70 grainTSX barnes in 223 for deer (success)

Y

yoteblaster

Active member
Last year my nephew didn't have a gun to use for deer so I told him if he wanted to use my Tikka 223 he could and I would load him some 70 grain Barnes TSX bullets as long as he promised to choose his shots wisely. So I buy the stuff and load the rounds, he then finds another gun to use. Not wanting to waste the shells and curious about how well they will work I decided to use them on a doe this year.

Well yesteray I had a large midwest doe standing at 75 yards so I took the shot right behind the front shoulDer between the lungs and heart, I saw where it hit as she was running full out. I went and looked for the blood trail, I knew immediately that it wasn't going far, the blood trail was huge. I found her about 75yards from where she was shot. I cut it up today and found the entry and exit holes. The round entered hitting a rib, passed through the heart, out the opposite rib cage making a fifty cent piece hole and then out the opposite side through the upper leg.

The last two years I have used my 270 with Remington 130 grain coreloks (sp?) and havent had either of them exit on broadside shots, they seem to break up inside. No I am not trying to start a fight about 223 for deer, but it sure worked good yesterday. I had to pass up a few I would not have passed up with my 270 because of brush in the way or angled shots but was glad I tried it. I may have my son use it as a starter when he is able to shoot. I would stress shot placement and waiting for the perfect shot hoping he would carry that with him instead of just blasting away.
 
.223 is a excellent little rnd. Match the correct bullet/shot placement and it works like a charm. I've taken 4 deer with mine. Ranged from 50yds to 380yds. All deer only took 1 shot to put down.

I'm working on a load for 75g Scirocco II for my .223ai at the moment. It'll be used this year for deer.

Congrats on the deer, well done.
 
the 223 for deer/hogs never seems to fail I have used a one in Texas for years. I have tryed most of the bullets avalible, I have settled on the 64 gr winchester pp as they are fairly inexpencive and work really good.
 
Seal I can't load the 75gr A-max in my .223 Rem 700 Police
because they are to long to feed from mag and they seam to get nose damage from my seating die, three buddy's have had the same trouble with them....it kind of looks like a compressed ring around the seating die contact point!?!?!

would like to try some heaver rounds for longer range as I am curently limited to 6-650 max and then they start to wander
around to much.
do you really find a big difference with the 223AI over standard .223 rem?
 
Originally Posted By: JonathanSeal I can't load the 75gr A-max in my .223 Rem 700 Police
because they are to long to feed from mag and they seam to get nose damage from my seating die, three buddy's have had the same trouble with them....it kind of looks like a compressed ring around the seating die contact point!?!?!

would like to try some heaver rounds for longer range as I am curently limited to 6-650 max and then they start to wander
around to much.
do you really find a big difference with the 223AI over standard .223 rem?

The 75 grain A-Max will get that ring with most dies. The problem is the seating stem. I contacted Forster about the ring I was getting on my bullets. They sent me a properly formed seater plug and the problem went away. Contact who ever made your dies. They should make it right with no charge, or at least Forster did.

As far as hunting deer with a 223?? Well I can not not figure out why so many hunters want to proove they can shoot a deer with a cartridge that is really inadequate for deer hunting. Then they have to buy specially constructed bullets that cost 2 or 3 times more than a bullet should cost. But then it is a free country?? Tom.
 
Thanks for the info Tom I will contact Rcbs.

I want the 75 grainers for shooting long rang steel plates
not for deer!

I will stick to 55gr V-Max for my sub cal doe Deer shooting
in been fields when I have all the time in the world to watch and study the game and make perfect shots every time.

for the bucks and most of my normal hunting I use a .308win
with 165-180gr loads
 
The Barnes TSX bullets are simply the best bullets out there, I have two whitetails down that did not argue the point from my 7mm-08. But if all I had was a .223 Rem I would have been using the Barnes TSX just the same, as it gets the job done.

Other peoples opinions may vary in what they want to spend.
 
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Nothing hits like a Barnes!

Yoteblasters experience is SOP for a Barnes TSX. How can anyone fault his choice? I would bet a lighter, faster TSX would have dropped the doe a bit quicker.
 
Originally Posted By: JonathanSeal I can't load the 75gr A-max in my .223 Rem 700 Police
because they are to long to feed from mag and they seam to get nose damage from my seating die, three buddy's have had the same trouble with them....it kind of looks like a compressed ring around the seating die contact point!?!?!

would like to try some heaver rounds for longer range as I am curently limited to 6-650 max and then they start to wander
around to much.
do you really find a big difference with the 223AI over standard .223 rem?

Jonathan,

I've modified my ADL and BLD mag box to accommodate the long 75g Amax's seated at 2.485. Cut the spacer out, make a new one and epoxy it in. Now your mag box will except the extra long rds.

My standard RCBS .223 dies also makes the rings around the nose of the 75g Amax. I haven't found it to reduce my accuracy in my AR that I single load for. I've ran it out to 1k with excellent results. With the standard .223 w/75g Amax in my AR, I get 2850fps w/a Shilen 24", 1/8tw.

Out of my .223ai I get 3050fps w/a 22", 1/8 tw. My Redding .223ai seating die doesn't give me the ring around the nose. On the 75g Swifts, it marks it up a little for some reason.
 
Thanks Seal,
I will try them single shot and if they are the bomb I will
ask you to send me some pics of the mod and I will break out the epoxy.

Thanks again
 
I asked Redding about my seater stem, as it was bottoming out on the nose of 75gr VLD's. They sent me a new one for free and while it wears the same part number, it appears to have been drilled out a bit. No more problem.

Here is a 1/4" aluminum spacer that I JB Welded in place with some cuts in the box and spacer for mechanical locks. The alumnimum can be had at most hardware stores. I think I can run out to a 2.53" OAL now. Tweak the corners of the box so that it seats firmly and securely in the bottom of action.

100_0146.jpg
 
I was thinking about plastic initially, and was looking for a cheapo cutting board to chop up. The aluminum was the first thing I found, so that's the route I took.
 
I've said it for years and it's so very true...

The bullet used and placement is waaaay more important than the diameter of it...
 
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Has anyone tried the 62 grain barnes, I've heard good things about them from an accuracy standpoint. And its a barnes so I suspect the terminal ballistics are good.
 


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