Subsonic 55 grain 223.

[Hills of texas]

I’m still relatively new to casting and learning something new every time I cast rounds. Last month I shot an axis deer with a subsonic 223 round I had picked up somewhere. It worked great for a neck shot inside 30 yards. Where I hunt axis there’s some nosie type people that are none the smarter if they aren’t hearing a rifle being fired off. I’m castOmg 223 in a lee 55 grain mold and have been loading them with unique. Powder being hard to come by, I was wondering what people were using for 223 subs. I was thinking maybe 3 or 4 grains of unique to start with and work up or down depending on results. Am I thinking right on this?

[Larry Gibson]

I prefer to use Bullseye for such loads and many times sub sonic loads with Unique do not generate enough psi efficiently. If you must use the Unique I suggest you start at 5 gr Unique and work down in .3 gr increments until sub sonic which ill be around 1050 to 1100 fps. Keep a stout cleaning rod hand in case some bullets don't exit the barrel. If you can get some Bullseye then I suggest 2.0, 2.2 or 2.4 gr under that Lee bullet. How much to be just sub sonic depends on the primer used and the barrel length.

[WebMonkey]

hodgdon lists a titegroup loading on their website data.

good luck

[flyingmonkey35]

I have had very good luck with that tight group / trail boss and cbi powder.

Alll shot out if a remington bolt action ,223

Lee 55 grn powder coated

With 3-8 grains of powder. Depending on use.

I also use a small pistol primer as the pressures are not high enough to blow put the primer.

I just live in a state where we can only deer hunt once a year.



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[Lloyd Smale]

I prefer to use Bullseye for such loads and many times sub sonic loads with Unique do not generate enough psi efficiently. If you must use the Unique I suggest you start at 5 gr Unique and work down in .3 gr increments until sub sonic which ill be around 1050 to 1100 fps. Keep a stout cleaning rod hand in case some bullets don't exit the barrel. If you can get some Bullseye then I suggest 2.0, 2.2 or 2.4 gr under that Lee bullet. How much to be just sub sonic depends on the primer used and the barrel length.

yup me too. Ive shot blackouts in my ruger american with 3 grains of bullseye and the rcbs 130 gas check spitzer pc coated. With a can it sounds like a pellet rifle. Pretty darned accurate to boot.

[GregLaROCHE]

When I was experimenting with.30 cal. subsonic, I found that the smallest amount of the fastest burning powder worked best.

[762 shooter]

I walked into the 223 subsonic rabbit hole.

I realized that a 22lr works better.

That and $4.95 will get you a double cam fru fru extra latte coffee.

762

[Hills of texas]

This is all good info. Keep it coming. I’m searching out different powders but they are hard to find so I’m stuck with what I have on hand.

[dverna]

Given the desire to hunt silently at close range, why not get a crossbow? A subsonic 55 gr bullet is not a good choice IMO.

A wounded deer dying on the property of your nosey neighbors will not be well received.

BTW, almost everyone else here is very nice...me...not so much. You said "I shot an axis deer with a subsonic 223 round I had picked up somewhere." Think about that statement for a minute.....I am left with the impression you had one round, have no idea how it was loaded or who loaded it. Was it loaded with a cast bullet or something like the the Hornady SX? You decided to kill a deer with the one round you had. Took a neck shot without knowing POI. If you had wounded the deer, with only one sub-sonic round, what was your plan?

[Hills of texas]

Given the desire to hunt silently at close range, why not get a crossbow? A subsonic 55 gr bullet is not a good choice IMO.

A wounded deer dying on the property of your nosey neighbors will not be well received.

BTW, almost everyone else here is very nice...me...not so much. You said "I shot an axis deer with a subsonic 223 round I had picked up somewhere." Think about that statement for a minute.....I am left with the impression you had one round, have no idea how it was loaded or who loaded it. Was it loaded with a cast bullet or something like the the Hornady SX? You decided to kill a deer with the one round you had. Took a neck shot without knowing POI. If you had wounded the deer, with only one sub-sonic round, what was your plan?

I had started with several that were given to me. Sighted in on paper at 25. Jacketed hollow point. Went with three in the gun. Only have a couple left. It actually worked really well with a through and through to the neck. You should give people a little more credit before you make too many assumptions. I’m new to casting, not shooting and or hunting.

[osteodoc08]

Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s stay on topic.

You will be best served with fast pistol powders. Larry has suggested some very good ones. Other sources include trailboss, tight group and clays. Data is free off the hodgdon website

[quilbilly]

As always, I agree with Larry. I have also had good results with the old style Lee boolit and Bullseye. It just always makes me nervous using such a tiny amount of powder in a bottleneck case because it is soooo easy to make a mistake. I once deliberately put a triple charge in a 223 case and looked into it with a flashlight just to see what it looked like compared to a "regular" 2 gr load and I could barely tell the difference. One of these days I may try a very light Red Dot load since it is a much fluffier powder and easier to see.

[dverna]

Since I am the only one who seems bothered. Last post on this thread.

Hunting deer with a subsonic 55 gr bullet is unethical. Using a decent load is more important than keeping the noise down for neighbors. It is very unlikely neighbors would be bothered by, or report gunshots during deer season anyway.

There is no good reason to harvest deer with a 1000 fps 55 gr bullet. We should be discouraging such endeavors, not condoning them or providing assistance. Maybe I am jaded as I have poachers in my area and this is the kind of crap they do with .22's.

[jjamna]

Did some research on this bout a week ago. Came up with trail Boss 4 to 5 grains will get you around 1000 to 1100 fps. FPS is published data, I did not chrony them. 4.0 Blue dot 1187 fps.
Loaded both. Sounded about like an un-suppressed 22lr pistol. Will not cycle an AR. Boolit was Lee Bater sized to 224. Did not check for accuracy yet. Waiting for warmer weather to cast some without wrinkles. Why do I want it? In case I can't get 22 lr (it has happened )I can load these for small fury critters.

[Hills of texas]

Did some research on this bout a week ago. Came up with trail Boss 4 to 5 grains will get you around 1000 to 1100 fps. FPS is published data, I did not chrony them. 4.0 Blue dot 1187 fps.
Loaded both. Sounded about like an un-suppressed 22lr pistol. Will not cycle an AR. Boolit was Lee Bater sized to 224. Did not check for accuracy yet. Waiting for warmer weather to cast some without wrinkles. Why do I want it? In case I can't get 22 lr (it has happened )I can load these for small fury critters.

Post up your results when you test them please. We have lots of varmits and exotics around the house. I like being able to use my 223 at the house without the loud report. I do shoot 22 lr regularly but I like the heavier bullet.

[Hills of texas]

Since I am the only one who seems bothered. Last post on this thread.

Hunting deer with a subsonic 55 gr bullet is unethical. Using a decent load is more important than keeping the noise down for neighbors. It is very unlikely neighbors would be bothered by, or report gunshots during deer season anyway.

There is no good reason to harvest deer with a 1000 fps 55 gr bullet. We should be discouraging such endeavors, not condoning them or providing assistance. Maybe I am jaded as I have poachers in my area and this is the kind of crap they do with .22's.

Here where I live we can shoot exotics year round. 22 lr or 50 BMG. Doesn’t matter. Being able to use my 223 setup with a smaller load works great for what I’m doing. If you ever get down this way I’ll let you come out and see for yourself if you like.

[Drm50]

Well we have dip sticks that need a 338mg or a 45/70 to kill a deer. In opposing corner we have dip sticks who want to use 22s. It would make a lot better sense to use a practical rifle for the game. I have seen enough dead deer laying in woods that died after a bad hit from a practical cartridge to say a low velocity 22 bullet isn’t a practical deer load. Under ideal conditions you can kill a deer with a 22short or a CB cap. That doesn’t mean they are a good choice for deer. Many states outlawed 22 cal rifles for big game, for that reason. I’ve killed many a steer & hog with a 22lr but I didn’t make a game out of it. I’m sure on other posts right now on CB, someone is obsessing over a 300 gr 45 boolit wondering if it will take down a deer. Noise? One shot and nobody knows where it came from.

[Larry Gibson]

Here where I live we can shoot exotics year round. 22 lr or 50 BMG. Doesn’t matter. Being able to use my 223 setup with a smaller load works great for what I’m doing. If you ever get down this way I’ll let you come out and see for yourself if you like.

Having shot 3 deer in Texas I've no problem with what you're doing. Unfortunately, many equate "hunting" to their style and methods. When in Texas (West Kerr Ranch) I did not "hunt" deer as I knew it where I came from (Pacific NW). In Texas with stands and feeders (feeders illegal where I come from) you don't "hunt" deer, you shoot deer. That was fine by me as I was there for a "Texas deer hunt" not a Pacific NW deer hunt. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.....or don't go to Rome.......

I've no doubt the sub sonic cast load will do as you want it to do under the conditions you describe.....go for it.

My suppressed Contender 223 from which I shoot the 225415 sub sonic.

Attachment 279060

[jjamna]

Post up your results when you test them please. We have lots of varmits and exotics around the house. I like being able to use my 223 at the house without the loud report. I do shoot 22 lr regularly but I like the heavier bullet.

Like I said before, they sound about like a 22 lr. It will be a while before I do- Like summer time. I will try to remember to let you know. You may be better off to try them yourself. The Lee bater mold is 55 grain by the way.

[Lloyd Smale]

Since I am the only one who seems bothered. Last post on this thread.

Hunting deer with a subsonic 55 gr bullet is unethical. Using a decent load is more important than keeping the noise down for neighbors. It is very unlikely neighbors would be bothered by, or report gunshots during deer season anyway.

There is no good reason to harvest deer with a 1000 fps 55 gr bullet. We should be discouraging such endeavors, not condoning them or providing assistance. Maybe I am jaded as I have poachers in my area and this is the kind of crap they do with .22's.

totaly agree. Im not even a fan of full power 556 for deer hunting. To me its more of a stunt then anything. People do it just to prove they can and dont much care if a deer suffers. If you want to kill deer with an AR get a 300 bo or some other more suited round. What you can get away with isnt the same as what is right and id bet if your here you have a gun more suited for deer. Id bet not a single guy here can say his only centerfire rifle is a 223. Now im guilty and a hypocrite because id did kill two does one year with a 60 grain partition in one of my ar's and it killed them but do it enough times and its going to bite you. You WILL eventually wound one or not recover one that you couldnt find. What i seen to find with the fans of 22 cal deer hunting is those people tend to forget or keep quiet about those failures or blame something else for them. I kill ALOT of deer every year. More then some shoot in there lifetime. I take it very seriously and use the right tool for the job that puts them down without suffering. Yup a 223 will kill a deer. Obviously because its killed 100s of thousands of men that weight more then a deer. That said i dont know of one person that kills alot of deer that claims its an ideal round to do it. Or even a good one. The military uses them because there light, dont kick and they can carry more ammo. NOT because there better then a 308 or 06 at killing.