I put together a Superlite/Youth rifle in .223 topped with a short, 4X Weaver (shotgun) scope after deer season last year. As I 've said before, we sometimes run into kids during Michigan's Youth Hunt who are recoil shy. Anyway, the youngster who used this rifle in September chose not to shoot, so my 53 gr. Barnes TSX/25 gr. H4895 load remained untested...until tonight
.
I sat through periodic heavy snow squalls several hours until a large doe came by late in the afternoon. When she turned broadside @ about 50 yards, I squeezed off low behind her right shoulder. The deer hunched up, ran in a small semi-circle, and dropped perhaps ten yards from where she was shot. A brief examination revealed that the bullet broke a rib going in, took off the bottom of the heart (impressive damage!) and exited behind the left shoulder between the ribs leaving a ragged hole about 5/8". The bullet was stopped by the hide, but I haven't yet been able to find it.
Looking down at that rifle on my lap this afternoon, I expected to see Mattel rather than Harrington and Richardson on the receiver. (Curiously, I don't see an SB2, like on my .30-30). The rifle is tiny! However, my postmortem washed away the doubts in my mind about whether the .223/TSX make a viable deer rifle...from 50 yards, anyway.
My wife just got a state of the art digital camera last night. If i can figure it out, perhaps I'll post some "autopsy" pictures. Tim will have to rule as to whether or not they're too graphic for the good of the order.
PC
