# Anyone killed a Florida deer with AR-15?



## earnhardt3rulz (Apr 25, 2011)

I know this is gonna start a lot of questions, like WHY?; but I was thinking about taking my AR deer hunting this year. It is an A2 style 20 inch heavy barrel with a 1:9 twist.

My question is: Has anyone successfully killed a deer (cleanly), and what type of ammo to use. What grain bullet can I shoot accurately with a 1:9 twist barrell? I know Florida hunting regs state no ball ammo, so I was looking at some soft points. Any advice would be appreciated.


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## 1956_4x4 (Oct 6, 2007)

Should be no problem. ARs are becoming very popular in the hunting world and have been for a while. Be sure to use the correct capacity magazine.

Smitty


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## SAWMAN (May 24, 2010)

*.223 Rem ??*

I believe that you are asking about the .223/5.56 chambering and not specifically about the AR so I will address that.

BOGIA will slip in here somewhere and tell you about his experiences with a .223 but 'til then I will opine. For the smallish Florida deer...with good shot placement......and the right bullet.....the .223 is an excellent deer killer. I killed two does with a Benelli R1 chambered in 223 myself last year. 

My bullet of choice is a hand loaded 50gr Barnes TSX. They are solid copper and they have no jacket to shed at 3200fps. If you do not reload there are some excellent factory loads. Black Hills produces a 60gr Nosler Partition load that is an excellent killer. Do not simply just try to go big/heavy. That is not necessary for a quick,clean kill. As stated a 50gr was all I needed last year.

Placing the bullet where it should be is probably more important that the bullet chosen. With a 223 I look at the deers chest split in thirds. Top third,middle third,bottom third. I try to place the bullet on the line that divides the bottom third with the middle third. The deer hit here will have mush for lungs and a heart that is at least torn in to. The hydrostatic shock associated with a small bullet going 3200fps is huge. If a rib is hit on the way in there is secondary missiles(pieces of bone)ripping thru the chest cavity also.

It is my opinion that a good hit, with a well designed bullet,of the .224" size,accelerated to >3000fps,will quickly kill any deer in Fla. Remember also the rotational velocity of a short bullet, at high velocity,spinning a third of a million RPM's,will open fairly quickly. Those spinning pedals will cut like a buzz saw. --- SAWMAN
EDIT to ADD--> In Fla you CAN use FMJ's for coyoye,hog,armadillo,etc......... just NOT deer. This is not a reccomendation of FMJ's.


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## PompNewbie (Oct 1, 2007)

good info Sawman very well put together


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## Grassflatsfisher (Oct 3, 2007)

I just bought a AR for my 4yr old....atleast thats the story my wife knows....but we are gonna try our best at it. Ive done a ton of reading on loads and bullets. The tsx has a lot of good reviews. Another factory load Ive seen good reviews is the horady tap 75gr hpbt. 

Good post Sawman...your second paragraph sums up the most important part.


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## earnhardt3rulz (Apr 25, 2011)

thanks Sawman. Is a heavier grain bullet like a 70 gr too much to stabilize in flight out of a 1:9 twist? I know military rifles use a 1:7 twist in order to sling the larger pills.


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## Grassflatsfisher (Oct 3, 2007)

earnhardt3rulz said:


> thanks Sawman. Is a heavier grain bullet like a 70 gr too much to stabilize in flight out of a 1:9 twist? I know military rifles use a 1:7 twist in order to sling the larger pills.


From my research it all depends on the rifle. Obviously a faster rotation is better but its just somethig you will have to experiment with. Mine is 1/8 twist and Im shooting 62gr fmj great.


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## ScullsMcNasty (Oct 4, 2007)

my brother has one and ive talked to a few other people that have hunted with them and they perform FINE! im thinking of buying one too


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## BOGIA (Oct 7, 2007)

All i can tell you is that i have a .223 that my 2 daughters have killed at least 25 deer and 15 hogs between the 2 of them and they have never lost a animal yet with it.all shots have been behind the shoulder and any where from 40yds to 130 yds.all but 5 of the animals were shot with a 55grain remington corelokt the other 5 were shot this past year with 60grain nosler partitions.most of the animals have dropped in there tracks and the ones that dont do not go far.speed kills!!!i also have a buddy who has killed several hogs behind my house the last few years with is AR with the cheap monarch bullets from academy.hope this helps as far as the caliber gos.it dont take nothing fancy to kill nothing.


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## xtopdawg386x (Dec 31, 2010)

I have never killed a deer with a ar 15 chambered in 223 how ever last year we killed a hog with one up on my buddy's land . Head shot @ 125 yrds dropped the hog right were it was standing . But i no alot of people that have got the .223 cal round for smaller children and some females that use the round for hunting deer around the florida area and they have killed deer with the round . I tracked a deer that my buddy's old lady killed with this cal round back 2 yrs ago or so i found it harder to track since the wound was not as large as say a 30-30 or 30-06 which made it harder to find blood how ever we still found the deer . shot placement is key on any round you use . I have not had a lot of experience with the .223 -5.56 like sawman seems to have . Were i hunt in the swamp areas and usually thick area's the .233 would not be a smart round to choose . If your shooting in a open field like some of my friends do the .223 round performs great but when shooting in thicker areas the round is so light and fast that if it hits brush it usually will not plow thew it and still hit the animal Like a 30-30 or 30-06 would . Yes i know your suppose to have a clear line of sight on the deer b4 shooting how ever there are times that you have to shoot threw some brush to get the deer .


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## captsi (Feb 26, 2011)

earnhardt3rulz said:


> thanks Sawman. Is a heavier grain bullet like a 70 gr too much to stabilize in flight out of a 1:9 twist? I know military rifles use a 1:7 twist in order to sling the larger pills.


I tried to shoot 75 grain TAPS out of my Howa 1500, which i believe is something like a 1 in 12... Anyhow, the gun was ZERO'd and with 55 grains I was grouping as good as anyone would really hope to with a factory load... but in the TAPS, and frankly, could barely keep it on the shoot NC, a pie plate sized one, btw... that was first and only experience with things of this nature. NOTE: when it comes to shooting, I'd call myself an amatuer, and I do not reload. I can read an online thread and understand the lingo, and that's it. So please don't tear into me anyone who disagrees with my conclusion... just sharing my story with someone who might be as ignorant as myself.


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## SAWMAN (May 24, 2010)

*Heavy .224" Bullets*

Personally I would not bother with the heavier than "normal" bullets. Bullets of the 50-63gr weights should perform as needed for either deer or the medium sized hogs given a proper hit AND if the animal is standing broadside.

When you start getting up above 63gr then both the weight and the mag length comes into play. Remember also that heavier is slower. There is a tradeoff. The 1:7 twist bbls will shoot about any bullet,the 9's and the 12's need a bullet of the proper size to stabilize. Remembering also that for the bullet to stabilize in flight it is not so much the weight of the bullet,but the OAL. Remember this when using any "no lead" bullet. Also a thing to remember,if the bullet is not properly stabilized it will "key hole" and not strike the animal perfectly straight. This will defeat the purpose of having a hollow point,spire point,a boattail,or even a partition.

I would think that a 70gr bullet would be on the edge of proper stabilization out of a 1:9 twist bbl. Most likely NOT. Why take a chance ?? There are so many good bullets in so many good factory loads that are of the proper size. As stated above,give the Black Hills 60gr Nosler Partition a try. They are more expensive but they will not be used for bustin' clods at some clay pit. 

Re-read what BOGIA sez in his above. Proof is in the experience of others,how the bullet performed,how it killed. --- SAWMAN


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