johnclif@cs.washington.edu (04/18/91)
You have to remember some things about the .223 and why the military chose such a caliber for the standard rifle. The original weapons system proposed had the .223 out of a barrel with a 1/14" twist. This made the bullet marginally unstable, and almost guaranteed to tumble upon hitting something. The low mass of the bullet also contributed to this (not as much inertia to keep it from tumbling). This gave the .223 enhanced wounding capabilities. Note that, to the military, wounding a soldier to the point of incapacitation is as good, or better, than killing him outright. Why? Because a wounded man needs many others to take care of him, and strains the supply system much more than a dead man, at least in the short term. The military changed the twist to a faster rate because they found that in extremely cold weather the bullets would tumble. Also, I'm sure a lot of the old hands didn't want a rifle with bullets that tumbled - they wanted to be able to punch a hole through something. They failed to understand the idea behind the .223/AR15 weapons system, or failed to agree with it. Now to hunting with the .223. Several of the ammo manufacturers (Winchester, and, I believe Federal) have .223 deer rounds, loaded with bullets more suitable for medium-sized game than varmints. I've known quite a few people who have hunted with the .222 and .223 for deer in states where it's legal. Obviously you can't take ranging shots through the hindquarters and expect to solidly anchor your game, but then again some notable deer rounds such as the .30-30 don't do much better in this situation. But these hunters have killed many deer with the .222 and .223 and I don't know of one who's lost an animal yet. Note that all of these hunters used the 55 grain pointed soft point, and picked their shots. I have also hunted deer with a .223, a Ruger Mini-14, but, alas, I have never gotten a shot when I had the Mini-14 - they've all fallen to my .30-'06. I have no doubt that, properly used, the .223 would be an effective deer round. I'd use either the aforementioned Winchester or Federal deer loads, or handload with a controlled expansion bullet. I'm under the impression that Nosler makes a partition bullet in .223 caliber - if so, it would be my first choice to ensure adequate penetration. If you pick your shots, taking lung shots at frontal or broadsides animals at reasonable ranges, a .223 should do just fine. But, I think rounds like the .243 Winchester/6mm Remington are far better - they offer all the benefits without any of the drawbacks. John Clifford Developer, Applications Microsoft Corporation Disclaimer: I speak for me, Bill speaks for Microsoft.