556/223 reloading question

[gregintenn]

If I wanted to reliably kill a white tail deer with a 556 AR, what projectile would you recommend?

[Garufa]

Certainly you have better options.

[gregintenn]

18 minutes ago, Garufa said:

Certainly you have better options.

Of course I do. You ever just get curious?

[Darrell]

I've never considered hunting deer with a .223, but Barnes offers bullets in their Triple Shock series, and Nosler has Partitions in 223.

[RED333]

1 hour ago, gregintenn said:

If I wanted to reliably kill a white tail deer with a 556 AR, what projectile would you recommend?

I do not hunt or reload .223 yet. At the speed of a .223 any hollow point is going to be a killer. However because it is small and lite hitting a rib or worse, shoulder blade is going make hitting the heart tough.

[10-Ring]

I've shot several deer with 223 because it's what I had at the time. 50gn Noslers will do the job, but it isn't pretty and I don't recommend it. I've used this set up twice, both in the ear, both dropped in their tracks but did a lot of kicking once down. I didn't care for that. I've also taken deer with 62 and 77gn bullets, boiler room shots that did a good job. You mentioned an AR, provided your barrel has a 1:7 or 1:8 twist rate it will generally do better with a heavier bullet. Might try something along the lines of a 69-77gn JSP. In my opinion and experience there is nothing wrong with using a .223 for deer. You shouldn't be taking marginal shots with any caliber and a well placed shot with a .223 will absolutely do the trick.  

[Alleycat72]

1 hour ago, gregintenn said:

If I wanted to reliably kill a white tail deer with a 556 AR, what projectile would you recommend?

I've killed a lot of deer and hogs with 5.56.

62 gr Lehigh controlled chaos and Barnes 62 tsx.

[scatman]

I use Hornady soft points, 55gr out of a 23" barrel and 1:8 twist. Does great.