55 grain FMJ or 45 grain JHPs?

Midnight Scout

Midnight Scout

Joined
May 27, 2007
Messages
299
Hi Guys,

I am getting ready for deer hunting. I am going to use my .270; however, I have an alternate set up in a ravine where there are lots of trees and scrub and where a long shot is not necessary-- no more than 40 yards at the most. I think I am going to use my Ruger Mini-14 in .223 for that stand mainly because it has a red dot sight on it that will be better for the low light levels in the ravine than would be the scope on the .270 (plus the deer around here are not that large).

I think that bigger the bullet the better, but the heaviest .223 bullet I am finding is a 55 grain in full metal jacket. There is a jacketed hollow point in 45grain. Which do you think is better? And can anyone diret me to a web forum sight on hunting that is similar to Blade Forum?

Thanks!
 
Just personal opinion but I would check to see what the minimum caliber in your state is for whitetails. Most states are .243, any .22 caliber being illegal (including .223). I would only use a .223 if i had to for a survival situation, not during a typical rifle season.

Even stated, do you really want to hunt deer with such a low-stoping power round even at < 40 yds? You very well may be chasing/tracking it for a while even if you get a lung/heart shot...

but it is a free country I suppose (not where firearms are concerned however...)
 
alos, many states have sportsmen forums...i go to ohiosportsman.com for example for local hunting knowledge...
 
Midnight Scout said:
Hi Guys,

II think that bigger the bullet the better, but the heaviest .223 bullet I am finding is a 55 grain in full metal jacket. There is a jacketed hollow point in 45grain. Which do you think is better? And can anyone diret me to a web forum sight on hunting that is similar to Blade Forum?

Thanks!
Click to expand...


If you must use a .223 I'd load the JHP personally as an FMJ may go thru and thru.

Use a bigger round is my advice.

Skam
 
Since your interested in hunting with a .223, there are a lot of folks on ar15.com who hunt deer with .223/5.56x45mm rifles, usually in Ar platforms- this time of year, lots of threads pop up over there, including some pic threads. EDIT: It looks like they are discussing this topic right now- heavier, hunting (non-FMJ) bullets seem to be much more popular. http://ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=23&t=605458
From personal experience, I have noticed that hollow points (esp. in the 45-50 grain range) tend to be geared towards varmint hunting rather than
big game

First, check with DNR/DEP/ whatever other agency governs hunting in your state and find out if .223 is legal- it is in some areas, in others it isn't. If you do want to use ball ammo, check on the legality of that- many states forbid military type ammunition for hunting.

Personally, I would rather use a shotgun slug than a .223 for the hunting conditions you describe, but to each their own.
 
If 223 is legal for deer in your state, I'd rethink the FMJ. They are probably not legal for hunting. Never seen a state where FMJ ammo was legal for deer. Last time I read the regs, in Oregon we can hunt deer with .223 but FMJ is stricky prohibited. Get some 60(or is it 62?)grn hollow points or even soft points. Priority is to stay legal and make a clean kill.
 
in georgia we can use any "centerfire .22 caliber or larger w/ expanding points"

may wanna check you regs
 
For what it is worth there are 75gr match rds, soft point and hollow point rds available in both 62 gr and 55 gr.
 
All of the HP bullets in the .223 family are going to be either match or varmint bullets, with very thin jackets, which will just not work on deer.

You are going to want a hunting bullet, if you do not reload, Try the Black hills ammo.

I do not know what twist your mini 14 has, but I would look real hard at a 62 grain bullet as your minimum.

Most all states ban FMJ from big game hunting, and rightfully so, as the bullet might just poke a tiny hole all the way thru, leaving the deer to die after a few days of Pneumothorax or peritonitis.

The best factory round in my mind is the 60/62 grain Nosler Partition offered by black hills ammo. The nosler partition is a big game bullet in a varmint caliber. This is probably the ONLY .223 round I would trust as a hunting round for deer.


Bear in mind this is all said in protest, I do not think the .223/5.56x45 has enough guts for deer hunting.
 
What is the rate of twist in the Mini's barrel??? The slower twist rates, won't stabilize the bigger bullets. If you have a higher twist rate, I would pick the heaviest hollow point I could find....if I were forced to hunt with the .223.
 
Use a regular 55 grain soft point. FMJ's are illegal for hunting game and the light hollow points are for varmit hunting. Thge 223 is legal in our state but you have to use a five round or less magazines for semi autos.
 
SOFT POINTS all the way. And I'd get the heaviest you can find, like 72 grain if possible. HP's will basically explode. Really good for 'yotes and smaller. Not good for deer. FMJ's won't expand at all but will tumble. As others have said, they are illegal in most states.

Funny that it is considered inhumane to shoot an animal with a FMJ and inhumane to shoot a soldier with anything other than an FMJ.
 
Another vote for .223 soft points. They do a number on coyotes. FMJ is not even worth discussing here.

I'd go with the .270, even in the ravine.
 
nemoaz said:
SOFT POINTS all the way. And I'd get the heaviest you can find, like 72 grain if possible. HP's will basically explode. Really good for 'yotes and smaller. Not good for deer. FMJ's won't expand at all but will tumble. As others have said, they are illegal in most states.

Funny that it is considered inhumane to shoot an animal with a FMJ and inhumane to shoot a soldier with anything other than an FMJ.
Click to expand...

True, but I think the theory is that usually the FMJ won't blow a big exit hole and the soldier presumably gets medical treatment to avoid the lingering death that an animal would face from an untreated wound in the wild.
 
I'd go with soft points as well. You need all the help that you can get with a .223. I would (and do) use the .270 win, personally.
 
Dont use lightweight .223 hollowpoints or softpoints ( 55 grn and smaller). They will explode on impact and usualy not give you the necessary penetraion. Here are some heavier load for medium sized game.
http://www.winchester.com/products/catalog/cfrdetail.aspx?symbol=X223R2&cart=MjIzIFJlbWluZ3Rvbg==

The 75 grn Tap round may work ok.

https://www.hornady.com/shop/?ps_se...&category_id=f5a8f338ed2cc84911aec57bb74a84a5

The best of all of these will probably be the Federal 60 grn Partition.

http://www.federalpremium.com/ballistics/Ammo_Search.aspx?act=choose&firearm=1&s1=1

I hope this helps. Also if your good enough of a shot to take a spine or brain shot go ahead and use a 55grn fmj.
 
I concur with the recommendations for the heavier calibers, including your .270, for deer hunting. If the lighting considerations justify the .223, another candidate ammo is hyper-velocity rounds, such as the ones from RBCD Performance Plus ammo. Be forewarned, they are not cheap.
223 Remington -- 3800 fps plus, 1350 flbs plus
270 Winchester -- 3500 fps plus, 3000 flbs plus

Company location:
2121 Pleasanton Rd., Suite C
San Antonio, Texas 78221
Phone: 1-877-688-5985
Office Hours: Monday through Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Email: customerservice@rbcd.net
http://www.rbcd.net/dga.html Warning: Their website layout and navigation are terrible!
 
If your allowed to use a .223 to hunt in your state and if your allowed to use FMJ's then I would reccommend the heaviest soft point possible. Do not use light HP's, which are geared towards varmits and will have extremley limited penetration. You may find success with a heavy TAP round, providing your barrel twist can support it. A heavy bonded bullet would be my preference, but are only available for LEA's.

I have shot a variety of things with both 55gr. and 62gr. FMJ's in foreign nations. The round is designed to 'penetrate', both it's primary function of lethality is it's 'Tumble and Fragment' capability, providing of course it strikes it's target at a suitable velocity. (I believe above 2700fps, there are plenty of references around, and plenty of nations have done research, primarily Israel and the US's FBI.) Every time I have shot a game animal the round has fragmented and made an absolute mess of the meat. I don't really enjoy picking fragments of Jacketing out of my meat.

Good luck in your search. Just ensure your round placement is good and that your barrel twist rate can support whatever bullet your firing. (Although at 40 yards it may not be that important.)
 
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