Ya'll are right about shot placement, but you don't have to aim for the head or neck. A .223 55gr hollow point through the heart or lungs will put meat in the freezer as well, and usually offers you a larger target.

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I think exiting .224 hollow points are the exception...not the rule. I have killed a trailer truck load of deer with a 222 Remington (Savage 340)off of watermelon fields. I know what they can do...223s are of the same ilk. I don't thing that anybody is disputing the fact that these caliblers will kill deer...dang...let us get off of that...What is being said here by me...CHC...and others is that the 224s are not the best choice. I have a buddy that swears by a 223 for hogs...he loves it....has killed plenty with it. The last time we went hog hunting we went my way. Spot and stalk...gettin in there withem. He shot 5 hogs...I finished up 4 of them with Painless. If you can always hit you target in the neck...or head then you could kill deer and hogs with a stout pellet gun. Most of the deer I shot with my 222 I shot in the shoulder...99% ran...some ran away...but not many, and for what I was doing it wasn't that important. I can't think of more than a few that I shot through, but there were some. Look...I'm down with yall...I have tracked deer shot with 300 Win mag till daylight and never found them. I've seen hogs shot with 7 Mag run slap off...but none of that makes a .224 caliber gun a good deer rifle...

It's not the arrow, it's the Indian.

I'll take some pics of the next harvest, hopefully this weekend.

Let us leave the "harvesting" to the farmers. Make no mistake...we are killing. We owe it to the game we kill to make it as efficient and quick as possible. Promoting these below borderline cartridges is bad for business....our business. It isn't those of yall....or us...that sit in the stand and drill deer and pigs in the ear...or place one neatly in the crease that make these cartridges sub standard for deer. It is Joe Buck that thinks that just because he saw it done...or got lucky once...he can use one like a 270. Obviously you are good shot...I'm proud for you, but let us not promote slingshots for giants just becasue David killed a giant with one.

Amen!

Spencer Wood. Age nine. I cocked the Rossi 223(Long Twist)and handed it to Spencer.I am shaking like a dog pooping peach seeds and a Spencer is steady as a rock.I guess the many boxes of amunition that Spencer and Connor have shot paid off.Spencer was instructed to shoot behind the shoulder right behind the elbow of the front leg.(Heart) Bullet hit in the middle of ribs. I could tell that the bullet blew up on impact. The deer ran 25yrds and fell over dead.
So what do I think.I am keeping my 30-06.My kids will be shooting the 223 untill there big enough for the recoil and muzzle of a larger weapon.We have only shot one deer with the 223 but I think most people should shoot a larger gun.

If you look by my left rolled up sleeve you can see the wound caused by the 223.There was no exit wound.

Congrats to your boy! That is a nice buck...and a fine illustration as to why bigger calibers are better suited for deer. It sure could have went another another way, and you sound like you are very aware of that. I'm glad that your situation turned out the way that it did. These catridges have thier place...and for young people that are learning and don't need to be scared of muzzle blast or recoil is one of those places. They can be supervised and usually the ranges are short. I hope the boy continues to learn and grow in the ways of the hunt...it is always good to see youngens in the field! He should be proud!

I agree on the killing aspect. I killed my second 8 point Sunday morning at 7:45am at 30 yards with a heart shot. I was 10 feet off the ground on public land in a chain on platform stand - what I always use. The deer ran 20 yards and fell dead.

Even though this buck field dressed at 94 pounds I wouldn't call him a "giant".

Someone needs to tell these deer that .222 and .223 aren't enough gun to kill them - they keep falling over dead.

For every story like that...there are ten that ended poorly. My nephew lost one the other day to a 222 Remington. When I used to shoot a 222 in the watermelon fields. Some deer shot in the shoulder would drop like stones...others would never be seen agian. If I shot them in the neck...stones....if I shot them in the head....stones. These guns...this caliber in it's most common form...is just too unreliable for deer sized game. Promoting them as such is irresponsible. I get the feeling there are those out there that find a certain amount of pride in taking deer with smaller calibers. Maybe they think it is a testament to thier shooting prowess. In many ways I guess it is. I have a 222...I can shoot it very well and it is a very accurate gun and I have killed a sinful amount of deer with it. It is still not big enough, and in the hands of an unsupervised novice it is bordering on the unethical. I don't wish to make any poster here angry...but I've seen too many run away...and tracked too many way in to the night.

Again, Amen!!!!!

Again this is a very personal choice. I think overall the 223 is too small, but I won't condemn it or its fans. I have shot one deer with an AR, it was a 1 x 5 point that needed killing. It has killed a lot of hogs too. Shot placement is key.

I have also seen it used well by youth under direct supervision, and by my father-in-law just after shoulder surgery, so there are a few reasons to see it in the field.

I shoot a .308 for all North American game animals...including turkeys. (I hate turkeys, think the limit should be 400 rather than 4)

My first rifle when i was 10 was a 223. With a 50-70grain bullet they work great for shots under 100yrds. Anything over that is a chance. Now that i'm 30, the only gun i've hunted with since is a 243. I can hit just about anything from 250yrds or less and it's a kill shot. I love my 243. If you're shooting further than 200yrds i'd use a bigger gun.