Hunting deer with .223 rem. using Nosler partitions

[awaveritt]

I know hunting deer with a 223 rem is a controversial subject, but has anyone had any experience with deer using the Nosler partition .224 60gr. bullet. It seems that a bullet of this type of construction could mitigate the inherent weakness of the .223 on deer-sized game. Any thoughts.

[millercreek]

I know alot of deer have been killed with .223 by people in my family. I normally use .243 or .30-30, but I think the .223 is fine as long as the range isn't too far. My 6 yr. old nephew shot his first deer last December with his .223.

[Inspector3711]

If your state allows it by all means use a .223. Just be aware that shot placement is key. That bullet is a decent choice.

[leadbutt]

In the areas that allow it, they seem to have a good reputation as does the Winchester 64 grain power point, pick your shots and its a done deal

[awaveritt]

Thanks for your responses. One other thought I have is about shot placement. Is a neck shot the most efficient or would a well-constructed bullet of this type have enough punch for a shot through the rib cage?

[j.chappell]

I have never used the Nosler but have used Barnes 53gr. X Bullets and Speer 70gr. Semi-Spitzer's a great deal from my 22-250's. I have taken deer broadside, frontal, and neck shots not a single deer has ever stepped away. They generally drop on the spot.

I would not hesitate to take a deer broadside with the Nosler bullet as I am sure it is a better constructed bullet than the Speer that I use and they work wonderfully.

J.

[BIGR]

With the proper shot placement it should be no problem to take deer with it.

[publius]

like j.chappel, I haven't used the Partition but have used the Barnes-x 53gr. with satisfactory results. I think the Partition will do the same. Shot placement is key. I would go for a perfect broadside double lung or a very high neck shot. With a Very high neck shot you will destroy the all important veins and arteries going to and from the brain. This is a shot not to be taken by anyone but an experienced hunter with a lot of hours in the woods and at least a couple dozen animals under his belt. broadside is the ticket unless you really know how to read deer behavior.

[Lloyd Smale]

My best friend has a multiple of problems due to a car wreck when he was young that broke his neck. He had to go through his umteenth surgery this year and couldnt shoot anything heavier. He took one of his ars and shot a deer with both the nos. part and the barns x and both deer dropped on the spot. before he did this he did some penetration testing with a pile of differnt .22 bullets. He found these two the best and surprisingly the 60 grainers like vmax and sierras did worse then the 55s. he has some perfectly mushroomed partitions and barns bullets from that testing. they look textbook perfect but still are very small. SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT.

[Inspector3711]

The Vmax is for varmints and would not be a good choice for deer. They weren't meant to penetrate very deep before coming apart. When you say Sierra, was he using Varminters or Game Kings? Varminters weren't meant for deer either but Game King was.

The Partition was designed for larger game like deer and is a good choice. The Barnes bullets are good as well. Just make sure you get something that's designed for deer and not varmints.

[Noonan]

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...d.php?t=329141

[DoctorXring]

.

Keep this article in your files for people who doubt
the 60 grain Partition as being able to do the deal
on deer size game.

http://www.gunsandhunting.com/Bullethitsbone.html


.

[James R. Burke]

It is not the best choice for deer but it will work. Like everyone else said shot placemet is key. I dont believe a neck shot is the best to many things can go wrong like a miss, and I have seen deer get away that were hit in the neck. I think a double lung shot might be a good one, and gives you a pretty big area for error. With the partition with a lung hit you might get a complete pass thru, and thats what you need. Just my two cents. Have fun!

[Jack O'Conner]

This photo shows my daughter at age 15. My .223 rifle shooting 64 grain Winchester ammo toppled this muley. She can hit a dixie cup at 100 yards with this rifle / ammo. The bullet was never recovered; it went clear through the animal and broke a rib as it exited.

Jack

[Doyle]

One of the things you absolutely must consider before doing this is the rate of twist of your barrel. Many .223 rifles have slow rates of twist that are optimized for lighter bullets. Try to run a 60 grn bullet through one of those and suddenly your groups start looking like a shotgun pattern.

[impact]

I don't see a problem with the 223 when used for hunting deer. Iv'e killed many of deer with a 222 with Remington green and yellow box ammo. Shot placement is everything. I like to make neck shots if I can.

If you can make that good shot you don't really need any kind of special bullet. If you feel you need to use the Nosler Partitions? go for it!

Iv'e seen people drop deer time after time with a 243 and other people loose deer with a 300 winchester mag. Hell I know of a guy that killed so many deer with a 22-250 with factory ammo it's not even funny. Shot placement is everything!

[Swampghost]

My experience with old Mini-14's .223/5.56 is that they cause a lot of damage on our small deer when used in close quarters. I can't stand throwing away nearly 1/4 of a deer due to poor cartridge choice.

[impact]

so! are you saying a 223 has more power than lets say a 30-06? If you loose 1/4 of your deer with a 223. Then for sure you wast less of the deer with something like a 30-06. Is that what you are saying? I guess a 22 Hornet will about blow the deer in half.

[TCman]

Impact, the .223 is moving alot faster and creates more shock thus ruinuing more meat compared to the 30-30 which just pushes through compered to the .223

[impact]

yah TCman I know what you are talking about. I was just being an ass. I don't care if you are shootiong a 50 BMG or an 22lr. Shot placement is everthing.

I say if you can hunt with a 223 with Nosler Partitions and make good shots! Hell go for it!

My beater gun is a Stevens 200 in 223 with a 3x9 Leupold scope. This one rancher said he had a problem Beavers in this one tank. So I went out there at about 10 pm with a spot light. My Stevens and I in 223 took a nice beaver out of this tank. No beaver! no problem! no more!

[Swampghost]

impact, something like a 30-06 is ridiculous on our smaller deer. Where I generally hunt the shots are very close, 30 yds. would be a long shot.

The .223 is barely stabilized at this range and I've seen HUGE exit wounds basically eliminating the entire shoulder after trimming out the shocked meat.

I do have a few 30-06's. I use them for larger hogs when we catch them out on the heads. The range is usually from 200-300 yds.

[impact]

swampghost at 30 yards it don't matter what you shoot. Hell at 30 yards I can take a deer with a handgun. But you know east Texas hunting is up close

[impact]

swampghost the last five hogs I killed were with a an old Ruger blackhawk three screew 22lr. They were in traps. One shot in the head and it was over. before that I killed three hogs in a trap with a 410 and three slugs. The 410 slug was a bit to much but it did the job.

[Para Bellum]

How heavy are these deer you want to hunt with a .223?

[awaveritt]

How heavy are these deer you want to hunt with a .223?

Not sure if you're asking the OP this question, by my OP question related to deer hunting in Texas where the whitetail can be very small (100 - 150 lbs.)
I appreciate the continued interest in the thread.