.223 effective range?

Y

yoteguts

New member
Always been a .243 bolt man but just getting my feet wet in the AR world. Was wondering what is the effective "dead right now" range for a .223 with a good bullet? I ask this because many of my shots are 300 plus. Thanks.
 
Sold some yotes and the local gun shop had an R15. Long story short I came home with it.I have had my eye on the .243's in the AR platform. They look very sweet.
 
Shot a coyote this year at a measured 426 yards with a Nosler 60 grain bullet over 24.5 grains of 8208 XBR. It was with my bolt gun not my AR but there wouldn't have been that big a difference in performance. I hit forward in the rib cage, a double lung shot, and the bullet passed completely through.
 
my longest coyote with 223 was at 365 lasered yards with a 60 vmax...400 is plenty doable but wow does that bitty bullet drop fast after that.
 
I shot one beyond the horizon one time. A friend called me and told me the location and I had to match bullet drop to the curvature of the earth. DRT

But I ordinarily try to keep my shots at under 250 yards.
 
I've killed quite a few pdogs at 500 and over, but that is not necessarily one shot one kill kind of thing. A yote won't let you correct the same way a pdog will. Also, the light bullets are difficult at distance in wind.

Less than 400 is much easier- although I guess that applies to nearly any round...
 
With the right load, a 300 yard DRT shot is not that uncommon, but the problem usually lies with the round make up rather than the weapon or caliber..

Just like the .204, some try to make it a 'do all' round and then get disappointed when things don't go the way anticipated..

Bushy makes an excellent point on bullet drop with a more wind resistant heavier bullet...Not that many people are that good at estimating actual distances for the longer shots, and the 'drop' factor can get really critical..
 
If you like the 6mm bullet in a AR15 platform check out
6mmAR.com . There are several on here that shot a 6mmar. It is a necked down 6.5 grendal case.
 
Originally Posted By: semo97If you like the 6mm bullet in a AR15 platform check out
6mmAR.com . There are several on here that shot a 6mmar. It is a necked down 6.5 grendal case.

I'm loving the 6x45 so far.
 
Yote guts, have you ever noticed how LOOOONG the barrels are on sniper rifles? Most 223 shooters are using much shorter barrels, especially on ar's.
Just a thought.
 
Yep I have noticed that. My .243 has a 26" barrel and it does a great job if I do my job right.I have had several dead right now shots over 500 yards.
 
" shot one beyond the horizon one time. A friend called me and told me the location and I had to match bullet drop to the curvature of the earth. DRT

But I ordinarily try to keep my shots at under 250 yards."





LOL, thank you pk1. When I hear these people talk about taking game with the .223 at long distances I just chuckle.

 
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I shot one last year at 300 yards with a single shot NEF Handirifle in .223 it was a 55 grn NBT.

For me, 300 yards is about the effective range with a .223

I have a 6mm and a .243 for longer shots. Most of the time a shot gun will kill the dogs I hunt.

Its not about how far you have to shoot, its about how close you CAN shoot to me
smile.gif
 
pk1,I took a shot just like that just yesterday.But,just as I squeezed the trigger my spotters phone went dead and I still don't know for sure how it turned out.
Edit:Oh my goodness.It just dawned on me why my spotters phone might have gone dead.Better go check.
 
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Originally Posted By: yotegutsAlways been a .243 bolt man but just getting my feet wet in the AR world. Was wondering what is the effective "dead right now" range for a .223 with a good bullet? I ask this because many of my shots are 300 plus. Thanks.

What critter ?
 
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