Hunting white tail with my AR-15

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Hunting white tail with my AR-15

Posted: 10/29/2003 6:55:10 PM EDT

I want to go hunting white tail this year. But, I have no powerful rifles like a 308 or 30-06. It is legal in my state to hunt white tail with 223. Does anyone think this is a good idea. My longest shot in the woods that I will be hunting is 50 yds. Would a 223 take a deer down?

Posted: 10/29/2003 7:13:21 PM EDT

[#1]

Don't know about the legalities of it in your state, but it's all about shot placement.

Put one in the boiler room and that deer is going down.

Course there are much better choices in calibers for Whitetail deer.

Keep your shots under 100 yards.

Posted: 10/29/2003 8:23:04 PM EDT

[#2]

I was interested in this myself, because my only other longun is a shotgun and I cant hit anything over 80 yards with it.

Florida law says no rimfires, meaning 22 long rifle I suppose. No clips over five rounds, or you can plug your AR clips. No non expanding full metal case military ball ammo for taking dear, I guess that means no full metal jacket M193 and such.

The .223 is a capable hunting gun, of course it doesn't have the knockdown power but that little bullet will tumble all through that deers body. You just have to be a good tracker. Good luck hunting, I would treat the AR like when your bowhunting, just get as close as possible, stalk the deer.

Posted: 10/29/2003 9:56:23 PM EDT

[#3]

Here is a thread in the Wisconsin forum related to your question. It should be helpful to you; besides I don't want to type all that stuff again. [;)]

[url]http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=8&f=21&t=174177&w=searchPop[/url]

Posted: 10/30/2003 2:34:53 AM EDT

[#4]

I live in florida too, I don`t think you can plug your mag as it is still capable of holding more than five rounds. I think you have to buy a factory 5 rounder.thats what I was told by the florida fish and game comm.

Posted: 10/30/2003 3:47:49 AM EDT

[#5]

I am planning on using my AR this season...

Looks like head, or neck shoots are the way to go...

Where on the neck??? middle of??? Lower half???
Spine???

[sniper2]

Posted: 10/30/2003 3:52:44 AM EDT

[#6]

My son has killed four whitetail (3 doe and one six point) with a bolt action .223. All kills were one shot and no animal went farther than 30 yards after the shot.

We loaded Trophy Bonded Bear Claw 55 grainers to 3000-3050 fps and have never recovered a bullet. Tiny hole in, nickel size hole out. All shots were broadside with the exception of the buck. He was hit, more or less, chest on and the bullet exited in front of the right ham.

This year he is going to try Nosler partitions, but I don't think that you can improve on the TBBC performance.

All shots were 50 yards or under.

Posted: 10/30/2003 3:55:17 AM EDT

[#7]

lol, Im glad to see that Im not the only one wanting to do this. Im in NC and its by county here whether or not you can hunt with an AR, one county doesn't have any restrictions to it like 30 round mag or anything, but 30 rnds? really you might have a chance to get 2 shots off but thats it!!

hehe, looking forward to it all the same though!

Posted: 10/30/2003 4:39:29 AM EDT

[#8]

The realy question is not whether to use an AR15 for whitetail deer, but rather whether to use the .223 Remington for deer?

The .223 Remington can be an effective deer hunting cartridge provided you define the operating parameters and dont exceed those parameters.

One of the keys would be to use the proper bullet designed for expansion. If you dont reload, there are various options including Black Hills Remanufactured Ammo with the Nosler 60 grain Partition with a MV of 3150 fps. To be sure to reach the target with sufficient velocity to have proper bullet expansion, I would place a limit on use to 200 yards. I have found this bullet to be quite effective on deer and smaller hogs.

As mentioned, shot placement is very important. When using any light round, the margin of error for range estimation is far less then a larger round. Have a good laser range finder with you on the hunt to know exactly how far the target is so you dont under estimate the range.

Using the Nosler 60 Partition mentioned, sight in at 100 yards and bullet drop will be about 3.5 inches at 200 yards.

Posted: 10/30/2003 6:05:25 AM EDT

[#9]

Its is also worth noteing that in most states using a Mag with over 5 rnd capicity is illegal (for deer hunting) Even if there are only 5 rnds in it. You can not even have one on your person. Plus I have no idea were to look for the 5 rnd mags.

JIM

Edited to Add: It seems that I should have read all of the replies. Slap me if you must.

Posted: 10/30/2003 6:07:39 AM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
No clips over five rounds, or you can plug your AR clips.

View Quote

MAGAZINES not CLIPS. [rolleyes]

I hear the 64gr Winchester Power Point is a good round for this.

Posted: 10/30/2003 7:00:28 AM EDT

[#11]

No self respecting deer hunter I know in Michigan would use a 223 on deer.

However, I do know a guy who has no self respect who killed a 10 point buck with one shot at about 80 yards.

He claimed the deer just jumped up in the air and died when hit. The bullet obliderated the heart and lungs.

He did say later that he thought the 223 was too light to use in heavy brush. That it deflected too easily.

BTW, I think CDNN has AR mags for sale that convert from 5-9 rounds.

Posted: 10/30/2003 7:28:12 AM EDT

[#12]

I've seen several deer go down with a .223 and I have seen several get away after being shot with a .223. The issue, as others have already stated, is both shot placement and bullet selection. I would advise staying away from the light weight "varmit" type bullets designed for rapid expansion. It was from these that I have seen deer run away with big "blown out" places where the bullet went in and blew up just under the skin.

Last year, I killed a doe at 252 steps (I'm 6'2") with a single shot in the back of the neck just below the head. I was using the 60grain Hornady V-Max on top a max load of Varget. The bullet performed excellently. I don't know how well it would do at closer ranges when the velocity is still high but I think it will hold up quite well for head shots.

I enjoy hunting with my 20" AR. It is extremely accurate and perfectly capable of head shots out to 200+ yards with open sights. In heavy cover, I just try hard to pick my shot and not try shooting through brush. Not so sure that is a good idea anyway.

Posted: 10/30/2003 9:06:04 AM EDT

[#13]

Bushmaster has a 5 round mag for 19.95.

Posted: 10/30/2003 10:05:25 AM EDT

[#14]

I've also heard that Federal 64gr soft point is a good deer load.

Posted: 10/30/2003 10:19:56 AM EDT

[#15]

There was an article in American Hunter by a guy who shot a bunch of deer with 22 centerfire rifles. His conclusions was that you need (1) a shot in the vitals, (2) a controlled expansion bullet so you get penetration and (3) at least 2700 fps in velocity.

My grandfather did a lot of poaching with a 218 Bee, which is quite a bit less powerful than the .223 Rem.

Posted: 10/30/2003 11:19:09 AM EDT

[#16]

In 1959 my friend bought a .222 Magnum Remington bolt gun. He is a unique outdoor type who spends (still) time every week in the forest,or on a large mostly deserted federal reservation. He asked me to handload some ammo,early on. I chose 60 gr. Hornady spitzers by the very scientific method of placing a variety of mostly "varmint" bullets on an anvil and smashing them with a 2 handed club. He has killed 100's of deer w/ these at 2950fps. Very few screw-ups. However, he passes up shots, uses rests and aims well. Idea being, w/expert use .223w/sturdy soft points might be 99% effective; for most of us a little more throw weight and a blood trail-exit wound is indicated. It allows for some slight error. Killing deer is one thing, half killing is another.

Posted: 10/30/2003 2:52:50 PM EDT

[#17]

I used to think that shooting a deer with a 223 was plain wrong untill i tryed out some winny 55g s p.I don't know about a deer (i don't hunt) but those thing's sure leave one hell of a large exit hole in a 2by 4 at 100yrds.

Posted: 10/30/2003 3:36:30 PM EDT

[#18]

Winchester 64gr. Power Point Plus is very effective on deer.

Posted: 10/30/2003 5:19:05 PM EDT

[#19]

I shot my first deer with my AR this year. I used Remington 55sp. I really was feeling bad about not buying some winny powerpoints but after shooting her I don't regret it. That relatively plain round did a good job. She ran 30yds down hill on her last breath. (by the way it was a low heart and lung shot.)

Posted: 10/30/2003 5:21:40 PM EDT

[#20]

My brother-in-law uses his AR in Michigan for deer hunting. He claims to not shoot anything beyond 100 yards and he will only take head shots. I don't think he likes tracking, at all.

The 223 can work on deer. Shot placement is what counts, but that's been covered.
Scott

Posted: 10/30/2003 5:37:59 PM EDT

[#21]

Every fall this always comes up. There are a few threads on it already in the hunting area so you might want to check there for more info.
I took two deer last year with my AR, one took two shots, the other died in its tracks. The first deer, the two shot deer, only made it about 20-30yds total before it fell over and died. Of course the second deer took it in the neck severing the spinal cord and never had a chance.
Ranges were 30, 50yds for first deer (BTW, about 150lbs)
and 110-120yds for the second which weighed in about 100lbs.
Ammo used was handloaded with winchester 64gr powerpoints.
It can be done but if you want to use a "mousegun" on deer be sure you can put your shot where it counts, .223s are not powerful enough for "close enough" shots.
Just my opinion...

Posted: 10/31/2003 2:33:51 PM EDT

[#22]

[beathorse]

check out the hunting forums on this site.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Hunting white tail with my AR-15

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