The Original CZ Forum
GENERAL => Hunting => Topic started by: bcraig on October 31, 2012, 12:13:52 AM
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I am going to give it a try this year and jsut wondering if anyone has used thisd combo on deer and if so how did it work for you ?
Thanks
Craig
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I'll try my 7.62x39mm CZ 527M as soon as I can, but I don't know about the .223 version. Post pics, if you can. :)
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Be sure to check your state laws. Many states require .243 or larger to hunt deer.
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AZ law is pretty good.
R12-4-304. Lawful Methods for Taking Wild
Mammals, Birds, and Reptiles...
5. To take deer:
a. Center?re ri?es;
b. Muzzleloading ri?es;
c. All other ri?es using black powder or synthetic
black powder;
d. Center?re handguns;
e. Handguns using black powder or synthetic
black powder;
f. Shotguns shooting slugs;
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How big are the deer and what range are you shooting? We have some tiny Coues deer that a 223 would drop IF you can get close enough. Problem is that a lot of shots are 300+ range so the 223 doesn't have enough terminal energy. We also have some big mulies that I personally would like to have a bigger bullet with more Ft/Lbs behind it.
I love the partition bullets and will be loading up some of the 60 grain 223s - if they are ever in stock - someday. Just not sure what I'll shoot them at yet.....
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I have some 60gr partitions loaded for my .223 FS. They shoot well from my rifle, but I haven't tested them on deer.
It's legal to hunt deer here with .223, and because of the terrain you'd never get a shot longer than 100yds. I think a neck/head shot will put down a decent sized whitetail.
I used 24.5 gr VV N133 at 2.230
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I'm not a big fan of the .223 as a deer rifle. A little on the light side IMO. That said though, a brain shot will put 'em down quick and very dead. A hit that breaks the spine will put 'em down and they will need a follow up to finish them. Not a fan of a shoulder shot with a .223 though. While a lung shot would surely kill the animal there would likely be very little if any blood trail and you would risk losing the animal.
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Make sure there is snow on the ground! I only take lung / heart shots, so a .22 cal hole would scare me, unless I was hunting an open field.
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The .223 Rem and Nosler Partition is an effective combination on deer out to 200 yards IF you do YOUR part.
My brother-in-law put a guy on a deer on his Montana ranch that was 75 yards away at most. The guy blazed away with his .30-06 and emptied the magazine and didn't hit the deer one time.
Other people have killed deer with air rifles and a single shot.
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Those were true air rifles, then. I've seen true hunting air rifles that could drop some darn big game, definitely NOT a BB gun!
Hoping to get my 527 back sometime soon, and then get some hunting time off...
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Well, this is just my opinion... I'm a registered Maine Guide, and while a .223 is legal in this state, it is marginal. The rifle will do its part, if the shooter does, that is true. However, I like to see my sports carrying a rifle that delivers a little more energy, and has a bit more "fudge factor". I want to see a rifle/cartridge combo that is sure to give over 1,000 foot pounds of energy at a couple of hundred yards. I'm not saying that a foot pound here or there makes too much difference, but under pressure a hunter may not be capable of delivering that shot he can on the range, and that extra energy might just deliver the hammer blow you need. It also depends on what sort of terrain you are hunting, and how big your deer are. I never recommend a head/neck shot to a sport, and don't recommend it to anyone I take into the woods. Neck shots can be pretty hit and miss, there is a lot of meat and muscle there that won't deliver a fatal hit. If you are hunting thickly wooded terrain, two factors come into play that also change what you're doing. First, you're more likely to have far fewer seconds to make the shot. Big woods deer can be pretty spooky, and likely you won't have an opportunity to take time to make a perfect shot on the center of a deer's skull. The "boiler room" is a far better target. Second, thickly wooded terrain tends to be littered with tiny twigs that don't show up in your scope when you are taking that "perfect shot". I once had a thin birch tree completely disappear right between me and a buck's kill zone. It deflected the 6.5x55 round beautifully. I swear, in that low powered 2.75 power scope, that tree simply went away! My point there is that it is likely that little 60 grain bullet isn't going to buck any form of mass between you and the target. I only bring it up, because you described the terrain as "tight".
I think the rifle is a great little mountain gun, and I'd love to carry it all day long. I think the cartridge will work on small deer in open terrain, like over small farm fields, with close shots. I don't think it is an ideal cartridge for deer in any other terrain. I'd strongly advise against head/neck shots. It sounds good, but experienced hunters know better. I think some of the issues with this topic run more into an ethical debate, rather than a technical debate. On a strictly technical debate, it is marginal. I'd use it on Carolinas Whitetails from a stand, over a crop. I'd love to own a CZ 527 carbine in 7.62x39, though. That could be a hell of a woods gun for New England Whitetails, especially for a young hunter.
My two cents.
Eric
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I have to agree with pronghorn. I once was real proud of myself when I made a "behind the ear" shot on a muley and dropped him like a sack of potatoes. It was about 150 yards across a coulee, and it took me a good ten minutes or so to climb down, across and back up to him on the other side. Only then did I realize the buck was alive, alert, completely paralyzed, and probably in pain and terrified the entire time...
This was with a .280 Remington, and the bullet went exactly where I intended. The only problem is animals are much tougher than human beings, and small brains, spinal cords and jugulars are easier to miss than you think. A head or neck shot can even let an animal run away, only to slowly starve to death with a broken jaw, blindness, infected wound, or worse. Shoot them in the heart and lungs with a round more forgiving of error than a .223 and capable of leaving a blood trail if neccessary.
I'll never take another head shot on a non-dangerous big game animal again.
There's overkill, but there's also underkill.
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Here in Texas, there are more than a few deer hunters who use a .223. That said, there are much better calibers. The .223 is a problem for deer in that without a very good shot, you stand a good chance of losing a good deer. I would not recommend it.