here is what I got down in Wimberly yesterday morning about 0700

100yds +/-
.223 Winchester 55gr Ballistic Tip

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/Sir_William/Wil_006.jpg

Cool!

But perhaps a better title would be:

"My AR Bucks the trend of large caliber deer rifles"

I mean... your title reads "DOES" and it's got boy parts  

".223 is too small for deer"

Not around here...    I always shoot tehm in the neck right before their shoulder...  instant kill, instant drop...   This has been the most humane way of harvesting these animals here.

A .308 gets it done, but sometimes they run, and sometimes the wound cavity is too much for these deer and it tears too much up....

I have taked several deer with my AR... and will continue to do so in the future...

Quoted: Quoted: ".223 is too small for deer" Not around here...    I always shoot tehm in the neck right before their shoulder...  instant kill, instant drop...   This has been the most humane way of harvesting these animals here. A .308 gets it done, but sometimes they run, and sometimes the wound cavity is too much for these deer and it tears too much up.... I have taked several deer with my AR... and will continue to do so in the future... JOKE ....note the smartass smiley--->

Really, COZ... geez!  Some people!  

.223 too small for deer?  Hell, the carbine is almost AS BIG as the deer!  How much bigger you need???

JOKE ....note the smartass smiley--->

oops..   i missed that.....didnt scrool down that far....

I apologize for the mistake...

Who's the funny-looking guy holding your ears?

Why'd you shoot such a young buck?

Quoted: Why'd you shoot such a young buck?

I wasn't going to say anything, but since you did, +1.  At least he should be nice and tender, as long as he didn't run.  Young does often make better freezer meat if it is part of the overall management plan for the respective property.

This was a management hunt....

Several does were taken yesterday as well...for population control

this buck was a cull

he has several deformaties on his rack if you look close.  the base has some deformaties and two of the left points are also deformed and chipped.

I'm not sure if he was hit by something, or it is in fact a birth defect, but his left front "knee" had an unexplained growth as well...looking something like a calcium deposit would for us.  

I am a very ethical hunter and will only take what my family can eat, or if I do take one for management and I cannot accomodate it in the freezer, I have several friends and family that can...

I will also never take a shot that I am not totally confident will result in a quick, if not instantaneous, kill. That includes, rifle and bow as well...

Management hunts are a must around here.  The population is high...and that includes young bucks.  Some inbreeding in the herd is common as well...thus the possible reason for deformaties...

This buck did not die in vain, nor was his death for "rack/trophy" reasons...

This buck fulfilled his role in the circle of life, and will provide my family with meals for a while.

I apologize for stepping up on the soapbox...  

No apology needed, that was a fine speech.

nice buck

That coyote's got horns!  

More proof that an AR is enough to take down a deer:



I would recommend you switch to the Winchester 64gr PP. The 55gr Ballistic tip is a fragmenting varmint bullet. While I'm sure it has good terminal effects, I wouldn't want to ruin any more meat than necessary. My son's shot pentrated through-and-through, even shattering a bone on the way. The exit wound showed nice controlled expansion.

"I would recommend you switch to the Winchester 64gr PP. The 55gr Ballistic tip is a fragmenting varmint bullet. While I'm sure it has good terminal effects, I wouldn't want to ruin any more meat than necessary. My son's shot pentrated through-and-through, even shattering a bone on the way. The exit wound showed nice controlled expansion.
"

The 64gr Winchester soft points I tried at the range were not as accurate as the 55gr winchester ballistic tip...    I can keep 1" groups easily with them where as I was only getting 3" groups with the 64gr soft points...

I aim and hit these deer in the neck just before the shoulder area (3-4" before it)...
it takes out about 3-4 vertebrae and ruins no meat except for that area.  The deer drop instantly and die  what appears to be instantly as well.  No meat is ever wasted here.  What is not taken in huge chunks for roast, back strap, or whole quarters is used for jerky or ground up.  I even take the ribs for smoking as well.  

I have been working on another load using a winchester 64gr Power Point...
We'll see how that goes...  

Yeah - it won't matter much with neck shots...

Nice deer.  Good shooting.  Before last year, I always thought that 'proper' deer bullets began at .257".  Last year I had to reevaluate my thinking after seeing first hand the wound channels from several South Texas deer taken with .224" bullets.  Both the 64gn Rem Power Point, and the 60gn Nosler Partition provide very good through and through wound channels with broadside hits on South Texas sized deer, at least at ranges within 150 yds.

The buck I shot on opening day with my .416 Rigby at 150 yards managed to run 30 yards after being hit with a 400gn Hornady soft point.  The buck was nearly broadside, with shoulders angling slightly towards me.  I placed the shot just in front of the point of the left shoulder and a straight wound channel should have broken the right shoulder as the bullet exited.....  But the bullet did not exit the deer!  It was recovered from the right hip, and still weighs 323.2 gn.  That 165 lb whitetail barely flinched when it got hit with 5000+ ftlbs of force.  I saw the dust from the bullet's impact, but the deer's reaction to the shot had me questioning whether or not I had hit it.

You just can not put an animals will to live on an x, y, z grid.  I have also decided I will NOT use Hornady 400gn softpoints if I ever get to hunt Africa.

Quoted: This was a management hunt.... Several does were taken yesterday as well...for population control this buck was a cull he has several deformaties on his rack if you look close.  the base has some deformaties and two of the left points are also deformed and chipped. I'm not sure if he was hit by something, or it is in fact a birth defect, but his left front "knee" had an unexplained growth as well...looking something like a calcium deposit would for us.   I am a very ethical hunter and will only take what my family can eat, or if I do take one for management and I cannot accomodate it in the freezer, I have several friends and family that can... I will also never take a shot that I am not totally confident will result in a quick, if not instantaneous, kill. That includes, rifle and bow as well... Management hunts are a must around here.  The population is high...and that includes young bucks.  Some inbreeding in the herd is common as well...thus the possible reason for deformaties... This buck did not die in vain, nor was his death for "rack/trophy" reasons... This buck fulfilled his role in the circle of life, and will provide my family with meals for a while. I apologize for stepping up on the soapbox...

Excellent description, clean harvest!

Quoted: The buck I shot on opening day with my .416 Rigby at 150 yards managed to run 30 yards after being hit with a 400gn Hornady soft point.

Ya' see, now you're supposed to run around telling people that a .416 Rigby "isn't enough gun" for Texas deer.  

People that say .223 isn't enough gun for deer usually live where the deer are twice the size of the ones in Texas, too....so it's probably true where THEY live but not necessarily here. Our deer may be small but they breed like rabbits so they're everywhere...this is why lots of places in TX have a 4-5 deer limit and in Missouri you get one :)

nice deer, that'll be good for the freezer.

Coz,

I could see that glimmer in your eyes all the way over here in Austin.  

Quoted: Ya' see, now you're supposed to run around telling people that a .416 Rigby "isn't enough gun" for Texas deer.

Ngog, That is exactly what I tell the Yankees.  I tell the Damnyankees they will need .50BMG and APIT plus a South African bushman for a tracker.  

Quoted: Ok I guess people didn't realize I was joking... Too hip for the room....

nah, I saw the smartass smiley.....I was just trying to mess with SirWilliam, I know him offline.

Aargh.. Can't.. help.. it...

[ElmerFudd]
That's one a them illegal assault machine guns! They're only good for killing lots of people! You can't hunt deer with that!
[/ElmerFudd]

Nice shot.

Rock on Jeremy...

So what happend at the last action pistol match...   looks like a ringer came out...

Toby was smokin fast man...    
looks like they had a nice turn out for the 3-gun as well...

Copperas Cove Pistol club...   look us up folks...   4 matches a month... sometimes more...