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is the .223 a good deer gun?

deadeye08deadeye08 Member Posts: 17 ✭✭
edited June 2002 in General Discussion
i was woundering if the 223 is a good deer gun for pennsylvania hunting? any feed back?
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  • Big Sky RedneckBig Sky Redneck Member Posts: 19,752 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    uhh ohh, you did it now!
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  • robsgunsrobsguns Member Posts: 4,581 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Oh Lord, you have no idea what you are about to start, again. Let me say this, if you are an expert shooter that can place a bullet within 2" of where you want it, and keep your shots to within 250 yds. yes, it will work. If any one the above questions you answer no to, no its not. 7mm, have at it. Bullzeye, speak now or forever hold your peace.

    He, he, I just noticed, he already answered his question in the subject title, 'I was woundering', wounding, get it, I kill myself.
    SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC

    Edited by - robsguns on 06/15/2002 22:50:41
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  • deadeye08deadeye08 Member Posts: 17 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    well actually i can do both of the above and i like it for deer but i prefer my 7mm08 for my primary deer gun..but however i would not be affraid to shoot MORE deer with my little 223..


    well 7mm i got it started for ya
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  • Mr. LoboMr. Lobo Member Posts: 538 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I enjoy this question. There are good arguments for either opinion you will here. I enjoy my 223 but would only use it for deer if it were all I had. I like my Mdl 700 30-06 for the Bambi take down...no worries.

    Jim

    Oh yeah JMHO!
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  • Big Sky RedneckBig Sky Redneck Member Posts: 19,752 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    let's take a poll, how many replies do you think this will get by this time tomorow?

    could get interesting!
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  • deadeye08deadeye08 Member Posts: 17 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    yes could get very interesting 7mm but guess what we already know what they do to the little brown deer.....hey people let's get the red stuff flowing round here
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  • robsgunsrobsguns Member Posts: 4,581 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    From what I hear deadeye, you cant hit the side of a barn, when you're in it. A little bird about 7mm tall said you needed a full auto just to come close to scaring what you shoot at. You better stick with the 08.
    Sorry, couldnt help it!

    SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
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  • Big Sky RedneckBig Sky Redneck Member Posts: 19,752 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    HEHE, hey it's a little late for the forum to get buzzing tonite, but by this time tomorrow it should be going good.

    And hey, yes we already know what it will do! we should take some of these folks hunting with us someday, redneck style!
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  • Big Sky RedneckBig Sky Redneck Member Posts: 19,752 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Robsguns, he knows where I live! And I will say this about him. He can shoot better off hand than I can off bags, he will do things with the .223 that would make your head spin and he shoots the same gun as me, heavy triggered NEF single.
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  • deadeye08deadeye08 Member Posts: 17 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    its ok robsguns i can take a rip but be prepared when i give that rip back...lol..and yes we need to get some of these people that dont believe us when we tell them that we kill a certain # of deer a year with us sometime so they can s$#@ thier pants when we come home with a truck load...
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  • gunpaqgunpaq Member Posts: 4,607 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'll put my 2 cents in. A friend of mine gets a deer and a turkey every year with his .223. It is his only rifle and also uses it for groundhogs and coyotes. He is not a Sgt. York or Daniel Boone either but he kills them dead every time.

    Pack slow, fall stable, pull high, hit dead center.
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  • COONASSCOONASS Member Posts: 2,068 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    why why why why why why why why would want to shoot deer with a vermin gun , when you have a find caliber in that 7mm08........
    Yes you can kill deer with a .223......but why why why why why
    when you have a much suited gun................

    A .22 short will kill a man but I never heard a bank robber use one...

    A ten gauge will kill squirrels but I never used mine for that........

    why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why..

    unless your eight years old and hunting with a adult..............


    coonass

    We Live in a World of Give And Take, But A Lot Of People Won't Give What it Takes.
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  • deadeye08deadeye08 Member Posts: 17 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    thats nice linktoshoot but were not shooting them under the spotlight..........we can actulaay find deer in the dat time...but ofcoarse 7mm needs my guiding skills every once in a while...
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  • deadeye08deadeye08 Member Posts: 17 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    well coonass we all like a challenge from time to time and i like to make crazy shots that the average joe would not..but thats why i hunt and thats why i call myself a sportsman..but hey everyone has thier fancy about this subject and they all shoot the 30 cal. bore guns and because they dont have enough faith in thier shooting to use a light cal.gun..LOL
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  • Big Sky RedneckBig Sky Redneck Member Posts: 19,752 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    deadeye, just because I can't see a mile away like you.............!lol
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  • COONASSCOONASS Member Posts: 2,068 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    deadeye08.........In all honesty how many deer have you killed in your life and how many you have shot and didn't find.........

    coonass



    We Live in a World of Give And Take, But A Lot Of People Won't Give What it Takes.
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  • deadeye08deadeye08 Member Posts: 17 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    well 7mm if ya would get off your a## and go get glasses you could see.and then in archery season i could get ya out of the tree beside me........lol
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  • 4wheeler4wheeler Member Posts: 3,441
    edited November -1
    Here we go again!!!!!!!Everyone on this forum except for one already knows that the 223 is KING

    "It was like that when I got here".
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  • sodbustersodbuster Member Posts: 2,305 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    This is going to be cool,,I was just going to "lurk" but I can't resist.
    Aren't Pennsylvania deer kinda like greyhounds with antlers?
    Here in Kansas,,(hoo boy here we go),,its tuff to tell a muley from a grain fed steer 'cept fer the antlers.
    It is illegal here to hunt a deer with a .223.
    Is it because our deer dress out like a half ton steer?
    No, its because a lot of hunters don't dust off there guns but once a year and the "poor" shooters demand more firepower to kill the deer.
    I don't doubt that anybody that is reading this post has the ability to drop any North American game with their .223. That is because you shoot your rifle often, and can place that shot that kills.



    "Just my opinion."
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  • Big Sky RedneckBig Sky Redneck Member Posts: 19,752 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    LOL, I aint that bad now! I don't get in the tree beside you, just stay within earshot thats all!

    And atleast I seen that groundhog today before you!
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  • deadeye08deadeye08 Member Posts: 17 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    yes but 7mm who missed it off of a rest.....and im sorry 4 wheeler but i can only hunt what we have in pa and yes we dont have the good graces of the man above to give us such massive deer but i would not be affraid to come out there and hunt with my 223..
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  • robsgunsrobsguns Member Posts: 4,581 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Why bother, Good night all, no matter what you shoot, quick someone open the barn door, deadeye found his magazine. He, he, he, he!!!

    SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
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  • Big Sky RedneckBig Sky Redneck Member Posts: 19,752 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Hey, what did I tell you in the truck?? There was two of them! The one I shot died and it's big brother was the one we saw running!

    And don't forget the wind, it was blowin pretty good!

    You know, something comes to mind about you and a .223.hmm let's see here, .40 grain bullet and a ..........what was that??
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  • deadeye08deadeye08 Member Posts: 17 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    no robsguns i only have a single shot and yes open those barn doors and let the lead fly and the deer die........lol
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  • COONASSCOONASS Member Posts: 2,068 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    deadeye are you still counting???????????????????????????

    *

    We Live in a World of Give And Take, But A Lot Of People Won't Give What it Takes.
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  • deadeye08deadeye08 Member Posts: 17 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    yes i am why do you wanna buy all the hides when 7mm skins all of them?
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  • Big Sky RedneckBig Sky Redneck Member Posts: 19,752 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    You know, I should start charging for all that skinning work I do every year. I skin ALL of mine and every body elses, and for some reason when I'm around every body forgets how to gut.
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  • salzosalzo Member Posts: 6,396 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Genera;ly I do nott get into these caliber discussions, 'cause I dont know much about them. All I know, is I use a 3030, 12 guage shotgun, and an occasional 3006 for whitetails, and they all work fine for me.
    However, I do remember reading in a book about some guy who decided to run up and live in the wild in Alaska, and he brought nothing but a .22 rimfire rifle with him-he killed a moose with it.
    Poor *(the dude not the moose) died some few months after that though.

    "The powers delegated by the proposed constitution to the federal governmentare few and defined, and will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace negotiation, and foreign commerce"
    -James Madison
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  • COONASSCOONASS Member Posts: 2,068 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    No deadeye just a honest answer , not a side step joke..........

    Gotta go to bed , Wife calling ya know...........

    Catch ya later..............coonass

    We Live in a World of Give And Take, But A Lot Of People Won't Give What it Takes.
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  • deadeye08deadeye08 Member Posts: 17 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    well coonass if you want a truthful answer well i guess i can give it so you know ..but probally will not believe me anyhow..last year i had a slow year and most guys would have said it was a good year for them ok coonass here ya go my stats as of last year..

    i will put them in catagories for ya
    bow-6
    muzz-4
    rifle-10
    now coonass theres a run down of my season so what do ya think now do you think i have killed enough deer in a year to be considered a hunter?
    oh yes i also killed 5 spring gobblers this year...
    and no i shoot all my deer in season not with a light or out of season..
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  • alchemistalchemist Member Posts: 19 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I can't believe anyone in his right mind would advocate shooting a deer with a .223, and probably most of those who do, feel that the army made a mistake switching from .308 to .223 caliber. Doesn't figure. Humans and deer are both thin skinned creatures, but being on four legs, protects the vitals far more than standing erect on two legs with your body weaving about precariously in full view. Can you kill a deer with a .223, have ppl done it and therefore claim it works? Sure. Have black beer been killed with a .22 mag or even rim fire? sure. OK then how many of you .223 deer hunting advocates would espouse hunting bear with a .22 mag? Not fair you say? No not exactly fair but it is similar. Are you willing to bet $ that you can kill a deer every time under any circumstances with a .223? Welllll nooo, it has to be within so many yards, broadside, with no angles and blaaaa blaaa blaaaa. This is all becomes an academic game. Let's get real, and why not carry and use a gun while deer hunting that will kill that deer in 99% of the situations you will face? End of argument!!!
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  • groundhog devastationgroundhog devastation Member Posts: 4,495
    edited November -1
    Come on Bullzeye!!! Enlighten this guy who missed the last post that got to 150 replies. GHD
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  • robsgunsrobsguns Member Posts: 4,581 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    alchemist,
    It doesnt take a chemistry major, just kidding with you, to figure out that the deer doesnt know the difference between a .223 and a .308. Bullet selection is everything. If I were to use a .223 I would load it with Barnes Bullets, and I guarantee you I can kill anything reliably and quickly with a Barnes Bullet, provided I keep my distance equal to the game and bullet. Other hunters have their favorite bullet, they will work too. I think people get hung up on the thought of people using military ammo, without thinking there are a lot of other ammo choices. Shot placement with the .223 is no more important than with the .243, and no one will try to argue that the .243 is not capable of taking deer, but I wouldnt use the .243 any sooner than the .223. The .223 will work fine if you want to use it for deer hunting, we all know that, we just dont like admiting it. Dont take this topic seriously, its just a standing joke among many of us, mostly 7mm.

    SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
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  • alchemistalchemist Member Posts: 19 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    LOL ok sarge, barnes bullets and all i still wouldn't use the .223, nor would i use a .243. It'll work if conditions are right. I won't go any lower than a .257. Of course then you get the ppl who hunt deer with .300 mags and swear by them. Puts them down in one shot lol Ya ok guess it will.
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  • RembrandtRembrandt Member Posts: 4,486 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    The question as originally stated by Deadeye: "i was woundering if the 223 is a good deer gun for pennsylvania hunting?"

    Answer: probably would do the job, but not a good caliber for Midwest deer, it just bounces off them....our deer are sort of like Africa's Cape Buffalo..."use enough gun!"


    Ouote Deadeye: "i will put them in catagories for ya
    bow-6
    muzz-4
    rifle-10
    now coonass theres a run down of my season so what do ya think now do you think i have killed enough deer in a year to be considered a hunter?"

    Answer: Was it really necessary to take 20 deer last year?....must be like shrimp, very tasty but it takes a lot of those tiny deer to make a good meal....heehee



    Edited by - Rembrandt on 06/16/2002 10:33:17
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  • RugerNinerRugerNiner Member Posts: 12,636 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    PA. doesn't have tiny deer.
    Hunting deer with a .223 is fine as long as it is full auto.

    Remember...Terrorist are attacking Civilians; Not the Government. Protect Yourself!
    Keep your Powder dry and your Musket well oiled.
    NRA Lifetime Benefactor Member.
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  • robsgunsrobsguns Member Posts: 4,581 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    alchemist,
    Funny you should say that about the .257, thats the smallest caliber bullet that I'd actually prefer to go on a deer also, guess great minds do think alike. I like holes that still remain big enough to bleed well after the bullet passes through, I really like big holes with minimal meat damage to the surrounding area, thats what I need my .458 for, but it really does a number on the rabbit, little wascals.

    SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
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  • RugerNinerRugerNiner Member Posts: 12,636 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    SaxonPig;

    Do You Have Writers Cramp?


    Remember...Terrorist are attacking Civilians; Not the Government. Protect Yourself!
    Keep your Powder dry and your Musket well oiled.
    NRA Lifetime Benefactor Member.
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  • cowdoccowdoc Member Posts: 5,847 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    up here in the upper northern plains you would not want to use a .223,
    our deer are big and at ranges you might have to shoot one at are long you can see 10-20 miles in any direction here.
    I dont think you would want to be shooting at or near a Boone and Crocket size buck here with a .223.
    I dont know how things are back east 223 might be all right for the distances there, but not out here i use from .270 to 300 mag.
    doc


    I dont give my guns without somebody getting hurt!
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  • alchemistalchemist Member Posts: 19 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Yea sarge, here here on all you said!! I wish Remington still made thier mountain rifle in .257. What a beauty!!! Actually i've fallen i love with the .260 rem as a deer gun. It think it purrrfect. I do have to admit a fondness for the .357 handgun on deer though. Its kinda like using a .243, you have to be more careful with your shot, altho the new 180 grain HPs and soft points make it a better round.
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