[dotocomo]

Whats your opinion on deer hunting on smaller type deer with .223 ruger 14's?

I have been told by good hunters that a .223 is OK as long as the shots are well place...typically head shots are better.

or should i go ahead and buy say a cheap second hand bolt action .308 with sights as this woud be more humane and better suited.

(am hunting in north island of New Zealand in Lake Taupo region)

Am thinking of going with a friend deer and varmint hunting so am thinking a combination of both rifles been carried by us will ensure small game get the .223 and the larger game (if we are lucky!) get the .308

we may even come across some wild bore pigs as well

Remember i dont have that much money but own a mini 14 and want a cheap .308, or should i wait and get a proper well accurate more expensive .308 or say Ruger .270? (i like .270 but is out of price range unless get cheap second hand version)

Last question, is it OK to buy 'accurate' second hand hunting rifles or should i go new?



thanks for any comments

 

[Mark whiz]

Personally dotocomo...........

I'd go with the .308 for deer. I like my kills to be quick & as humane as possible - and the .308 gives a better assurance of that happening.

Yes, you can use the .223 to good affect, but you really need to be able to make GOOD shots everytime with it; and the mini-14 is not the most accurate gun in the first place (especially if you're considering shots out to 90 meters or more). If my shots are probably going to be 2 or 3" inches off target - then I want the knockdown power of the .308 to compensate for the gun's (or my) inaccuracy.

.223 will work with hogs too - but the same things apply. I've seen boars go down with one good .223 shot and I've also seen it take 3 or 4 good .223 shots to subdue a hog. When going after hogs, especially if I'm going to be in close quarters with them, I like to have several quick shots ready to go............in other words I like semi-autos for pigs :ar15:

Also - there really is nothing wrong with a second hand gun - if it was well-taken care of my the previous owner. I own 1 rifle & 2 second-hand pistols and they are good pieces. Just inspect them well, work the action, ask questions, & if at all possible try to arrange a test firing to verify what it can do.

 

[dotocomo]

thanks for your advice,

what i think im going to do is buy myself a .303 or .308 second hand trusty rifle, this i will use for larger game at greater distances

will make sure to get the accuracy right on this rifle as well as my mini 14

means when i go hunting with a buddy we have the selection of what rifle to use before we take a shot

chances of seeing a deer in NZ is not rare but more difficult unless you get to some remote locations, so am more likely to come across wild goats and rabbits!

will let you know how i go when i am back from my trip in NZ next month....

 

[carry-45]

dotocomo- here in Ky. one must use .270 cal. or larger on deer size game by state law. Also I don't believe that .223 will impart enough "knock-down" power (impact) to deer size game for a clean kill,unless you're lucky enough to get a brain shot for a quick kill; plus you never want the animal to suffer and not be killed quickly. I have an older Remington mod. 788 bolt action in .308 with scope that has taken both deer and wild boar,using different loads. I would relegate the .223 to large varmints because of bullet size/weight.:2guns:

 

[Swede]

Here in MN the smallest you can use is a .243. What I've read of people that use the .223 is keep the shots within approx 100yds. Use a premium bullet (Swift A, Nosler partition, etc) and like you said only take the clean shots.

It seems there have been a lot of deer shot with the .223 but it is not the first choice of most hunters.

It sounds to me like you have the right setup. If your buddy is carrying a .303 or .308 and you have a .223 you would be ready for most anything.

 

[cw2go]

A .223 is marginal for anything but small deer at close range in the hands of experienced hunters. You want something that will put the deer (or hog) down reliably and humanely in one shot. It is not an acceptable round for hogs, IMHO, unless you like wounded, angry, pissed-off hogs around you. Go with the .308. You could also use rounds between .243 and .270 to good effect for deer and hogs, and still be able to hit smaller game at good ranges. You could also compromise on a Mini-30 for either deer or hogs at closer ranges.

-- cw

 

[Deaf Smith]

I've taken one deer with a Mini-14 ranch rifle using a 2 1/2 x scope. Handloaded Speer 70 gr simi-spitzer soft point to around 2700 fps. The range was 100 yards using a tree as a offhand rest (leaning up against it.) The deer ran around 100 yards or so and fell down. The bullet went through the ribs, heart and lung, shattered and came to rest in pieces in the far side rib cage.

The upshot is, if you have a very good broad side shot, and it no major bones (sholder) it will work. But, a .243 or better would have given me more assurance of a quick humane kill if I had screwed up the shot.

I like my Mini-14, but if I wanted a fast carbine for this, I would get the Mini-30! The .223 is just barely able to do the job.

 

[dotocomo]

ended up buying a sporterised Parker Hale (enfield) .303 and stainless Ruger mini 14

both worked well but have had to take them both back to the shop so that they can sight them in

the enfield had the scope skewed on the mounts so they need to be adjusted and the mini 14 back sight does not go up high enough so shoots low, will be getting a scope when i get the money

if you want to see photos then check out the mini 14 gallery under my name!

thxs

 

[WyrTwister]

Originally posted by dotocomo
Whats your opinion on deer hunting on smaller type deer with .223 ruger 14's?

I have been told by good hunters that a .223 is OK as long as the shots are well place...typically head shots are better.

or should i go ahead and buy say a cheap second hand bolt action .308 with sights as this woud be more humane and better suited.

(am hunting in north island of New Zealand in Lake Taupo region)

Am thinking of going with a friend deer and varmint hunting so am thinking a combination of both rifles been carried by us will ensure small game get the .223 and the larger game (if we are lucky!) get the .308

we may even come across some wild bore pigs as well

Remember i dont have that much money but own a mini 14 and want a cheap .308, or should i wait and get a proper well accurate more expensive .308 or say Ruger .270? (i like .270 but is out of price range unless get cheap second hand version)

Last question, is it OK to buy 'accurate' second hand hunting rifles or should i go new?

thanks for any comments

Father in law & sister in law have used a Mini-14 for small - medium deer . Brother in law uses a .30-06 .

If I were to go deer hunting , I would probably go with .30 caliber .

If you buy a used rifle , check the headspace !

God Bless
wyr

 

[22man]

can do the job, with sideways shots into the ribs-lungs. Head shots are not luck. They are the result of a carefully braced position, a cool,experienced marskman, and being inside of 100 yds or so. Many deer weigh well under 100 lbs, many men are 200 lbs or more, and the 223 has stopped many thousands of men in their tracks. It's not a particularly good choice, if you have other options, tho. It's more of a survivalist sort of move, than a "normal times" sort of sport hunting thing.

 

[Glockerman]

Originally posted by 22man@Jun 15 2003, 09:31 PM
Many deer weigh well under 100 lbs

Don't know where you live but up here in the Northern Mid-West states like Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, deer weigh a heck of a lot more than 100 lbs. Frankly, go with just about anything larger than a .223. My .30-06 stops 'em with 1 shot every time.

 

[jeff]

I've never lived anywhere where you can hunt deer with a .223. Most .30 cals are sufficient although some are marginal beyond 100 meters (30-30 and 32 special to name a couple). .308 and 30-06 are probably the most versatile for large game. Truth is if you hunt large and small game you need more than one (like you needed an excuse). Yes my great grandfather used to shoot deer with the .22 I have but it was mostly at night and noise was an issue. Let’s not Give the antis fodder. One shot one kill.

Jeff
:usa:

 

[Bear 1769]

I have seen many Deer drop to a 22LR but I dont think anything below a .243- 6mm is Ethical. If I was Starving I Know I could take a deer with one round from a .223 But as far as sport hunting gose a clean kill is requiered.

 

[einnor1040]

Here in Tennessee, 25 cal is minimum for deer. :sniper:

 

[2 gun]

I realize this was'nt an option but you can pick up a good W.W.II era bolt action gun for less than 150.00 the list includes in order of best to least poplar ( 98k mauser in 8mm or 308 in some modles,303 edenfield,and the russian nagat in 7.62 x54R all of these guns are grate deer guns and ard verry cheep.The only thing I would caution you about is to make sure the gun is in verry good order IE..good barrell good crown good throat and tight action.Another option is the Savage 110 or other modle only cost 350.00 new and can be had for as little as 150 used I have owned many milatiry bolt guns and savages as well as many bolt guns in general and I can tell you from experience a good bolt gun can be had for 150.As to hunting with a mini-14 you could do this but I would'nt take a shot at a deer from more than 50 yds with my mini-14 because at 100 yds I have missed a target the size of a basketball 3out of 5 times from a bench rested position.

 

[CrazyMiniMan]

I hunt deer a lot with my Mini-14, but you must bear in mind that down here in Texas, the deer are rather small bodied, teh vast majority of them weighing in at a mere 40-90 pounds field dressed. However, I never take a shot at them unless I am within 50 yards, and I get a good clear shot. I have let loads of deer walk away simply because I wasnt sure I could nail him/her perfectly. You must realize something else though, I have been hunting since I was 4 years old, I took my first deer at age 5. My Dad would let me run through the woods with his old Mini-14 when I was 8 years old, so pretty much my entire life I have had a Mini-14 in hand.

So my point is, if you are very experienced, and honestly think you are a damn good shot, then go ahead and use the .223. However, if there is ANY doubt, go with a larger caliber gun for the deers sake.

:cannon: Like this one! :cannon:

 

[hanksr]

Carrry-45 I'm almost positive that the legal minimum for deer in kentucky is .223, I know that you can hunt with rifles smaller than .270, I've shot them here with .243 and .257 roberts. And what about people who hunt with 25-06. Not pickin at ya just figured I'd let ya know.

 

[deerhntr]

No doubt a .223 will kill a Deer Under PERFECT conditions and with PERFECT shot placement,I would never carry one in the deer woods. my personal minimum for Deer here in NY would be a Good 30 caliber rifle, I am not a big fan of the 270 winchester yes its flat shooting But i had a few rounds not penitrate the opposing shoulder on a deer not leaving a good blood trail.The 308 win would be a fine choice indeed,And leave the mini-14 for shooting 6 inch groups at 100 meters at the target range

 

[cjmkerns]

Deerhntr & 2 guns,

You guys need to tune those mini's.