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hunter g · Joined: 04 Aug 2009 Posts: 102

my little girl 12 years old got her first deer today and the only gun i felt was good for her to shoot was my browning 223. I always wondered what it would do to a deer and when she shot this buck at 150 yds i was shocked, with a full metal jacket her first shot was in the back leg 6" below the hip and it had almost taken that leg off it was dangling the buck ran down and across from us at 100yds the buck stopped and she shot it in the shoulder and it fell like a ton of crap we went up to it and the 2nd shot went threw the shoulder blade and the bullet split in two there was a 2 exit holes 4" from each other on the other side behind the front shoulder after the fun part "gut" the heart was hit aswell so if any one ever tells you 223 will not kill a deer they dont know what they are talking about. here is a few pic

elkkill06 · Joined: 02 Feb 2009 Posts: 274 Location: Fruita Colorado

What a great first deer and congrats! :thumbsup1: Always put the bullet where it needs to be and it is a dead deer.

jim muir · Joined: 09 Mar 2007 Posts: 163 Location: new brunswick

Never doubted the abilities of the .223, questioned fmj bullets though.

Fisher King · Joined: 04 Sep 2007 Posts: 317 Location: Muskoka Ontario

That is cool ! :thumbsup1: I can hardly waite till I can take out my Kids One is 5 and the other is 3.
Congrats one her first deer.
Regards F.K.

Alpine_Archer · Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:27 am Post subject:

thats a great buck your daughter got there. I'm pretty sure FMJ's are not legal hunting ammo you must use expandable bullets. you might wanna check on that before u get checked by fish and game.

HeavyC · Joined: 19 Jul 2008 Posts: 227 Location: Greeley, CO

Alpine_Archer wrote: thats a great buck your daughter got there. I'm pretty sure FMJ's are not legal hunting ammo you must use expandable bullets. you might wanna check on that before u get checked by fish and game.

Depends on what state you are in I pretty sure. Like in Colorado you cannot even use a .223 for big game, it has to be a .24 (6.5) or bigger.

Nice buck there girl!!! :thumbsup1: CONGRATS! 8-)

hunter g · Joined: 04 Aug 2009 Posts: 102

im not even sure if it is legal here as well but it was the only thing i new she could hit fairly good with i think next time to be real safe il have her shoot a barnes or something like that. i wish i would have taken a pic of the hole it put in that thing it may change a lot of hunters minds on the use of a 223. I use a 300 for my self and i seams to do the job. i didnt feel real comfortable putting that in a 12 year old's hands if you know what i mean.

Critter · Joined: 26 Mar 2009 Posts: 184 Location: Western Colorado

A .223 will do the job but the possibility of a wounded deer is a lot higher. I do know of a number of hunters in Utah that will use it as a close range rifle when they are road hunting for meat and a small buck will do. As far as the hole that it leaves it should be a large one since the bullet will start to tumble end over end once it hits an obstruction. That is one of the reasons that it make such a good military round.

Back when the .220 Swift along with the .22-250 were first starting out a lot of hunters were surprised at how quick the both of them would kill a deer. A lot of hunters thought that they were the greatest thing since the bolt action was invented. When you shot a deer with either one of them they would drop in their tracks, but then they started to loose them to bad shots or the bullets just blowing up when they hit a heavy bone. The conclusion is that yes a .22 center fire will or will not work, it just depends.

Alpine_Archer · Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:50 am Post subject:

hunter g wrote: im not even sure if it is legal here as well but it was the only thing i new she could hit fairly good with i think next time to be real safe il have her shoot a barnes or something like that. i wish i would have taken a pic of the hole it put in that thing it may change a lot of hunters minds on the use of a 223. I use a 300 for my self and i seams to do the job. i didnt feel real comfortable putting that in a 12 year old's hands if you know what i mean.

your not sure if it's legal but you used it anyway. Sounds like alot of the hunters around here this season. not knowing is no excuse not to abide by the rules a regs.

Critter · Joined: 26 Mar 2009 Posts: 184 Location: Western Colorado

Utah's only requirement on a rifle is that it must be a center fire so he is ok there, but the bullet must be an expanding type. I believe that the reason for Colorado's minimum caliber of a .24 is that you may also be hunting an elk along with a deer.

Alpine_Archer · Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 1:12 pm Post subject:

Critter wrote: Utah's only requirement on a rifle is that it must be a center fire so he is ok there, but the bullet must be an expanding type. I believe that the reason for Colorado's minimum caliber of a .24 is that you may also be hunting an elk along with a deer.

I was reffering to the FMJ not the caliber. FMJ's are not expandable bullets... so therefore your not legal. I'm not trying to be an *** just pointing out that your not hunting legaly which is becoming more and more of a problem these days.

jones32 · Joined: 13 Oct 2009 Posts: 3 Location: oregon

thats rediculas so ur saying that someone in utah could hunt deer with a .17 remington, i think someone didnt read the regs or utah needs to fix something and as far as a 223 for deer with a fmj that is something i would never do i wouldnt ever even use a 223 for deer period, unless i knew a shot would be under 100 yards. Different strokes for different folkes i guess

Critter · Joined: 26 Mar 2009 Posts: 184 Location: Western Colorado

I agree that they need to clarify some things but that is what it says on page 41 of the 2009 Utah Big Game Guidebook.
I think that they leave a lot up the the better judgment of the hunter of what caliber to use where a .223 would work on a deer or antelope I think that an elk or moose would just wonder where the bee came from that just stung him.

exbiologist · Joined: 19 Sep 2008 Posts: 701 Location: Colorado

Seriously dude, an FMJ is all she shot well? Or is that all you gave her to shoot? And you aren't sure if they are legal? I'd be willing to bet they aren't legal. I'm glad you took your daughter hunting and I'm glad to see you so proud, but FMJs are a big "no-no".

hunter g · Joined: 04 Aug 2009 Posts: 102

i had to delete my last post and make a new one I dont think it was to sportsman like. HERE WE GO THE ONLY REASON I MADE A POST IS SO I COULD TELL OTHER HUNTERS THAT A 223 FMJ DID THE JOB AND THEN SOME. I HAVE NEVER EVER HEARD OF ANYONE TRYING IT. SO IF I WAS READING A POST FROM SOMEONE ELSE AND HE HAD HUNTED FOR MANY YEARS AND TOLD ME THIS I WOULD SAY GOOD INFO. i have shot deer with my 300 ultra at 125yds and the bullet went threw it with no damage at all so much speed behind that wow i was shocked i didnt find that deer till the next day just happen to run into it dead 300 yds were it was hit no blood left nothing. what i am getting at with a 223 hardly no recoil who cant hit dead on, everyone might say oh dont use a fmj on a deer but have they done that to see what they are preaching no. I sold my 300 ultr for 300 and wouldnt trade for anythig but maybe we are using to big of cal for deer from what I have seen i would do it all over. it is all on the bullet placement we all aim for the spot (behind front shoulder) but a lot of hunters miss due to the big guns they think they need to much recoil Iv been there. so now we know a 223 IS LEGAL maybe you should try it. next year i will give her the same gun a 223 for the pin point accuracy that is all she can handle I think CRITTER was right leave it up to the hunter to make the decision. good luck hunting