Optimum and Maximum Practical Game Weight

broom_jm said:

...and with bullets expressly intended, by international treaty, to wound, not kill. Also, I hold my enemy in contempt, and the game I hunt in the highest regard. If the former suffers I will not lose sleep, but I absolutely have and will, if the latter does not die expeditiously.

I have introduced more than a few new people to hunting big game and would never even consider recommending a 223 for such. As many of the members on this sight have noted, the much more powerful 243 is an "expert's" cartridge. What does that make the 223?

I have nothing further to say on the subject. I respect your right to use it, where legal, but I have even greater respect for the animals I hunt, as well as the hunters who choose an appropriate tool to do so.

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1. Law of War Application.
   
   From both a legal and medical standpoint, the lethality or incapacitation effects of a particular small-caliber projectile must be measured against comparable projectiles in service. In the military small arms field, "small caliber" generally includes all rifle projectiles up to and including .60 caliber (15mm). For the purposes of this review, however, comparison will be limited to small-caliber ammunition in the range of 5.45mm to 7.62mm, that is, that currently in use in assault or sniper rifles by the military services of most nations.
   
   Wound ballistic research over the past fifteen years has determined that the prohibition contained in the 1899 Hague Declaration is of minimal to no value, inasmuch as virtually all jacketed military bullets employed since 1899 with pointed ogival spitzer tip shape have a tendency to fragment on impact with soft tissue, harder organs, bone or the clothing and/or equipment worn by the individual soldier.
   
   The pointed ogival spitzer tip, shared by all modern military bullets, reflects the balancing by nations of the criteria of military necessity and unnecessary suffering: its streamlined shape decreases air drag, allowing the bullet to retain velocity better for improved long-range performance; a modern military 7.62mm bullet will lose only about one-third of its muzzle velocity over 500 yards, while the same weight bullet with a round-nose shape will lose more than one-half of its velocity over the same distance. Yet the pointed ogival spitzer tip shape also leads to greater bullet breakup, and potentially greater injury to the soldier by such a bullet vis-à-vis a round-nose full-metal jacketed bullet. (See Dr. M. L. Fackler, "Wounding Patterns for Military Rifle Bullets," International Defense Review, January 1989, pp. 56-64, at 63.)
   
   Weighing the increased performance of the pointed ogival spitzer tip bullet against the increased injury its breakup may bring, the nations of the world-- through almost a century of practice--have concluded that the need for the former outweighs concern for the latter, and does not result in unnecessary suffering as prohibited by the 1899 Hague Declaration Concerning Expanding Bullets or article 23e of the 1907 Hague Convention IV. The 1899 Hague Declaration Concerning Expanding Bullets remains valid for expression of the principle that a nation may not employ a bullet that expands easily on impact for the purpose of unnecessarily aggravating the wound inflicted upon an enemy soldier. Such a bullet also would be prohibited by article 23e of the 1907 Hague IV, however. Another concept fundamental to the law of war is the principle of discrimination, that is, utilization of means or methods that distinguish to the extent possible legitimate targets, such as enemy soldiers, from noncombatants, whether enemy wounded and sick, medical personnel, or innocent civilians. The highly trained military sniper with his special rifle and match grade ammunition epitomizes the principle of discrimination. In combat, most targets are covered or obscured, move unpredictably, and as a consequence are exposed to hostile fire for limited periods of time. When coupled with the level of marksmanship training provided the average soldier and the stress of combat, a soldier's aiming errors are large and hit probability is correspondingly low. While the M16A2 rifle currently used by the United States Army and Marine Corps is capable of acceptable accuracy out to six hundred meters, the probability of an average soldier hitting an enemy soldier at three hundred meters is ten percent.
   
   Statistics from past wars suggest that this probability figure may be optimistic. In Would War II, the United States and its allies expended 25,000 rounds of ammunition to kill a single enemy soldier. In the Korean War, the ammunition expenditure had increased four-fold to 100,000 rounds per soldier; in the Vietnam War, that figure had doubled to 200,000 rounds of ammunition for the death of a single enemy soldier. The risk to noncombatants is apparent.
   
   In contrast, United States Army and Marine Corps snipers in the Vietnam War expended 1.3 rounds of ammunition for each claimed and verified kill, at an average range of six hundred yards, or almost twice the three hundred meters cited above for combat engagements by the average soldier. Some verified kills were at ranges in excess of 1000 yards. This represents discrimination and military efficiency of the highest order, as well as minimization of risk to noncombatants. Utilization of a bullet that increases accuracy, such as the MatchKing, would further diminish the risk to noncombatants.
2. Conclusion.
   
   The purpose of the 7.62mm "open-tip" MatchKing bullet is to provide maximum accuracy at very long range. Like most 5.56mm and 7.62mm military ball bullets, it may fragment upon striking its target, although the probability of its fragmentation is not as great as some military ball bullets currently in use by some nations. Bullet fragmentation is not a design characteristic, however, nor a purpose for use of the MatchKing by United State Army snipers. Wounds caused by MatchKing ammunition are similar to those caused by a fully jacketed military ball bullet, which is legal under the law of war, when compared at the same ranges and under the same conditions. The military necessity for its use-- its ability to offer maximum accuracy at very long ranges--is complemented by the high degree of discriminate fire it offers in the hands of a trained sniper. It not only meets, but exceeds, the law of war obligations of the United States for use in combat.

broom_jm said:

Sierra Match-King "open tip" bullets are not to be confused with hollow points; ie, they are not designed for rapid or violent expansion. Their hollow-tip design, as explained above, is there to promote greater long range accuracy and velocity. As such, they do not expand the way a "hunting" bullet would, nor does Sierra advocate their use for such purposes. I would also point out that the preponderance of the dissertation you referenced above pertains to 308 caliber ammunition, as explained in the footnotes.

To clarify: A competent shooter, using a firearm chambered for the .223 Remington cartridge, with an appropriate bullet, can successfully harvest deer-sized game. I do not dispute that and haven't since responding to the OP. What I have said, repeatedly, is that it is not a "good" deer cartridge. It allows little to no margin for error. In my opinion, and in the opinion of most game agencies in this country, the 223 Remington is not powerful enough to consistently and humanely harvest deer under a wide variety of conditions. It is a marginal cartridge that is effective under ideal conditions. Hunt long enough and you'll eventually discover that you don't always have ideal conditions. The 223 is a great varmint cartridge and is best utilized as such. In the south, where the live weight of a deer is frequently 150 pounds or less, sometimes quite a bit less, perhaps it is suitable for hunting them. However, even then there are better options that offer a significantly better compromise between bullet weight, sectional density and recoil.

On a related topic, I find it ironic that your tag line suggests you prefer a 45 caliber handgun over a 9mm, yet you espouse the virtues of a center-fire 22 varmint cartridge for big game. To each their own, where the law allows, anyway.

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