223 out to 500 yards

R

rickyb

New member
Been a while guys since I have been on. Hope everybody is doing well. I learned to reload my 22-250 on this board and still coyote hunt with it. I have over the years developed tinnitus and now most of my hunting rigs are threaded for a surpressor. I recently purchased a browning xbolt 223 threaded 20” barrel bolt gun. Where I deer hunt we have a lot of hogs and shots up to 500 yards are possible. I’m trying to decide on spending the time on the 223 because it looks like after 300 yds she starts dropping out. Am I better off getting a 22-250 with a threaded barrel and going that route?
If the 223 with 1:8 twist is good out to 500 yds what bullets do I need to be buying to start reloading? My 22-250 is 1:14 so most bullets are 55 and below and they will not shoot worth a dang in the 223 or at least some factory 50 gr didn’t. I guess I’m asking if this 223 is the right caliber for shots out to 500 yds on hogs or will I be money and time better spent buying a threaded 22-250 for this purpose. Thanks Ricky

Where I work they have blocked me from looking at PM so all of this is being done on iPhone. Forgive any spelling or words that don’t fit but this is what I have to work with.
 
Personally speaking, I would have my reservations about taking a hog at 500yds with a 223. There just seems to be better tools for that task. Im sure at some point you will hear about shot placement being important and I know it is.....
 
For hogs I would go with a 243 Win and keep the shots at 300 yards or less.

I have killed quite a few hogs with my 22-250 but they were all standing shots at less than 100 yards away.

If you buy a 22-250 get a 1-10" twist barrel or faster.
 
I've done a lot of target shooting with 223 at 500 and it's not very easy compared to just about any other rifle option.

Wind plays a huge effect on impact making accurate shots difficult, especially in hunting conditions when you have no chance to make a couple spotter shots to see where you're impacting. And the other factor using a small round like that is shot placement and being off on your wind call by a few mph can have a big effect on where that bullet hits. A high BC bullet will obviously help but you need to also have a bullet that can perform well enough to take a hog at that range.

I know Berger doesn't offer a .224 hunting VLD, Hornady doesnt offer their new ELD-X in .224 and Nosler doesn't make a .224 accubond long range or ballistic tip. I really can't think of anyone that makes a dedicated high BC hunting bullet in .224.

If I was guaranteed a hit in the vitals at 500 yards I would say it's not a good idea, good luck finding that pig it's going to go a ways with likely not much of a blood trail. In real world hunting conditions I would say it's a very bad idea.

If I was stuck to a .22 cal suppressor and wanted to take pigs at 500 yards I would go over the top with something like 22-243 and get the heaviest hunting bullets I could find in .224.
 
My opinions:
I love both of those calibers but:
.223 doesn't have enough energy to kill a hog humanely and consistently at 500 yards. I'm not saying it can't be done but it's not the right tool for the job.
Like you said, your 22-250 with a 1:14 twist won't like the heavy bullets that you want for 500 yard shots on hogs.
You'd be much better off picking up a .243 or a .308. Both are great calibers for everything from Coyotes to Deer, both are fairly fast and handle heavier bullets well, are popular rounds, ammo is fairly cheap and they've been around for a long, long time. You can get a great shooting Savage Axis or a T/C Compass with a threaded barrel for around $250.
 
As Bob stated, 223 light on hogs, especially at long range.

I've culled a lot of hogs while hunting coyotes w/.223AR & 55 gr. NBT's but with one exception all were head shots. Don't try frontal head shots w/above, even at 50 yards as bullet will splash and deflect!! Broadside between eye and ear works fine out to 100 or so but I prefer the 243 WSSM (or 308) for hogs.

Several years ago we took out 39 hogs ,probably 1/3 were with the .223, but I don't stretch the shots, especially w/the .223.

ETA: JMO, but I do not shoot game past 300 as just one step at the moment the trigger breaks will result in a bad hit even if everything was perfect when the shot broke.

Regards,
hm

 
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I have personal limits of 300 yds with .223 and 400 yds with .22-250. Of course I have stretched it a couple times.
I have shot targets @ 600 with the 250.
Both are running out of the minimum 400 ft lbs that I go by.
Tikka markets a 1-8 and 1-14 twist .22-250.
If I was wanting to stretch it continuously I would go with a .243 or a creedmoore.
 
Thanks guys you have answered my question. Since I have developed tinnitus and try and shoot with a can on with hearing protection. I’m slowly adding more guns that are threaded for a surpressor. I have a browning 308 and as mentioned a 223. Thinking about selling the 223 with low round count and getting a threaded 22-250. Looks like I need to work on developing loads for the 308 and just making it my go to gun for hogs and deer. For years I shot a 7mmSTW and never once did I miss a deer out to 400 yds. Farthest I have ever shot at anything was 400 yds and the STW has no problem but is to loud on the ears.
 
I have been taking my .223 out past 800y (2 to 3 moa target size).

Mine is a 16" Knight's Armament Mod 2 upper with their 1:7 twist barrel.
My reloads are Sierra 77gr MatchKing bullets with H322 powder. It's only going 2,615fps but is MOA consistently.

Using a ballistic calc and my mil/mil Burris XTR-II with SCR reticle, 3-15x power, I can make hits fairly easily to 800y if I read the wind right. Wind becomes tricky for me past 500y.

This is just for hitting steel, I would never hunt with it past a couple hundred and then I'd use a different bullet and really a larger caliber. I keep the .223 for steel and p-dogs, the 6.8 SPC gets the nod for everything else.
 
Thanks guys you have answered my question. Since I have developed tinnitus and try and shoot with a can on with hearing protection. I’m slowly adding more guns that are threaded for a surpressor. I have a browning 308 and as mentioned a 223. Thinking about selling the 223 with low round count and getting a threaded 22-250. Looks like I need to work on developing loads for the 308 and just making it my go to gun for hogs and deer. For years I shot a 7mmSTW and never once did I miss a deer out to 400 yds. Farthest I have ever shot at anything was 400 yds and the STW had no problem. The problem with the STW is noise. That gun defiantly hurt my hearing. So I will be selling off some guns and purchasing others. Looks like for now I will invest my time in the 308. Thanks Ricky
 
Electric ear protection

That's a link to some good electric ear muffs. Ear protection can be a pain when hunting but they are easy to slip on quick and the good electric ones aid in hearing normal sounds yet quiet anything down that can do damage to your ears.
 
I have been hunting with electronic ear muffs for quite a long time, feel naked going in the woods without them.

Deer do a lot more vocal sounds than you would ever believe and you will probably rarely ever hear them without the electronic ear muffs.

The only way that I would shoot hogs at 300 yards with a 223 was if I did not want to pick them up.
 
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Originally Posted By: Lefty SRHPersonally speaking, I would have my reservations about taking a hog at 500yds with a 223. There just seems to be better tools for that task. Im sure at some point you will hear about shot placement being important and I know it is..... Spot on!
 
I had a set of ear plugs built and I wear them every time I go hunting. I have also purchased a couple of suppressors that help even more. I took my hearing for granted and I will never fire another gun without hearing protection. I buy ear plugs by the case and hand out packages to all my friends. You will not go hunting with me unless you wear some form of ear protection. I constantly remind my son to wear them and I hope he does when I’m not around. This is a great board and I have learned a lot over the years. I’m going look into getting the 308 ready for next year. I have to know what that gun will do before I ever pull the trigger. I’m going also start kicking around a 243 or 6mm that will be threaded. Thanks again Ricky
 
Originally Posted By: longrange454Why not just stick with your 308. I use the 110 grn. bullets out of mine for coyotes.

^^^^^^^^Compare the ballistics of the 125 gr. NBT in a .308 to the 243 before making a decision. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Regards,
hm
 
Originally Posted By: reloader326My opinions:
I love both of those calibers but:
.223 doesn't have enough energy to kill a hog humanely and consistently at 500 yards. I'm not saying it can't be done but it's not the right tool for the job.
Like you said, your 22-250 with a 1:14 twist won't like the heavy bullets that you want for 500 yard shots on hogs.
You'd be much better off picking up a .243 or a .308. Both are great calibers for everything from Coyotes to Deer, both are fairly fast and handle heavier bullets well, are popular rounds, ammo is fairly cheap and they've been around for a long, long time. You can get a great shooting Savage Axis or a T/C Compass with a threaded barrel for around $250.

That's the first time I've ever heard someone refer to a 308 being fast! Im at a loss trying to think of a caliber used for that range that's slower.

I better keep reading this thread.... the 6.5 crapmore fanboys have got to be showing up soon!
 
Originally Posted By: hm1996
ETA: JMO, but I do not shoot game past 300 as just one step at the moment the trigger breaks will result in a bad hit even if everything was perfect when the shot broke.

Regards,
hm



Im sure that sounds good in your head but what a bunch of BS. How far forward do the vitals of a standing deer move when the deer takes a step? Even the slowest calibers are going to take 1/3 of a second to travel 300yds vs 1 full second at 700yds. 2/3 of a second more.

I better keep reading the stank seems to be getting deeper.
 


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