I use an AR chambered in 223/5.56 for hunting. Some say over kill while others say it passes threw to quickly.
Yes it did on one deer, passed threw but it did expand. Hole going in was the size expected, but hole coming out was about the diameter of a closed fist.
But there is other rounds that do similar things. See in Florida two animals that we hunt. Deer 5 round mag required, ah i did say two.
Wild hogs are another favorite hunt, AR can have a thirty round mag. Hogs are non indigenous species. The only thing FWC wants you to do is harvest it. Cook it and eat it. Dont shoot and leave it, FWC charges by the pound in fines .
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Whatever works.
Iāve never used 5.56 for hunting, but the DoD version of the round is not meant to exit a personās body. Theyāre designed to tumble and stay in, to either (depending on who you ask) maximize the damage to the target or minimize the risk to anyone behind the target.
Iām surprised it went through a deer, unless it was in the neck or a smaller part of the body. Are the 5.56 rounds we buy so different than the military version?
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Of course, that would depend on the round, the distance, the environmental effects that round endured before making contact with the target. Many believe that simply because an AR platform was used in that hunt that was overkill without considering the type of round (whether .223 or NATO 5.56x45mm). Civilian hunting with military grade ammunition, imo, might be overkill if one has not done their homework! This seems to be a big problem today; people not doing their homework but will just grab a box ammunition marked 5.56mm without considering what the round will actually do or how it is intended to perform, and the considerations that factor in the equation in order to determine most likely outcomes. A simple solution would be ā¦ do the homework. Otherwise, it will continue to be like squirrel hunting but using a frangible round. What good is the hunt if it results in you tearing up the meat?! Or worse, continuing on and hitting an unintended target! May it be the .223, the 5.56x45 (M193 or M855), and/or weight considerations for small game. For the sake of being redundant: Homework is the key, before you hit the field. I hope there is agreement here.
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Most of the folks Iāve spoken with actually consider .223 underpowered for medium size deer and larger game. Though a fair number of people seem to use it on deer. With a good bonded soft point put in the right spot it likely will do the job more often than not if you keep the range on the shorter side.
I personally would prefer a little more umph in case the bullet doesnāt end up exactly where I wanted it to for some reason.
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Whitetails in Florida are much smaller and thin skinned, a big Keys Deer would be 90lbs.
Hunting rounds would be considered .223 cal. 
Florida whitetail deer are a game species that can be found throughout the state in habitats with young vegetation and edge12. They have a white tail that they use to signal danger, and they feed on plants1. They have experienced population changes due to human activities3. There are two subspecies of Florida whitetail deer: the Florida Key deer, which is one of the smallest in the world, and the Seminole whitetail, which is hunted in the Everglades and Central and South Florida45.
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Good point by Bruce. I donāt hunt in Fl (where I live now), but lived my first 40 years in Western NY, where my brother has a large hunting camp. To him, .223 is a turkey gun, and deer hunting is with a .50 cal muzzle loader, 12ga slug, or bow. The Florida deer really do seem like little runts compared to the beasts up there.
As for taking hogs, anything that works, any time. Get rid of all those things. My buddy at work uses a pneumatic bow thatās very effective and quiet for use in neighborhoods.
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You cant use .223/5.56 to hunt deer in Virginia. It is considered underpowered here. I agree with @Shamrock on this subject. A good bonded and/or soft point is better suited to hunting. I would not hunt with a FMJ round as it will not expand.
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Is it due to the amount of energy?
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223 coreloc
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They make expanding hunting rounds, wild hogs you can use FMJ on
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Shot placement is key to any good harvest. Neck severing spinal cord, heart an lung shot a couple ribs past front leg or if your not worried about a mount a head shot.
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A 556 being the more powerful has the greatest range. I routinely piss off rich gun owners. At Bay County range there is a 300 yrd range. They shoot the steel bear and think its great. I use my DPMS oracle 3x9x40 bdc and make the chicken target dance.
With the right round it can be a very good all around hunter.
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It has more to do with the Fish and Game Dept. The lighter faster bullets can blow up and fragment on a rib, leg, or shoulder bone and leave you with a wounded deer. The .223 have come a long way as far as bullet weights. The heavier the bullet the higher the rate of twist. The higher rate of twist helps to stabilize the bullet in flight, āi.e.ā accuracy.
The 75grn. and 78grn. Should be good for 200 to 250yds. on larger White tail. Shot placement is everything.
If you can puncture both lungs with a hole in and out both sides, you will have a dead deer.
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I had read about different hunting laws, straight wall vs necked cartridges but havenāt been. Being in N. NV there is a lot of hunting(deer, mule deer, bear, duck, coyote, antelope)
I used to reload 5.56/.223, 6.5cm, and .224 Valkyrie for targets, havenāt been hunting deer or larger yet. I did make up some 5.56 rounds, 60gr V-Max but havenāt run them through a chrono to see the numbers.
My brother and his girls want me to go hunting with them, get my own deer tag with my .224 Valkyrie, 90gr SKBT rounds.
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That should do it.
Fill your freezer, best kind.
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It really depends. First of all, you should not fire 5.56 in a gun marked .223. The shoulder length is just slightly different on the 5.56 and can result in excessive chamber pressure. Secondly, in any semi-automatic firearm, chamber pressure is very important. Too little and the firearm fails to function. Too much and the firearm fails to function and can result in firearm failure with dramatic results. You can fire .223 in a 5.56 rifle but it will have a slight effect on accuracy. The chart below that someone posted is very good. You should print it out and put it among your reloading data. When I first started shooting .223 many years ago I fired some 62 grain green tip through a barrel with a 1/12 twist. They all hit the target, but going sideways, It would make a painful flesh wound but probably wouldnāt penetrate too deeply. I was rangemaster at our club (predictive changed it to ringmaster. Some days it felt like a circus when we had public shoot day) watching a young man having significant difficulty with his AR15 functioning correctly, I overheard him say to his buddy, āThese should work. It is the hottest load in the book.ā If I were a perfect human being, I would have gone over and tried to explain to the know-it-all jackass what the problem was. However my every contact with him that day had been unpleasant ā not enough to kick him off the range unpleasant, but just unpleasant. So, being the imperfect human that I am I didnāt say anything to him.
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Thinning the herd.
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Apparently my DPMS oracle AR is a 1.9 twist. With your information i shall be looking for something better than 223 coreloc hunting rounds. So any help with finding a better round would be appreciated?
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What do you do if itās a hogzilla weighing over 350 lbs? Better have an ATV to drag it out. What do businesses do that āharvest ā hogs to protect crops?
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