Coues with a 223

[NMCOUES]

Hey guys and gals I drew a very good NM coues unit and have the chance of harvesting a quality coues this nov. My question is I have a hand built 223 that I just love to shoot and shoot it well....is it enough, and if so I am also a hand loader so do you have any loads that are proven...thanks

[bonecollector]

I have seen some deer killed with a 223 and I have also seen some just hurt the deer and make it suffer. We owe it to the animal to make it a clean and ethical kill. If that weapon is your choice and you feel confident with it go for it! Good luck on your hunt! Welcome to the site by the way and we like pics, so take many when you tag your buck.

[firstcoueswas80]

It is probably the bare minimum.. I am talking all things perfect. Close distance, no wind, steady rest, perfect shot placement etc. There are so many other and better options out there...

[Kilimanjaro]

If you are confident with your gun and conditions dictate, k.ock yourself out. A .223 will kill a deer just as dead as any other caliber. I've killed numerous TX deer with a .222, and a coues and a couple of pronghorn with a .223. That said, I like to carry a 30 cal rifle out 90% of the time..

You can sometimes be undergunned, you can never be overgunned. I like the short and sweet adage, "USE ENOUGH GUN".

[deerhunter]

I have a friend that shoots whitetail with a 223 and his wife shoots whitetail with a 222 swift. He loads his own amo. They are very familiar with both of those guns. They go bigger for muledeer.

[hunterdude]

I've killed deer with a .22-250 but not a .223. Shot placement and good bullets are the key part of your kill or wound!

[Coach]

I agree with the previous posters - With a good bullet, and perfect shot placement, should be no problem. On the other hand, if the shot is just a little off, you could be looking at a bad situation.

 

Personally, I like the .223 for Javelina and smaller sized game. For deer, I would recommend a 25-06 or larger. My coues rifle of choice is a .270 WSM or .300 WSM, so a .223 seems like a little too light. Coues tend to be longer shots and you need a bullet that can buck the wind and maintain kenetic energy.

 

A typical .223 bullet is around 55-75 grains. That's not much downrange energy compared to a 25-06 shooting 117 grains or more with a lot more powder (30-06 casing necked down to .25)

 

I guess if you were shooting from a treestand or blind where you knew your shot would be under 200 yds with perfect conditions, I could endorse a .223 as the "bare minimum" - again assuming you are using premium, bonded bullets with a heavy charge.

 

If you are talking about glassing and taking cross-canyon shots, I think the .223 is way too underpowered. A 25-06, 7mm-08, 30-06, plain old .270 is going to be a far better choice, and all of those listed can be loaded down to low recoil, while still achieving good downrange energy.

 

Bottom line, I think there are a lot better choices out there than a .223 for coues.

[wackycouesaddict]

I believe it fine as long as your certian about your shot. My grandpa was showing me pics of his first two couse bucks. I noticed the rifle looked alot like my first gun he gave me. He then informed me that it was in fact one of the fist 22 mags and he shot them both at around 75 yards and dropped them. I have yet to meet a person who can out shoot him when it comes to getting it done hunting. All he says is its in the shot placemnet and knowing your boundries.

SO i believe if your a good shot and know your boundries with it you would be fine.

Personaly i use a 243 and i have found it great for coues shot one with it at 250 with no problems. I limit my self to 300 and have shot yotes at 330 with no problems.

 

my two cents.

 

Tyler

[pwrguy]

If you are confident with your gun and conditions dictate, k.ock yourself out. A .223 will kill a deer just as dead as any other caliber. I've killed numerous TX deer with a .222, and a coues and a couple of pronghorn with a .223. That said, I like to carry a 30 cal rifle out 90% of the time..

You can sometimes be undergunned, you can never be overgunned. I like the short and sweet adage, "USE ENOUGH GUN".

 

 

+1 You are at the bottom end of the scale there. At some point, you are going to have to limit your range somewhere far below a larger caliber to be fair to the deer. No matter how accurate you are, you will quickly run out of energy with that light bullet. That being said, the best rifle to use is the one you are deadly with

[MattMan]

An 8 or 9 twist 223 and 75 grain Amax or 55 TSX will kill bigger critters than you'd think.

 

Personally helped an autistic 12 year old kill a cow bison with a 223 and hand loaded 55 grain TSXs... tucked it right in behind the shoulder, and it exited the other side, punching a rib in and out. Cow staggered and made it all of 17 yards....

 

Guess neither the kid or the cow knew it couldn't be done without a 338.

 

I'd sooner hunt next to you driving tacks with a 223 than struggling to hit hair with a 300 Win Mag... and I've shot a lot of stuff in the past with a 300.

 

That said, we shoot a couple 260 remingtons as well as a 6.5-300 RCM and 140 Amaxs, Bergers, or Accubonds.

[pwrguy]

Shot placement, range and bullet construction/velocity alway's enter into the picture. I have seen a water buffalo put down with a 22LR, but I wouldn't make that my first choice. Just sayin.....

[NMCOUES]

thanks to all that got back to me it was alot of help....that said I think that I have decided to use a 257 roberts....I shoot the 223 very well it is a hand built ar 15 but I would just hate to have one out 250 + and not be sure...thanks again

[youngbuck]

Every one has pretty much stated most of the facts. Ive never seen somethin "too" dead. I use a .30 cal for lots of stuff. I have a 223wssm that I wouldn't use on deer (I like the 55gr vmax too much). Scottyboy or one of his buddies shot a deer w/ a 223 wssm at a fairly good ways off if I remember right with some good barnes bullets. It could be done but you cant go wrong w/ a quarter bore.

[desertdog]

thanks to all that got back to me it was alot of help....that said I think that I have decided to use a 257 roberts....I shoot the 223 very well it is a hand built ar 15 but I would just hate to have one out 250 + and not be sure...thanks again

 

Great choice.......I have a .257 Roberts and it is a great round. It is not my everyday shooter anymore but I used it for a few years and it did a great job for me. I killed a few mule deer and Coues with it. You wont be disappointed.