I have a 16" middy Voodoo barrel on my AR with a 1:7 twist. I just ordered a box of Hornady 75gr Superformance BTHP .223 and was wondering if anyone on here has experience with this round when it come to Whitetail deer. My operation range in my treestand is under 150yds, so no super long shots for me. How is the stopping power, and do you have any gripes?

The BTHP projectile in that ammo is designed for match use, as compared to hunting.

You can expect good accuracy on paper out to 300 yards. I have no advice good or bad with respect to using this on deer. Someone with experience will probably chime in soon enough. I suspect the usual swirl around what is meant by "use enough gun" in the "stopping power" debate will come up, but I am sure you expect this unless you are very new to the topic. If you are new to this, don't let it bother you. You have much to read about.

Are you using this because you can't find hunting ammo, or don't reload?

Good luck with hunting season in any case!

BTW, the 223 isn't right, this version of ammo is only listed under 556
http://www.hornady.com/store/5.56-NATO-75-gr-BTHP-Superformance-Match/

correction, there is a 223 version.

Believe it or not, hornady does do a .223 rem in the 75 bthp (http://m.hornady.com/store/223-Rem-75-gr-bthp-Superformance-match/), but I read some reviews and it looks like a good round. I was looking at buffalo bore heavy ammo, but have a friend that uses this ammo in a larger caliber. This will be my first season with my build, and will be doing a deer upper in the future (30 cal). I really wanted to know if anyone had in fact killed a deer with them, and how the round effect is on impact. Will be doing more research for next year. Thank you for your input!

Will re-edit my edit....

Didn't know about the 223 version.

I'd use the 5.56 version.   My main concern would be lack of a blood trail.   I have a hard enough time tracking them when I blow a fairly large hole though them with my .30-06.   The best is my crossbow with Rage broad heads.   Hard to miss the blood trail when there's flies in it.

No idea on deer, but get avg. of 2566 fps out of a 14.5" barrel.

I reload the 75gr BTHP and have shot 5 whitetail with it.. all shots under 120 yards. 4 of the 5 deer have either dropped or walked less then 20 yards and died. The 5th one I knew I made a bad shot and the doe ran 40 yards and stopped and I shot her again and she dropped right now.

I know a lot of people who will say you shouldn't take a big game animal like that with a .223/5.56. But I believe that you can if your shots are under 150 or so yards and you have practiced with your rifle. Hell give someone a 338 lapua and have them shoot a deer. If they haven;t practiced with the gun it won't do them any good to make a good clean kill.

I've taken the shots in 15 degree weather and 60 degree weather. Again I believe if you practice practice practice with your rifle with that ammo (does you no good to shoot 55 gr plinkers all summer, then come fall shoot 75 gr.) you should have no problem killing a whitetail under 150 yards. Good shot placement and if you think you made a bad shot and they are still prancing or stopped after running.. take another shot to make sure. (try not to take running shots)

I killed the biggest deer of my life last year with a 75 gn Hornady bthp loaded with 24 gn of varget. The bullet does not do well at all against bone.

If you hit soft tissue it does good damage but any bone and the bullet flies to pieces. If I ever use a 223 again I will use only a bonded round. Most likely the fusion or

64 gn gold dots I have that I reload. Perfect for deer.

Thanks for the help guys. I really appreciate it. Just ran it at the range at 100yds and was blown away by the accuracy. I had keyholes on an m4 zero target with a primary arms micro red dot. Now to do a ballistic test...

Did you notice pressure signs? Many have blown primers using the .223 and 5.56 Superformance factory loads. I have a few cases of these- it is hot ammo, designed for rifle length gas systems.
Many do not like it, is OK in my uses, but not super accurate. Still accuracy should be fine for regular distance- many cannot beat 2.5-3moa shooting (while I have).

Also, the .223 load lists higher velocities (on the box) than is listed for the 5.56 version. This is due to a 24" barrel used in testing the .223 Superformance as opposed to a 20" on the 5.56.

Personally, I think there are better bullet choices for hunting, but these should kill humanely with good shot placement. Good hunting

Neck shots are your friend!  

Heart/lung shots have never lost me a pound of meat.

First and foremost, it is not a big game bullet and may be illegal to hunt with in your state.  There are plenty of 223 bonded big game bullets that would be much more suitable and effective to hunt with.  Losing an animal sucks.

The bullet you want to use behaves like a FMJ unless it hits something hard.  If you hit bone, it will fragment without penetrating.  Choose the correct bullet construction for hunting.

I'd sooner rely on BARNES VORTX ammo than any BTHP round.  You'll get better penetration and reliable expansion, with no bullet weight loss.

Snipe