A friend of mine has a patch of Rural Land Management land, and he is required to harvest 8 deer this year.  These are small south Texas deer, not north east 350 pounders.  I'd like to take a run at it with my AR.  I'm using an 18" heavy 1:8 in 223 Wylde.  Here's what I have on hand:
60gr. Federal Noslar Partition
55gr. Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silvertip
64gr. Winchester Super-X Power Point
62gr. Federal Fusion Rifle Softpoint (not the MSR, the Rifle)
I also might be able to get my hands on 75gr. Hornady TAP

The pinned post is a bit lean on specifics - does anyone have any feedback on these for deer?

Those will all work fine, I’d use whatever you’re most comfortable with or get cheapest. Whitetail deer down in the S (or anywhere, if we are being honest) aren’t too hard to kill. I like 75gr Gold Dots (really close to your Fusion option) and 77gr TMKs.

People will debate about what works ‘best’ forever, but at the end of the day most options work well enough.

IMO 223 is a little on the small side for deer, that said

https://fortscottmunitions.com/collections/rifle-ammunition/products/5-56-nato-sbs-brass-hog-rifle-ammo?variant=32603382342

62gr spun brass bullet in 556

Does some impressive stuff in the jelly and I've heard good reports of its use on deer, personally I'll stick to my 30-30 when it comes to stocking my freezer.

Just take good shots with a bullet you are accurate with  where you hit the vitals, long as it isnt varmint ammo with extreme underpenetration it will do.

Id maybe just take broadside shots...

Double tapped...

BIGGER_HAMMER

223 is too small imho, go bigger and more humane

62gr Fusion.

We've killed piles of whitetails with fusion/Gold Dots, and never had one fail.  Some of the others on your list HAVE failed.  We have rarely had one not exit (90+% through and throughs), and every good shot has led to a clean, quick kill, even out past 250 yards.  It has been reasonably accurate in everything from 1:12, 1:9, 1:8, 1:7, and bbl lengths from 16-24".

Barring that, I would use the Partition.  I wouldn't use the Varmint bullet, and I've had the old school cup and core bullets fail to penetrate, and TAP fail to frag.

I've taken +150lbs deer with Fusion 62 grain ammo and they've dropped like a rock. When I clean them the wound channel looks just like those I've harvested with my 300 Savage, and no one who's hunted deer will tell you that the 300 Savage is not enough cartridge.

In my view, with the proper ammo, the 223 would be effective for all but the largest whitetail deer and I'd bet it knock those down too.

i don't think you'd have an issue with any of the loads you listed.

62gr Fusion at 60 yards. Ran about 40 yards

exit wound

Attached File

The 62 grain Fusion is the pick of the litter in OP's list for smaller whitetail.

Our south Mississippi coastal whitetails are similar.  While I usually hunt with more powerful rifles (.270-.280-to-'06 class), and at longer distances, I have taken deer inside 150 yards (my max limit with a 5.56 AR) with Barnes 62 TSX.  This is an all copper monolithic hollow point design originally developed for larger caliber hunting rifles, like I normally use.  Its been popular in big game circles for decades.

In the 62 grain TSX it behaves like its bigger siblings:  Rapid expansion to 2x caliber, with 2x or greater permanent wound channel, breaks through bone, and leaves an exit wound with good blood trail.  Recovered bullets (rare) have almost 100 percent retained weight.

I've learned to purposefully take shoulder shots, if offered, rather than just behind.  Not only does it break the shoulder, causing the deer to drop on the spot, but it expands like a soft point, disrupts heart and lung and leaves a large exit wound.

The 62 Fusion relies on bonding of the lead core to the jacket, like Trophy Bonded Bear Claw bullets.  It works.  But, the TSX can't shed its jacket, as it is solid copper.

I have taken lots of whitetails with 223, your list has some good ones on it, for me I like 65 gr serria, the 55gr hornadys soft pt's lung shots work perfect.
64gr Winchester's, fusion by federal, and partition if you can't pick your shots and might hit shoulder bone.

After action report:

I went with the 62gr Fusions.  They were very consistent and accurate in my gun, and I wanted excellent shot placement.  Unfortunately, Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day to take our guns out for a walk, didn't see a thing!

You made a good choice. I usually go with fusions in my hunting .308’s. I took out gold dot 75’s, which are very close to fusions, this year and took a decent buck. He was only about 30 yards away and it was a neck shot so I could have used about anything though. All my fusion and gold dot kills have either been instant drops or dead after a <30m sprint.

Speer.  70 grain.  Have stacked them like cord wood with this bullet.  Does not have a cool name.  A long time before AR15s got popular these bullets were used in 223 and 22-250 with great success.

Barnes VOR-TX

For them whitetails Hornady's 55gr sp work great, I am always surprised what they go and how they hold together.

Good choice on the Fusion.  Have used it on several southern white tails out of a 16" with good success.  As with anything, shot placement is crucial

I have seen plenty Wisconsin Whitetail fall to the El Cheapo Winchester Power Point 64gr JSP. But yes, that Federal Fusion does the job, too!

For those saying that the Fusions are very close to the Gold Dots, have any of you seen both side by side after expansion? Asides from length and weight differences, they both expand the same. Put a 62 of both next to each other, you won't know which is which.

Molon has pictures of the 62 Fusion and 62 Gold Dot side by side and they are identical.

If you are using an AR or similar, the MSR version of the Fusion seems a little faster (and for some reason more accurate in my guns) than the standard non-MSR.

I just bought some 62gr Gold Dot, hoping it is same as the MSR.

You have to read the label very carefully on the 70 grain Speer SP, as they also have a .227 version of that same bullet.

62gr Fusion MSR works great on Wisconsin whitetails