Just ordered the wife a Tikka T3x Superlite in .223, ordering a scope and bullets here shortly. What do you guys like for deer out of .223? Expecting shots to be 50 yards or less, with a rest, broadside shots. She has no experience with scoped rifles and I thought this would be a great starter gun.

62gr TSX

I'm sure that you'll get plenty of advice better than mine, but I went with Remington accu-point factory loads for my son's rifle. He's killed deer from 5 yds to 250 yds, no issues. They tested well. I followed the ballistics on it and sighted it in basically dead on at 200 yds. He holds high vitals at 250. Anything 200 and under he holds dead on. Hope this is helpful.

You pretty good at tracking?? Lol

shoot them in the neck

I don't have a good or best , but I can say while a 55gr Hornady soft point works do not expect a blood trail , high angling down from a tree stand double lung 30 yard run not a drop of blood , it worked but I could see how it could go wrong if you couldn't see where it ran.

I went 300blk the next year and had to work at it to find a bullet that would give me an exit.

until I found a bullet that would even give a next I would keep to neck shots

That's what everyone down here does .lotta people call.neck shots in ethical ... Don't know why but they work

Too small of a kill area is why Wolfy.

My dog is.

In reality she will go once a year and shoot the first fawn that comes in, it'll die within a few yards if shot through the lungs. I've saw a couple handfuls of deer shot with 22-250 and can verify it's a pretty bitter pill on a deer and .223 ain't going a whole lot slower.

My personal deer guns are 300 weatherby and 450 bushmaster, I'm not opposed to big guns but the .223 will be nice to teaching wife n Kids to shoot. Getting a Trijicon 4x12 to top it with, should be a real handy, simple rifle.

Ive been on 3 recovery jobs involving deer shot with 22 caliber bullets. One was one i shot, mature whitetail buck. Recovered him as he went a very shot distance. Not a drop of blood, couldn't even find where he was shot from the outside. 2nd was a whitetail doe. Shot in tall crp. She ran over the hill and died about a hundred yds from where she was shot at. Found here a day later when the coyotes had spread her around. Again not a drop of blood to trail her by. 3rd deer was a young buck. Definitely hit , not know if it was a good shot or not. Not a drop of blood and never found. In my mind why risk it when a 243 or 6.5 is plenty mild for anyone to shoot. 22 calibers can definitely kill them but you have to handicap your so much to use them effectively.

then your aiming for the wrong spot on the neck , when we say neck people generally assume we mean just behind the ears
I mean where it meets the shoulder
we get a lot more quartering at us shots than broad side or away and that point of the neck is very forgiving , anywhere you break the spine before the front shoulder is a lights out
if you get just behind the shoulder or very high shoulder you can get down but not dead


look at what your hitting if you miss the actual spine , it is full of second chances to still have a very dead deer

Get her a .243

I'll disagree all day,. Google some more, its a poor percentage shot, especially with a pea shooter.

Boy neck shot a deer at about 200 yds with a 270. Missed the spine by less than inch. Didn't drop him. He quickly put a second round through the chest that did drop him. I wonder what would of happened if he didn't put the second round in him.

Ill add that both deer that weren't recovered where both novice hunters that people had told them a 22 caliber gun is enough for deer.....

I got the 223 for a reason, I can buy a ton of Bulk ammo and let her and my girls shoot it cheap.

My personal experience with the 22-250 says it kills deer very well. I agree, you wont have blood trails. I don't plan on sitting her over a giant cattail swamp and saying shoot at anything you see. This is gonna be for learning to shoot then shooting "yard deer" occasionally.

I just want to get it sighted in with a bullet that works. With the 22-250 we were shooting Hornady 55 grainers, goes in like a pencil and blows up, the lungs are mush and the deer go around 30 yards, hoping for more less the same.

Right circumstances, yep you'll be alright.

I've had good luck with 60gr Nosler partitions with 23gr of H335 usually will get a hole out of both sides have not had one go more than 100 yards. As others have stated you do not get as much of a blood trail. Best to be picky with your shot.

What twist is the rifle ?

If it's slower that a 9 twist I have killed a ton of deer with a 53 gr Barnes X flat base and the 53 gr Barnes TSX flat base. Used it in 222, 22-250,220 swift,223, same results from all. Dead deer

1:8

My ol 223 has to slow of a twist to use them.

But I would certainly give the 62gr tsx and ttsx a try. I can't imagine them not being bad deer medicine as good as the 53gr little brother works.

Federal fusion is a factory ammo I’ve heard people recommend. A fella I started taking last year uses a 223. He has some medical issues that require low/no recoil. I’ve watched him shoot 5 deer with it so far shooting 64 grain Winchester PowerPoints. A buck high shoulder shot, drt. A mature doe he shot too high going for a high shoulder that I had to finish off when I got to her. Not the rifle/ammo fault. A doe fawn through the boiler room that ran maybe 100-150 yards. No blood trail and wouldn’t have found her if she didn’t die right on the edge of the field. A mature doe that bled great, but was never recovered. She made it about 250 yards and was seen still alive. And a 60 pound button head shot through the lungs that ran about 30 yards and died. No blood trail.

With that said, I have a 223 that I thought might make a good first deer rifle for my girls who aren’t going to want something with recoil. But like you, will only be in specific situations

222 not a 223 but 52 gr HP. They don't go very far.
Nothing lives with a hole in the heart or lungs.
A deer with a hole in the heart or lungs doesn't live longer than 7 seconds.

My kids started out at a young age with 223 Federal fusion…if you do your part, they will do their part…

60 grain Partition worked for my grandson before he graduated to a larger caliber rifle.

My experience with a 22 caliber rifle is when the shot is solid deer die, typically very quickly. Yes there is typically no blood trail. I don’t like head or neck shots as too much room for error leading to a potential crippled deer no matter the chambering.

I like a high shoulder shot with 52/55 gr bullet is what I was partial to. 222,223,22-250,22-250AI and 22-243 have all worked.

My experience with the 223 has been shots under 100yds, perfectly broadside shots and basically just treated that baby rifle like a bow. Be smart with your shots. You wanna break shoulder or more, get more gun. But all my deer piled up within 40yds. Not much blood, but it’s there. Not sure if wanna mess with it in dense green foliage, but up here in autumn or snow it’s just fine. With that 62gr TSX I can stick my pinky in the exit wound. I switched to 6ARC for my kid rifle and that smokes em better with little recoil. Dumped 2 mulies at 300 and 350yds this fall.

...where then guys from Alaska that a kill caribou with here .223's ?

They will kill them. And I have. But I would take head or the neck shot GREENCOUNTYPETE posted. I shot one large doe that I saw go down about 60 yards away. Double lung shot lungs were destroyed. But absolutely zero blood didn't see a drop on the ground and could not find the hole easily looking at the deer tell the skin was off. No exit. Had it ran into thick stuff instead of being in a wide open woods would have probably not found it.

243 or 7mm8 are both very mild and go a much better job if shooting them in the chest. But you already bought a 223. Also likely the reason my boys have not lost a deer yet out of the 54 or 55 they have shot. I have 100% confidence we would absolutely kille every deer (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) at if using a 223. Just not that they would be found in the thick stuff we hunt in a lot.

best starter whitetail rifle for kids or beginners I have found is the 6.5 Grendel.

Or the 6 arc...

Jeesh, he already ordered the gun folks, at least some helped with some good loads. Double lung um and don’t expect a blood trail. Happy hunting for the wifey.

I have friends in Nome that use a .223 exclusively.. but.. up there.. theres no where for the animal hide.. they just shoot it and watch it with binoculars until it expires..

The .223 will likely take a deer or two BUT...

I'll likely order a larger gun if she shoots it well and enjoys it, I'll then have an ultralight Coyote gun... I wasn't going to admit that while some were having a coronary though.

Hmmm, that’s smart thinking there!

My Wife and Daughter have killed several deer with a 62 grain Bearclaw bonded bullet loaded to 5.56 levels. The rifle was a 16 inch AR. There has been an exit wound on all of them, I never looked for a blood trail as they all fell within sight. A friend of ours uses the 62 grain Federal Fusion ammo and has also had excellent results with it as well. Now none of these deer were shot at more than 100 yards and they waited for the right shot on all of them as well.