# .223 vs 30-06



## Hemi 426

I know that the .223 has been in use sence 1968 when it was feilded in Vietnam, but when it comes to deer hunting, the .223 is a fiarly good round and all, but I don't see how it could beat that 30-06. Really which would you prefure to hit a deet with at 100yrds-200yrds? After all that .30 will tumble and stop pretty well.

:sniper:


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## barebackjack

.223 and .30-06 aren't even in the same class. No comparison.

For deer, .30-06. Heck, for people, .30-06. The military is starting to realize that the little .223 isn't packing enough punch for bad guys pumped up on adrenaline. Doesn't anchor a human target quickly, and a deer is alot tougher than a human.


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## kevinwebster

Even though I have shot and killed many a deer with my .223 I have to agree that the 30-06 is much better for deer hunting. Far more knock down power than the .223


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## Buck25

haha wild comparison here


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## NDTerminator

IMO the 223 is a marginal coyote round...


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## LeviM

NDTerminator said:


> IMO the 223 is a marginal coyote round...


I agree, infact IMO its a terrible coyote round! It left a very sour taste in mouth watching coyotes run off after being hit. I wouldn't imagine how inaffective it will be on deer


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## knutson24

Hemi 426 said:


> After all that .30 will tumble and stop pretty well.
> 
> :sniper:


 By this are you implying that a .30 cal bullet will start to tumble around 200 yds? :-?


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## Sasha and Abby

It won't...


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## hogcaller

Apples and oranges comparison ain't it? There really is no comparison......go get an '06 and 223 cartridge and put them side by side......NOW.......you tell me which one will kill a deer better......


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## bigpipesT

in my opinion a 22/250 shouldnt be used for dear let alone a .223. like everyone is sayin there is no comparison. when yer shootin big bodied deer up north your not gona be using a 223 or a 22/250 unless your shootin them in the necks or the head like some are now days :lame: . yer gona want the 270 or even a 243 or bigger. i would just keep the 223 for the Pdogs and yotes man.


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## Ruthless

I love both my .223s but I would never think about taking them deer hunting...not to mention they aren't legal to hunt big game with in Wyoming.

Yes a .223 will kill a deer with correct shot placement under good conditions, but when does this ever happen in the field. Go with the 30-06 plenty of knock down even under not so ideal conditions or shot placement.


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## People

I would say get the 30-06 for deer. You have to be a true shooter or true hunter to use the .223 for deer. I have seen far too many "hunters" (yes I use the word hunter to mean slob) use a 06 and not recover the deer. You do not need a belted mag to kill deer. You do need the ability to put the shot where you want it. Any rifle you can use to do that is the one you should hunt with.

The 30-06 will give you a little more room for error. It is very easy to miss read the wind or think you are shooting X yds and you are off a few.

You should read the thread about 223's and deer hunting in the deer hunting area.

Simply by pulling on both ends, Chuck Norris can stretch diamonds back into coal.


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## Jaybic

The .223 is certainly not a deer round. The 3006 has probably killed more deer than any other round on earth except...maybe the 30-30(I have no proof to back that up be I bet its close).

Even on coyotes I would prefer a 22-250 over a .223. I wouldnt say that a .223 is the perfect coyote round but I have to disagree with Levi(sorry man) and say that its hardly a terrible round for coyotes. I have shot a pretty fair number of coyotes with the .223 and have to admit that I did lose 1 in about 10 years of hunting with one. It was a 280yard shot at about dark and it was a poor hit but most of my .223 hit coyotes died where the stood. I still prefer a 22-250 or .243 for them and I dont care what your shooting, you hit a coyote or a deer poorly, even with the RIGHT caliber and it will still run off. They be some tough SOBs, both of them.

Just my .02

Jaybic


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## younghunter1014

ok im 13 i just stared hunting i need to find a good hunting gun to start with what do u recemend


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## younghunter1014

:sniper: i just got back from a gun dealer and my granpa got me a youth bolt action .243 is it a good deer gun


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## younghunter1014

id have to go wit the od 6 beceause ive seen my grandpa shoot 2 deer in one trip wit his 3006 and his .223 and there is a big difference when my granpa shoot his deer wit he 3006 it was dropped in it tracks. :lol: the nex day he shot a deer 15 yards closer than the 3006 wit his .223 in the same spot as the deer befor and it ran 45 yards and he had to finish it off wit his .357 mag.  
now u tell me wich one is better at 100 yards .223 or 3006 :sniper:


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## KurtR

A .223 is not a ideal deer gun but shot placement is important regardless of which cal. you shoot. At 100yds i would hope to hell it does not matter which one you shoot that should be a chip shot with a rifle. At 400yds 06 all the way. really this is a apples to oranges question. Like what is better a .243 or .375 rum. I would say which ever gun is shot with the most accuracy and acomplishes what you ask of it. the 6mm you got is a great round so you should be gtg with that


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## younghunter1014

:spam: ya i agree wit u even though i shot my first deer wit my grandpas .223 and i droped it but it was 35 yards from were i was standing :sniper: :jammin:


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## Slayer 223

im from new brunswick canada this hunting season i seen 2 bull moose which are a little larger and much harder to kill than deer .these 2 bulls were standing together about 70 yards away my brother dropped both animals on the spot .one shot at each bull with a mini 14 223 65gr nosler partition. so you tell me if a 223 is not adequet for deer. they sure are :


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## younghunter1014

a no that is crap i pretty sure thats like shotin a deer wit a 22 u can kill it with one shot but is crule and inhumain


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## younghunter1014

o one thing did u shoot in the head????????????????????????????????? :sniper:


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## KurtR

Slayer 223 said:


> im from new brunswick canada this hunting season i seen 2 bull moose which are a little larger and much harder to kill than deer .these 2 bulls were standing together about 70 yards away my brother dropped both animals on the spot .one shot at each bull with a mini 14 223 65gr nosler partition. so you tell me if a 223 is not adequet for deer. they sure are :


Where did you get the 65 grn partition i have looked all over and seems they do not even make that bullet?


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## Slayer 223

yes im sorry about the mistake the ammo used was federal vital shock 60gr nosler partion .He shoot both bulls heart and lung shoots. Iwould probably would not believe the story either but i was there.I never thought a 223 would do that type of damage either. WHERE ONE BULL FELL THERE WAS MEAT HANGING ON THE BUSH BEHIND HIM.Iam now a true beliver in the right name and type of 223 ammo used PS I DONT B/S Iwish i would of got pictures


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## KurtR

I believe it from that range that partition would be deadly and moose are not realy that tough. I was just wondering if i had missed the 65 grn because that would be nice to have a little more wieght behind it. Bullet placement and the right ammo is the more important than cal. and this just proves it.


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## Slayer 223

i dont know if you know this or not but winchester makes a 70gr hollow point and a 65gr soft point. good shooting.ps i also hunt with a thompson center pro hunter in 300mag and a sako 75 in 270 these both guns i love very much.when i hunt moose or bear i use the 300mag


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## coyote sniper

Slayer 223 said:


> im from new brunswick canada this hunting season i seen 2 bull moose which are a little larger and much harder to kill than deer .these 2 bulls were standing together about 70 yards away my brother dropped both animals on the spot .one shot at each bull with a mini 14 223 65gr nosler partition. so you tell me if a 223 is not adequet for deer. they sure are :


 Interesting!! In New Brunswick moose permits are good for two bull moose???? I am sure both moose and deer have been killed with ALOT of differnt cartridges probly some smaller than the 223. But with the 30-06 there will be alot fewer blood trails and lost animals than with the 223.


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## Slayer 223

No you cant kill 2 moose in NB unless your indian my brothers step daughter has indian status they were shot for her .SHSSSS ONLY WE KNOW THIS and who ever else reads this. we were out hunting coyotes at the time thats why we were carring the 223 at the time.Happy hunting and good luck . if you have a good story to tell i would love to hear back from you.slayer223


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## Toby Mougey

:wink:


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## Slayer 223

Ya the 3006 is a very capable round i dont know where the tumbleing of the bullett comes from unless your barrel is wore out. I prefer the 300 mag or 270 for my bigger sized game.Ibought the 223 for dogs only.


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## People

slayer The tumbling of bullets comes from the bullet being destabilized when it hits something. Most recent 30cal mill bullets are designed to tumble when they hit something. Granted AP is not designed that way.

The old M193 will still tumble when fired from a A1 tube. M855 will just come apart when they hit when fired from a A2 at ranges less then 100M past that they tend to just ice pick threw targets unless they hit a bone then they can tumble.

When Chuck Norris does a pushup, he isn't lifting himself up, he's pushing the Earth down.


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## Slayer 223

sorry man i took the tumbling the wrong way yes your right again. Still havent read a good hunting story from you yet . YOU GOT ONE.? SLAYER


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## William lammers

If you are serious about your query, go with the 30-06. There are literally millions of pages of data/information to justify this statement...above this, is that, if you plan on using either one for hunting, they will both do the job, but the 30-06 will do so with humane authority at much farther range. On the other hand, the .223, in the very capable hands of a very capable shooter could do well within REASONABLE distances...yours to decide...good luck and good hunting.


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## thehunterfisherman448

are you seriously asking which round would be better for deer? haha no offense but thats not a very well thought out question. i think we've thoroughly exhausted the point though. All in good fun..


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## Whetstone Fury

There's only one thing worse than missing your target while hunting, and that's hitting your target with an imperfect shot. Nothing is more frustrating than mortally wounding an animal but having it escape only to die later, in a meaningless way (no meat is harvested, no trophy is collected, etc.). From my personal experience I'd think twice before taking a .223 for deer. Unless the shot is placed perfectly (or very very close) the chances of recovering your deer are slim.

Before deer season, I thought I had the perfect setup: An AR-15 semi automatic with a thirty round clip of hollowpoints. I thought worse case scenario I miss first shot maybe even second shot, well I still have twenty plus rounds to put down range. I thought it was a sure thing. One shot and if it doesn't drop, spray and pray.

First day of deer season, I take a shot at a six point standing broadside at about 40-50 yds. I aimed for the heart, but pulled my shot (I was off-balanced and twisting around a tree to get a shot) making me hit it in the shoulder. Well it went down, and I was thinking I was on a biscuit train with gravy wheels. Well as soon as move to collect my buck, it gets to its feet and limp runs away. At this point you would thought I would have implemented the spray and pray technique, but I never got a clear shot after it went down. Between the brush and trees, I could have emptied the rest of the clip at the deer and still came away empty handed. I try to track the blood trail, but there's only two spots (not pools, but a couple drops) I can find and then it completely disappears. Two hours later, I give up and call it a loss.

Severely ******, I vowed to not take the AR out again. However, later in the year I decided to give it one more chance. It was doe season with a four bag limit. The first doe I hit at 30 yds with a lung/heart shot while it was running. It dropped. The second doe I hit at 90-100 yds with a tenderloin shot. It dropped but I had to cut its throat when I came to it. I starting thinking maybe the first incident was a fluke and the .223 really was a good caliber for deer. Well then the third doe came into my crosshairs. At about 120 yds I hit it with shoulder shot. It lurched forward and dropped over a hill so that I couldn't get a second shot. Being 100% sure I hit it, and with a witness to confirm, I thought I find it over the hill. It wasn't there and neither was a blood trail.

I love shooting my AR-15. It's a very fun gun but when it comes to deer hunting I'm hesitant to take it. You have the volume of ammo to take down anything on the planet, but as I found out sometimes you only get one shot. The knockdown power is totally dependent on the bullet placement. A few inches either way will mean the difference between a drop and a wounded deer that you may or may not find. Even when cutting open the found deer there was no dramatic trauma inflicted.

Between the .223 and 30-06, stay with the 30-06. The internal damage between the two is night and day difference. In other words, unless you're absolutely confident with you .223 stick with a 30-06. Nothing is worse than knowing you killed a deer, but leaving it in the woods because you couldn't find it two miles away from where you shot it.


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