223 load for small deer

[lovedogs]

All good thoughts, Lloyd. One problem with the 60 gr. loads in a .223 is that not all .223's will stabilize them. In fact, few with the twist in sporters will. I've got an older friend who has bought into the idea that the Swift is a deer slayer. He shoots 60 grainers in it. And, when things go right it really flattens them. But, as anyone with much experience can tell you, things don't always go right. This old friend is a very good shot. But sometimes it's not the problem of the shot. A deer can move at just the wrong time. A few years ago I took him hunting. He spied a fat, young whitetail buck at about 90 yds. and took a shot at him. The deer wheeled around to run at the shot. He was hit through the left ham. The 60 gr. Hornady went up and into his chest. It went all the way through, just nicking a lung, and exited. The deer ran off. You could tell it was hit but it did run off. My old friend is well past his deer chasing age so I had to follow it. I caught up with it about 200 yds. later in a patch of brush where it was still on it's feet but looked like it wanted to lay down. I broke it's neck with my 7-08. I was quite surprised at the penetration of that bullet. But the fact remains that if I hadn't found it that deer would have been lost. I admit a .22 centerfire will kill deer. If anyone can vouch for that it is I. But I really don't recommend them.

Some of the research for a better military round is interesting. I can't see why they are researching some of the more exotic rounds, however. It seems to me it would have been quite easy to convert arms to something like a .260 or 7-08. That'd function fine in any arm that'd handle a .308 and would be acceptable in the recoil dept., also. And they'd have good ballistics. Why bother with resurrecting a .300 Sav. case and stuffing a .277 into it? I think a stock .260 with military ball ammo would work just fine. And it'd make that cartridge a success, as it should be. Anything military seems to catch on in the civilian market and the 6.5's have had a hard time catching on in spite of their excellent capabilities.

[Lloyd Smale]

do you think anything would have changed on that wounding shot if say a 100 grain 243 was used? I think you would still have had a wounded deer. There some parts of field condition a guy just cant control and eventualy if you hunt enough your going to run into one of them and no gun is going to make up for a poorly placed shot. Now your argument would have been much better if the bullet would not have penetrated like it did. Something that really surprised me too!! I have to agree on the over engineering of military rounds. Personally i think something like a 243 or 708 would be all thats needed in a military rife. Seems to me that there just throwing money at a problem that is not there.