I will be setting my AR up for my son what bullets y’all recommend?

64 grain Winchester Power Point or 62 Grain Federal Fusion.
Both have been lethal for me. Between the two I prefer the 64 grain Winchester.
But either one will drop them DRT.

I’ve had great luck with the 62gr Fusion and 55gr Barnes TSX. Never tried the 64gr Win on deer but if out back says it’s rough on whitetails then you can bet on it.

Mine didn't shoot the Power Points worth a crap, but I have heard good things about both of those bullets. We've been shooting deer and hogs with the 62 grain Barnes, and I have been impressed.

You need a tight twist to stabilize the larger bullet. The 1:7 and 1:9 will shoot the 64 grain very accurately.
If you're running a 1:10 or 1:12 you'll have much better accuracy with the 55 grain.

All of the above or any monolithic bullet.

At short barrel AR velocity the 75gr HPBT is also wicked medicine for deer.

Good advice from outback about good as it gets from factory ammo.if you reload it gives you a couple more tough bullet's like Sierra 65gr and Speer gold dots are now offered .224 with a couple different weights available

65 gr game kings are what I load for my AR.

My varmint rem (12 twist) shoots sierra 62 and 65 gamekings very well. They may not shoot in all slow twist rifles, but those heavies shoot in mine.

Definitely my favorite.cfe 223 powder around 28gr. should be real fast but haven't chronoed yet. shoot very well and folded up a couple big doe my wife shot.ive bought some gold dot 75 gr should be good but haven't tried yet

Totally understand. Some rifles just "like" a particular bullet. Also my perception of accuracy has changed over the years. There was a time when I wouldn't accept anything short of one ragged hole.
But as I got older, my eyes got worse and my grip became more unsteady, I've learned to accept an ever expanding group and still call it good. 👍

Mine is a 9 twist Savage, It just didnt like them.

My 8” twist tikka 223 will shoot sub moa with 40gr ballistic tips and everything larger.

Only downside to a fast twist barrel is if it disintegrates bullets in flight, otherwise you can’t spin em too fast but you can definitely spin em too slow.

Thanks guys for the replies

I've had good luck with 60 gr nosler partitions and 62 gr Barnes

62gr fusion. Wont leave a blood trail but we havent needed one. Watched every deer we shot fall. Turns their insides to jelly.

Y’all get exits with those Fusions? What part you aiming for?

none

Only exit we didn’t get was on my daughters buck a few years ago. Quartering too shot and she put it where the neck meets the shoulder. It tore all kinds of stuff up. Never took a step. I have no idea the number of hogs I shot with the fusions and most that I shot in the chest were pass throughs. None went very far.

Everything I've killed with a 223 had its organs liquified. Anyone who says it's not adequate for deer don't know what they're talking about.

AC I think weve shot 5 deer with the 223 62gr fusion. None had an exit wound. All of them gushed when we stuck the knife in them. I was told a 223 was designed to tumble after entry, not to pass through. I dont know if theres any truth to that but it does go alond with the results we have got. The 223 has earned my respect as a good deer rifle. 5shots, 5bucks. I have a savage avis youth I bought for my daughter. Shes not interested in hunting any more so ive been using it as a treestand gun because its so light and short. I can pretty much hit a dime with it every time at 100yds. Its a gun you wouldnt be afraid th thread the needle with.

I’m late to the party but the best 223 bullet on deer I’ve seen, bar none, is the hyperSonic. If you’ve seen its effect on deer you’d quite possibly ditch your other hunting rifles.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1001801896?pid=796318

I would look at buckhunter2's testing on .223 bullets. Eye opening.

I never thought of .223 as a deer round but if you had to or chose to use one...

If it has a 1 in 8 twist it might like the Barnes 70 grain. Mine shoot 5/8" groups at 100 yards with that bullet. Plenty of punch for reasonable ranges.

Ok I totally forgot I had a bolt action rifle in 223 and have only shot 55gr Fmj and SSTs. But I have some 62gr TSXs I want to try. What powder have y'all been having luck with?

I use the TTSX, But my load is just a hair over the max load of Varget. My 9 twist savage shot them just ok until I really pushed them. I think they'd do better in an 8 twist.

Barrel twist rate is going to be a major factor when trying to decide on 223 bullets. A lot of bolt action 223's are "varmint" rifles. They will typically have a 1:12 twist. These barrels still not do well with heavier projectiles. They are better suited for 55 grain bullets or less. The heavier bullets will not stabilize and will begin to keyhole out of these 1:12 twist barrels. To shoot 69 grain bullets and up, you really need a 1:8 or 1:7 twist barrel.

My rem 700 varmint will shoot 60-65 pills very well.

What twist rate do you have? I know some of the 700's came with 1:9 twist.

Never say never... Or always.
Every rifle has a particular round it just likes. Call it a personality, or a weird phenomenon, it's true.
In general, a tight twist will stabilize the heavier bullet. But it may not be case with every gun.

Yes sir, you are right. My dad got into wanting to hunt with a 223. He bought a 700 VSSF. Naturally you would want something that has the most energy when using such a small bullet. We tried some 75 grain bullets out of it and they were keyholing and printing about a 20" group at 100 yards. They would not come close to stabilizing. Hornady 55 grain stuff will print around 3/8" at 100. He wasn't lucky enough to get a slow twist barrel that handles the heavy stuff good. Thanks for the insightful comment.

Standard 12 twist varmint.

Im a big proponent of actually testing your rifle to see what it will and wont do. Each rifle is a little different and may or may not shoot the same as others. Just accepting broad statements or loose generalizations regarding certain twist rates and bullet weights can be very limiting. I also have a 243 that shoots the 107 gr match kings very well out to 1250 yds. If I hadn't tested the bullets and just accepted the published factory bullet requirements, I would have never been able to take advantage of a higher BC bullet out of another "varmint twist" rifle.

Take home message: don't believe everything you hear and read about bullet stabilization. Test it yourself... you may be surprised.

I've tested. Trust me. Read the post previous to yours. Are you shooting that 243 in PRS matches?

I celebrate a "Strictly Amateur" status, SM12

If you like shooting long-range and off different types of barricades and stuff you should get into it. We have small informal get together matches at my range every few weeks and they're a blast. It's neat to see what others are using and what new gear they have bought. It gives you an opportunity to try out different things to see if you want to buy them for yourself. There will be a big match, the Kestrel Fall Classic, at Altus in Baker, FL. October 17-18 if your interested. I'll be there.

Not enough time to get serious about it. My oldest boy likes to fish to much... Ha! I don't mind operating at my own level.

We always shot the Federal Premium 60 grain Nosler Partition ammo with pass throughs and great results!

If one was to hunt withe one would you guys recommend 223 wylde upper or a 5.56?

The Wylde is supposedly slightly more accurate, due to tighter freebore.