SC Whitetail With AR-15

[FLS]

I hear what you saying, but let me play devils advocate. Most of what we know or think we know about bullet performance is wrong. Ft pounds mean almost nothing, and tissue damage to the vitals and blood loss is what kills. There are numerous studies that prove that. All a bullet needs to do is be going fast enough to expand reliable and penetrate a few inches of tissue of inches of tissue and thin bone to kill a white tailed deer. Being able to accurately place that bullet is paramount. An accurate, light kicking rifle that fits the shooter is the best tool to do that with regardless of experience. I’ll argue an AR15 with an adjustable stock and it’s mild recoil meets all those parameters and then some. Especially the way most eastern deer are killed, from a stand, inside of 200 yds, with time to place an accurate shot. My BIL and my nephews are not experienced deer hunters. He inherited a savage bolt action 223 from his grandfather that he wanted to use for sentimental reasons. We zeroed it with Winchester 64 gr PP factory ammo, practiced shooting from a rest like they hunt from and discussed shot placement. They’re 100 % killing on deer over the past several with that Savage .223. All the deer I’ve shot with a .223 had a similar end, high kick and a short scramble before piling up. Everything in front of the diaphragm was wrecked. Blood trail didn’t matter because they didn’t go far, no matter if it was buck, doe or fawn.

[Swift Strike]

I'm very guilty of shooting way more rifle than I need to most of the time ... But in regards of the .223, both my sons cut their teeth in deer hunting with a Savage Model 10 G&Y shooting 55gr NBT's, Precision loaded ammo from Georgia Arms ... I taught them to shoot for a double lunger ... They took 50+ deer and numerous coyotes and other ferals with that little rifle at 200 yds and less, and I only remember trailing one ... Most of those shots were with me while in the stand, and I saw most of them go a whopping 30", straight down ... Hardly ever an exit but the insides looking like jello.

So, there's that ...

[Swift Strike]

And to add to the above, I've double lunged a deer with a .300 RUM w/ 208 gr Amax and trailed it 150 yd ... Go figure.

[scatter shot]

^^^ you probably needed a bigger bullet.

[Swift Strike]

Difference is, that .223 unloaded all it's energy completely, and at once ... The .300 RUM just drilled right through.

Dead is dead though.....

[Model12]

I have killed many with scoped 7.62x39 AR.

[Sasha and Abby]

I shoot a .223/5.56 with a can, 95% of the time now. Anything I shoot at inside of 300 yards is dead - deer/hogs/yotes...

If I know I am going to be presented with a shot further than 300 yards, I will take a .270 or .300WM that is dialed in to those distances. A .223 with a good bullet will kill waaaayyy beyond its weight.

I don't shoot any long range stuff with the little caliber, but 55, 62 and 64 grain pills have all worked very well. FWIW - I have probably killed a hundred hogs with 55gr ball ammo - some in the head/neck and a fair amount hit where ever I could get a shot as they were leaving.

[trkykilr]

I’ve killed a quite a few with my 6.8 spc. It likes the 115 gr fusions

All this. My 9 year old daughter is hell on them with hers. Zero recoil and lots of destruction

[Palmetto Bug]

Well at least we can put the 243 argument behind us now.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[CurLee]

Anybody have any experience with the Sierra 55gr HPBT (1390) ? I've got these put together for load development in my .22-250. It's a slow twist so it won't stabilize anything much heavier.
IMG_20221106_151008636_HDR.jpg

[FLS]

And to add to the above, I've double lunged a deer with a .300 RUM w/ 208 gr Amax and trailed it 150 yd ... Go figure.

That’s because your bullet didn’t expand and had minimal tissue damage. I shot a doe with a 165 Trophy Bonded Bear Claw ( sounds really cool) and had a similar result. That hard bullet didn’t meet enough resistance to expand and penciled thru. She was dead on her feet it just took longer for blood loss to take effect.

[FLS]

Anybody have any experience with the Sierra 55gr HPBT (1390) ? I've got these put together for load development in my .22-250. It's a slow twist so it won't stabilize anything much heavier.
IMG_20221106_151008636_HDR.jpg

My buddy is an engineer with Sierra. At 22-250 Speeds he recommends their 55 Grain SBT or a Barnes. The 1390 has same Jacket as SBT but hollow point will make it expand violently at the speed your rifle is capable of. He said the SBT won’t splash on surface and often exits on deer sized game.

[BachelorJack]

I've killed over 40 with the 70gr TSX.

Out of 16", 12.5" and currently 11.5" uppers.

Haven't had one bounce off yet.

[CurLee]

My buddy is an engineer with Sierra. At 22-250 Speeds he recommends their 55 Grain SBT or a Barnes. The 1390 has same Jacket as SBT but hollow point will make it expand violently at the speed your rifle is capable of. He said the SBT won’t splash on surface and often exits on deer sized game.

Excellent. Thank you.

[Pezzaroon]

To play devils advocate, think of "AR-15" in terms of what Remington 700 would you use. There are over 30 AR-15 calibers I can think of off the top of my head. I have a .50 Beowulf for Honda accords, .458 Socom for hogs because why not, and most often use a 6.5 grendel for hogs and deer whenever I stalk the swamps. There are a bunch of .223 rounds you can use effectively for deer but personally I like the wiggle room a 6.5 Grendel gives me.

[Stumpknocker]

What did Honda accords ever do to you lol?

[Swamp Rat]

I use a 6.5 Grendel a good bit and have had good success. Longest shot so far was about 200 yards or so. I had a self induced shot placement issue on one that ran about 60 yards with zero blood trail. But I recovered. That bullet went in high on the shoulder on a quartering-to shot and exited FAR back. Nosler 129 gr. Long Range Accubonds (factory load). I was impressed with the bullet performance re penetration and trauma. The placement went too high in the lungs to get much aspiration and the exit kind of self-sealed.

My preferred load has been the Alexander Arms product running the 129 gr SST. I like as much mass as I can get to get penetration on a less-than-broadside shot when using ammunition running at modest velocities.

[whitty]

Those long range accubonds grouped the best for me in the Grendel I have. My kids have killed a pile of deer with it. We have killed everything that has been shot at but there isn’t much to find when tracking. Most have been DRT but the furthest we have had to track I would say to be around 150 yards. Never saw a drop of blood on that deer.