Rem 700 223 bolt action for deer ...whats your experiences

[earlthegoat2]

Those are likely varmint twist barrels on those rifles. Likely 1:12. Find out before you buy. Remington was never very good at adjusting to market trends.

The 223 700 I had a bit back ended up getting rebarreled to 350 Legend.

 

[Buckstop]

A skilled shooter that's patient to wait for favorable shot angles & distances using careful shot placement will kill one every time with a 223. No deer can survive a shot to the vitals with it or a 22LR for that matter. But there are certainly limitations.

But a quartering shot at 150+ yrds at last light at one standing a couple feet away from an 8' wall of short planted pines and briars is likely to be a tough recovery if they go any distance before leaking. Sure that can happen with any caliber, but at least your not asking for it to happen by using something only marginally suitable.

 

[krizia829]

It's not the ideal caliber but it will definitely do the job with proper shot placement. Would I use it? No not really.. Smallest I'd personally go with is a 243, BUT that's just me!

Rem 700 is my go to. I love mine in 30-06. Reliable, accurate, deadly!

 

[Long Cut]

I shot a 270 from the time I was 13 to 19 or 20 years old. I missed more deer with that 270 than all the other guns I've shot combined. I had a horrible flinch from that A-bolt that took me alot of work to correct.

I had inherited a 30-06 that was around 7# with a metal butt plate. That gun would knock my hat off after 2-3 shots if I didn’t adjust my hat after each shot. My best groups with that gun were about 3-4” at 50 yards because I had such a bad trigger jerk and flinch.

Checked my ego and now I mainly shoot .223’s & 6.5’s. I shoot more often and significantly better now because it’s a more affordable and enjoyable shooting experience.

 

[SC Hunter]

I had inherited a 30-06 that was around 7# with a metal butt plate. That gun would knock my hat off after 2-3 shots if I didn’t adjust my hat after each shot. My best groups with that gun were about 3-4” at 50 yards because I had such a bad trigger jerk and flinch.

Checked my ego and now I mainly shoot .223’s & 6.5’s. I shoot more often and significantly better now because it’s a more affordable and enjoyable shooting experience.

My 6.5 and 223 get all the work around here. I'll slide a 308 in here and there but those other two carry the weight.

 

[Liberty]

Thanks guys...2 Remington 700 223 ..ones an ADL and the other is a BDL.. Just thinking about getting them. From the date codes they are from the mid 1980s The price is great both for 700...Three for the ADL and 4 for the BDL. .I think that's a really good price.

I do have decent trigger control and wait on the broadside shoulder shot. Have shot out to right at 300 yard a few times and over 200 more than I can count. Also have passed on a lot of shots just because I wasn't steady enough. Figure that they will be back and bigger next year if not tomorrow

That’s definitely the attitude to have hunting with a small bore. I back up to a 350 acre hunting club and am surrounded by several properties like mine of under 40 acres, also across the street from my place goes from being in a quality management county to a non-quality management county, so if I see a shooter buck during rifle season, it’s probably my only opportunity. With those situations in mind, I’m shooting a .308 or better, but if your situation allows for multiple opportunities to wait for a broadside, happy hunting with your new rifles. A .223 of proper construction thru the boiler room will kill them dead as a rock.

 

[Liberty]

I had inherited a 30-06 that was around 7# with a metal butt plate. That gun would knock my hat off after 2-3 shots if I didn’t adjust my hat after each shot. My best groups with that gun were about 3-4” at 50 yards because I had such a bad trigger jerk and flinch.

Checked my ego and now I mainly shoot .223’s & 6.5’s. I shoot more often and significantly better now because it’s a more affordable and enjoyable shooting experience.

The recoil of 30-06 and 7mag don’t bother me, but the muzzle blast from a 270, 7mag, and 300 mag without plugs cause me flinching problems. That’s a wonderful part of our hobby, learning what tool works best for you given you circumstances and personal limitations. I’ll shoot the magnums, but only when it’s a situation when there is time to get plugs in.

 

[Jester896]

from the limited experience I have had with a 1:12 twist .223 is it will not shoot a 62gr boat tail accurately.

Federal used to load a 60gr Partition and a 64gr Soft point. I am not sure if I would call either of them varmint bullets. GameKing isn't a varmint bullet either, neither is the Hornady ELD-X...those things are as hard as chicken lips. There are plenty of bullets out there that aren't varmint bullets so that should dispel any belief that a .223 only has varmint bullets available.

I can't tell you how many pigs I've killed with a 75gr match bullet in a 1:9 twist AR inside of 200 yards. Many of them are running shots too. Yes, some of them lay on their sides in the dirt and run for a 100 yards or better.

it is hard to believe that so many people under rate weaponry

 

[coolbreezeroho]

Get a real rifle.......All ready have one or two of them....always considered a rifle a rifle...a bow a bow...a dog...a dog....and a cat..a cat...and of course ...a duck......a duck...

 

[furtaker]

The recoil of 30-06 and 7mag don’t bother me, but the muzzle blast from a 270, 7mag, and 300 mag without plugs cause me flinching problems. That’s a wonderful part of our hobby, learning what tool works best for you given you circumstances and personal limitations. I’ll shoot the magnums, but only when it’s a situation when there is time to get plugs in.

I hate muzzle blast. I think it causes more flinching than recoil does. I leave ear plugs around my neck even when I'm hunting. I have time to get them in 95% of the time. I have a couple of exceptionally loud rifles that I absolutely will not shoot without plugs in.

 

[elfiii]

Rem 700 is my go to. I love mine in 30-06. Reliable, accurate, deadly!

Mine's a BDL custom deluxe in 270.

 

[Waddams]

Aren't caliber debates like this really just a good reason to convince the wife to let us buy another gun?

I have not used my AR for deer hunting yet. I did buy a thermal because there are a few areas really thick, I've thought to use the AR in the thick areas with the thermal to spot 'em and sneak a well placed shot to a critical hit location. Shots will be 50 yards and in if I ever manage to get in a shot opportunity. (the thermal will also be for predators/varmints/pigs/etc.).

Otherwise, my current go to is my 243. Every deer I've shot with it has been DRT, dropped with no running. But I've also always waited for the opportunity to present the shot placement option for the central nervous system hit to do so.

 

[1eyefishing]

 

[transfixer]

I find it comical guys say things like “shoot a real gun” or “why wound deer with that” then get a 7# .300 Win Mag and develop a flinch and never shoot the gun…

Go to the Rokslide Forum’s, there’s a 250+ page thread on guys using .223’s to kill Moose, Elk, Bear, Hogs and yes… even Deer.

The military used .223’s (5.56) for DECADES in warfare, but yet for a 150# whitetail y’all consider it “inferior”.

I’d rather someone use a caliber that they will actually shoot, practice with and develop good shooting habits… Rather than a large magnum caliber they shoot once a year.

the military has had issue with the 5.56 cartridge and its stopping power for as long as they've used it in fact ! Vietnam special units would use AK's instead of the M16's they were issued because of the lack of lethalness of the 5.56 round, soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq complained constantly about having to hit a bad guy 4 or 5 times to put him down, as a result the military changed the ammo they used multiple times to try to improve the situation !

Now they are leaving the 5.56 behind and going to a 6.8 cartridge , because even the latest ammo they were using still left a good bit to be desired

That being said a 5.56/.223 is fully capable of killing a deer , but it requires good shot placement, something 90% of deer hunters don't do , pie plate accuracy or "minute of deer" doesn't work very well with small calibers, be it .223 or .243,

 

[transfixer]

Ever heard of Heimo Korth? He is a true subsistence hunter who lives in northeast Alaska in the Arctic Refuge. His game is moose and caribou, and he uses a 223 with excellent results.

He probably also is an excellent shot, and doesn't waste ammo

 

[Jester896]

or meat

and Remington made a 700 in 1:9 twist too..I have some of the pieces. I plan on changing my 1:12 barrel to the 1:9 as soon as I find time to redo the ADL synthetic (Manners maybe) it is in.

 

[Nicodemus]

He probably also is an excellent shot, and doesn't waste ammo

Yep.

 

[Nicodemus]

or meat

and Remington made a 700 in 1:9 twist too..I have some of the pieces. I plan on changing my 1:12 barrel to the 1:9 as soon as I find time to redo the ADL synthetic (Manners maybe) it is in.

He said his preferred shot is right where the neck vertebrae join the skull. Saves the meat and hide.

 

[notnksnemor]

Maybe a different perspective.

Adjust your chosen caliber to the average size deer in your hunting area.
Kansas does not allow .22 cal for deer hunting. Reason is the average body size of the deer, even does.
Parts of Georgia have big bodied deer. Some areas are smaller.
If the average deer in your area is 90 - 120 lbs. a .223 will work fine given proper marksmanship.
If the deer you hunt run larger, adjust your hardware accordingly.

 

[Liberty]

When you get the rifles and have measured the twist rates, there are several here than can suggest great projectiles.