And there’s the difference. If we aren’t talking about the same thing, then we are just arguing. I have killed a lot of animals with all kinds of .224 bullets. There is a large difference between 75/80/88 gr ELD-M and X, 77gr and to a lesser extent 69gr TMK’s and any of the normal .224 bullets. The wound from 77gr TMK’s are closer, and often nearly identical to the .277 Hornady SST that you said you like. Go back through this thread and look at the pictures I posted and say that the 55-62gr bullets you are using creates winds like that- even on the exit side.
There are lots of bullets that kill deer and even elk in .224, but those bullets aren’t doing what the projectiles being discussed do- we have literally walked up to elk, made a fist and stuck it in the hole from a TMK. Federal Fusion 62, and Speer Gold Dot 62 and 75gr are great bullets, but even they (save the 75gr) don’t do what the ELD-M/X and TMK does.
If you continue to put your use of those .224 bullets as the same as what we, and all these threads are talking about- then it is a pointless conversation. I’m not trying to be rude here, but no one but only a couple guys are talking about conventional .224 bullets, and I am not understanding why some keep bringing them up. Also, despite what Tahr said- the 77gr TMK, and to a slightly lesser extent the heavy ELD-M and X bullets are different than conventional bullets when seen in large numbers.
A 55gr Sierra Gameking kills fine from a 223 usually, but in no way would I consider it to be an all around, all animal 0-500 or even 600 yard combo. More like a 300 yard one- as you stated. Yet without question in well over 200 whitetails, mule deer, and antelope; a couple dozen bear, moose, goats, and around 40 elk from less than 30 yards to 803 yards- the .224 calibers with fast twist and heavy match bullets is an all around, all animal killer. Keep their impact speeds above 1,800fps and they kill emphatically.
We log the time to incapacitation, distance traveled, and how many hits for each animal we kill. From .224 to .338 when using heavy for caliber tipped match bullets and VLD’s, the time to incapacitation is actually lowest with 6mm, then .224, then 6.5 and goes up as caliber does. Distance traveled is also lowest with 6mm and .224’s, followed closely by 6.5- though all are within 10 yards or so of each other. Amount of hits per animal ranges from 1-7, and is all over the map as per caliber- there has been no clear difference, save that shooters can shoot more rounds in the same time with less recoil and more shootable rifles.