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.