, I would want to see more damage than that unless it was on the edge of the wound channel.

 

[omicron1792]

Hah! Yes. Really can't argue that the shooter plays the most important role now can you?

Can’t argue that people shoot smaller calibers better than larger ones either…..

 

[Thegman]

Yep. Smaller calibers sure help with that.

Hah! Yes. Really can't argue that the shooter plays the most important role now can you?

Being that's a given, why argue that? Do you dispute the point in the upper post?

Do the words "irrelevant" or "non sequitur" mean anything to you?

 

[KHntr]

Hah! Yes. Really can't argue that the shooter plays the most important role now can you?

Personally, I am of the opinion that a heavy for caliber, more frangible bullet spun fast buts a lot more leeway on a marginal hit than a larger caliber bonded or mono bullet.

So yes, the shooter is secondary to bullet construction in my opinion.

 

[Kaleb]

Personally, I am of the opinion that a heavy for caliber, more frangible bullet spun fast buts a lot more leeway on a marginal hit than a larger caliber bonded or mono bullet.

So yes, the shooter is secondary to bullet construction in my opinion.

Yea but what if a fella wanted to shoot something big like elk or moose?.......grin

 

[Pharmseller]

Can’t argue that people shoot smaller calibers better than larger ones either…..

That’s the main point, 12,474 posts later.

 

[Elk botherer]

Shooter plays the most important role

In my very small sample of two kids that are old enough to hunt, they both were started on .22 lr and were good shots and then were moved up to reduced 120 gr loads in a 7mm/08 and neither could shoot any more (my boy couldn’t hit a 2’x1.5’ target at 100 yards). I found this thread and skeptically thought I’d give it a shot. With a lot of dry fires on the .223 to get rid of his flinch from the 7mm/08, my boy tightened his groups significantly and even put three shots at 400 yards in a three inch group. Now both have filled several tags, including two elk. What changed here in each situation? Shooter or the caliber?

 

[Gravel Road]

Good day for the Tikka 223. 2 coyotes in the AM and a little meat buck 10 minutes before the season ended. Typical 77 TMK results. 50 yard shot, ran 35 yards with no blood trail. The only disappointment was that I didn't hold a little higher because the heart was absolutely shredded and I really wanted some heart meat

 

[Gettincloser]

Good day for the Tikka 223. 2 coyotes in the AM and a little meat buck 10 minutes before the season ended. Typical 77 TMK results. 50 yard shot, ran 35 yards with no blood trail. The only disappointment was that I didn't hold a little higher because the heart was absolutely shredded and I really wanted some heart meat

Glad you got the 2 coyotes! Every hunt is a coyote hunt if one shows up!

Why the high vis green though?

 

[FredH]

In my very small sample of two kids that are old enough to hunt, they both were started on .22 lr and were good shots and then were moved up to reduced 120 gr loads in a 7mm/08 and neither could shoot any more (my boy couldn’t hit a 2’x1.5’ target at 100 yards). I found this thread and skeptically thought I’d give it a shot. With a lot of dry fires on the .223 to get rid of his flinch from the 7mm/08, my boy tightened his groups significantly and even put three shots at 400 yards in a three inch group. Now both have filled several tags, including two elk. What changed here in each situation? Shooter or the caliber?

We are not all kids. I can completely understand that young inexperienced shooters may not shoot even light loaded 7-08 or 308 loads well. It still boils down to the shooter being able to place the shot age not withstanding. It is always preferable to chose a cartridge one is comfortable shooting.

 

[Gravel Road]

Glad you got the 2 coyotes! Every hunt is a coyote hunt if one shows up!

Why the high vis green though?

This was the first time I've ever shot coyotes while deer hunting but I couldn't resist when 4 of them bedded down and went to sleep on a sunny hillside only 200 yards away. When it was time to leave the 223 woke em up.
The green is just for fun and an homage to this site. The deer don't seem to notice so I figure it doesn't hurt anything.