.223 for deer in Tn?

[killingtime 41]

I've never hunted deer with a 223. Why when you can use a 243. But I've used neither. My opinion is I want something that will cause massive trauma. And will have a very noticeable blood trail. It's very thick and rugged in these east Tn mountains. So shoot one with a 223 if you want. 20 or 30 yards could add an all night retrieval if your lucky enough to find it with no blood trail. So keep that in mind. The area you will be hunting is important.

 

[mike243]

I have had deer heart shot with a 300wm run over 100y several times over the years, also have seen very poor blood trails also, every deer is different, while I have shot a lot of deer with my 243 and most were bang flops I have had a few runners, most were with premium bullets that pass through without expanding or fragmenting as much as others. Any center fire with the proper bullet causes massive damage.

 

[Madbowh]

I was thinking about getting an ar 15 and was wondering if I would be able to deer hunt with it

You can get an AR in many different calibers I prefer ar-10(.308). Someone had a thread on this already be interesting reading if you could find it, it was 2 or 3 months ago. The Manner and Means section in regs book will tell you what your looking for

 

[Grill-n-man]

That's a fine round with the right bullet matched to what your after. But the reality is it takes marksmanship skills to accomplish what a hunter is after. Seen many a hater of the small calibers in the real world reasonings behind the hate. If best you can do is gut shoot and spray and pray then stay with the elephant gun on a 150lb critter. Practice, right bullet, and skills go along way.

 

[Gobble4me757]

I lost one of my biggest bucks at 53 yards in the swamps of south Bama this year hunting with my ar15 due to my buddy using my 7mm08…I was using a .55gr federal blue box. I will never use a .223 for a deer again. Just my opinion as I'm sure plenty of others have had good experiences etc

 

[Robtattoo]

Sorry about your negative experience, but a sample size of 1 doesn't really mean that much.
It ain't the chambering, it's the bullet. 55gn soft points of any make are almost THE worst bullets in a .223. They're too heavy to be commonly classified as a varmint bullet, too lightly constructed to be meaningful on medium or large game.
Any of the better quality heavier bullets would have, more than likely, netted you a dead deer. The 77gn tipped Matchkings, 75gn ELDm, 62gn TTSX & others are all spectacular deer droppers.

 

[Nathan Crutchfield]

I was thinking about getting an ar 15 and was wondering if I would be able to deer hunt with it

Yes I hunt with my ar10 20 round magazine I talked to the game Worden he said not to put more than 5 rounds in it

 

[DayDay]

Yes I hunt with my ar10 20 round magazine I talked to the game Worden he said not to put more than 5 rounds in it

Any idea where the game warden came up with the 5 round restriction? I have not seen this anywhere. Maybe it was just a safety recommendation?

 

[knightrider]

Yes I hunt with my ar10 20 round magazine I talked to the game Worden he said not to put more than 5 rounds in it

No round restrictions in the state of Tennessee on rifles if you wanna fill it up and hunt your legal to do so

 

[Jcalder]

Yes I hunt with my ar10 20 round magazine I talked to the game Worden he said not to put more than 5 rounds in it

Also, a big difference in an ar15 and ar10. But as stated, use whatever size magazine you want

 

[ChaplainMann]

Hey guys I was wondering if anyone on here knows if the state of Tn allows .223 for deer. Or if they have a minimum caliber requirement? I have been unsuccessful in finding anything online.sport

Hey guys I was wondering if anyone on here knows if the state of Tn allows .223 for deer. Or if they have a minimum caliber requirement? I have been unsuccessful in finding anything online.

sportsmans warehouse in hunting says you can use a .223 for deer hunting in tennessee just use a heavier bullet. hope this helps. jill mann...

 

[Nathan Crutchfield]

Any idea where the game warden came up with the 5 round restriction? I have not seen this anywhere. Maybe it was just a safety recommendation?

Not sure he is a pretty good guy. he did say there was no mag size restrictions may have misunderstood the 5 round part

 

[Remi]

My cousin dumped a mature buck in Georgia with his .223 late season.


80yds quartered away, entered last rib right side, through the vitals, broke the left shoulder and the bullet was recovered just under the skin almost exiting. The buck just folded at the shot.

He was using a 53gr vmax from a 16.5" Remington 783. I'd say the short barrel and low velocity helped it stay together.

 

[Nathan Crutchfield]

Also, a big difference in an ar15 and ar10. But as stated, use whatever size magazine you want

Definitely a difference I hunt with my AR 10 in 308. my grandson shoots my AR 15 223 .seven years old and the boy can shoot

 

[Bone Collector]

I was thinking about getting an ar 15 and was wondering if I would be able to deer hunt with it

yes you can.

 

[mike243]

If you shoot 70g or higher make sure your rifle will shoot them, never shot higher than 64g with my bushmaster as its a 9 twist and might not stabilize the heavier bullets, just be aware you loose some advantage of speed with the heavier rounds, probably a trade off , on the east end if the state its hard to do real life ballistic tests on deer lol

 

[Mountainman865]

Thanks guys I really appreciate all the feed back after careful consideration I ended up getting an Anderson lower with a bca upper in 6.5 Grendel. It seemed a little more practical for deer.

 

[Mountainman865]

Ar15

 

[Urban_Hunter]

Thanks guys I really appreciate all the feed back after careful consideration I ended up getting an Anderson lower with a bca upper in 6.5 Grendel. It seemed a little more practical for deer.

You'll be much happier with the Grendel

 

[mike243]

Is that 1 of those manbunn rifles? . I wont ever have 1 if hair ls a requirement