While not legal in Colorado, I have no problem letting my daughter use a .223 for deer when I take her hunting in Oklahoma. .223 is perfectly legal there as long as you use a 55 grain or heavier bullet. I let her shoot Barnes Vortex ammunition using the 55 grain TSX and it has worked well so far. Two years hunting now and two dead dear, bot one shot each.
Here she is at nine with her first deer 141 yards, .223 Rem Stevens 200.
Here she is at 10 with her second deer 116 yards, .223 Rem Stevens 200.
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Originally Posted by mxsailor803
Some people claim they will use a .223 for deer, I for one, won't even let someone hunt my land with anything smaller than a .243/6mm. Now, several people are correct that it does require better shot placement but with adrenaline pumping, the risk of a lost/injured animal increases. That's just my view as a land owner.
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It is your right as a landowner as well to require larger rifles, and I'm not picking on you as several other have echoed your comment. However, I hate the comment that a .223 requires better shot placement, by yourself and several others in this thread. Regardless of bullet size if you make a poor shot your going to loose an animal or at the very least a long tracking job and recovery effort. Bullet diameter never makes up for a poor job of putting the bullet where it belongs.
I used a 6mm-222 Rem Mag (6X47 Rem) to shoot my deer this year. It's a 6mm would you allow me to shoot deer on your land with that? I mean it fits your requirement of .243/6mm, and it pushes a 80 grain bullet at 2880 fps, and has nearly 1200 ft-lbs of energy at 100 yards. Is that enough for your deer? According to my state of Colorado that combination is perfectly legal to hunt elk, but I don't think I'll try it anytime soon.
I know for a fact it was easier for my daughter to shoot the .223 well and make better shots than having her use a .243 Win or .250 Savage, even when she was excited. She shot it much better from field positions than she did any other of the rifle cartridges I mentioned. I would love for her to use a larger cartridge but not before she is ready, I wouldn't be doing my job as a father by forcing her to use a rifle she wasn't ready for. It's my job to ensure her success if she is going to enjoy hunting, and letting her use the .223 did that for her.