.223 for bear, mountain goat, deer, elk, and moose. (2024)

Rolltide said:

I don't remember seeing the 69gr TMK mentioned in the previous posts.

Is anyone using them and if so, how do they perform versus the 77gr TMK?

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This may also be a good source
https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/terminal-performance-69tmk-vs-77tmk.334817/

brucevalley20 said:

If I remember correctly it was said they work similarly but with less penetration. I believe multiple people are using them in 9 twist barrels. 77s are definitely the preferred weight but I understand 69 are more available.

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brucevalley20 said:

This may also be a good source
https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/terminal-performance-69tmk-vs-77tmk.334817/

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Thank you for that info!

I guess my wife is correct when she says I can't remember anything!

brucevalley20 said:

If I remember correctly it was said they work similarly but with less penetration. I believe multiple people are using them in 9 twist barrels. 77s are definitely the preferred weight but I understand 69 are more available.

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I've killed quite a few deer with 69gr rounds. Wasn't the TMK, but it killed them without issue.

Dorian Gray said:

Found these recently. Can't find anything listed for sale in the country (Canada) for 77gr TMK's so I put up a WTB add on a classifieds site and someone came through. Miracles do happen sometimes I guess.

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That is definitely a unicorn up here...

pbroski said:

I have 30 rounds of .223 loaded with 77 TMK, 8208 XBR, Lapua brass and CCI 400 primers ready for bear season.

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How many bears do you plan to kill?

Man oh man I finally finished all 348 pages of this one. Main takeaway is you guys are shooting animals with big magnums and pretending to use the 77tmk cause you have stock options with sierra.

Side note I did buy some and now I gotta pick a 223 out.

Pharmseller said:

How many bears do you plan to kill?

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justinspicher said:

Sounds like 30 of them.

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A maximum of 2. I'll probably have 28 rounds left over, unless I kill some rocks.

The Fish Box said:

Man oh man I finally finished all 348 pages of this one. Main takeaway is you guys are shooting animals with big magnums and pretending to use the 77tmk cause you have stock options with sierra.

Side note I did buy some and now I gotta pick a 223 out.

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You dont have to be a slave to Tikka. There are lots of good .223's out there although slightly limited if you want a 1:8 twist (which you will need for the 75-80 grn class of projectiles). Fit and feel is important and the best might not be a Tikka.

Tahr said:

the best might not be a Tikka.

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HERETIC! You only dare to say such things cuz you know it’s a long swim from the PNW.

Tahr said:

You dont have to be a slave to Tikka. There are lots of good .223's out there although slightly limited if you want a 1:8 twist (which you will need for the 75-80 grn class of projectiles). Fit and feel is important and the best might not be a Tikka.

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Yeah, Tikkas are great but they're not the ONLY option. Lots of good ones. Though I caught some sh*t for it, the new Remington 700's with the 16.5" threaded barrel and Timney trigger can be found for a great deal. It's a 1-8" twist 5R barrel and shoots lights out. If only Tikka made a factory threaded barrel 223 with a 16"-18" barrel. That would be awesome.

FCCDerek said:

Yeah, Tikkas are great but they're not the ONLY option. Lots of good ones. Though I caught some sh*t for it, the new Remington 700's with the 16.5" threaded barrel and Timney trigger can be found for a great deal. It's a 1-8" twist 5R barrel and shoots lights out. If only Tikka made a factory threaded barrel 223 with a 16"-18" barrel. That would be awesome.

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Looks like they do.

Spoonbill said:

Tikka T3x Hunter .223 Rem 16.1" 1:8" 1/2"x28" Bbl Matte Hunter Stock/Blued 3rd Ranch Rifle JRTXAR312/16

Tikka T3x Hunter .223 Rem 16.1" 1:8" 1/2"x28" Bbl Matte Hunter Stock/Blued 3rd Ranch Rifle JRTXAR312/16 For Sale

www.eurooptic.com

Looks like they do.

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Well dang, thats a nicely equipped little rifle! I like it a lot!

FCCDerek said:

Yeah, Tikkas are great but they're not the ONLY option. Lots of good ones. Though I caught some sh*t for it, the new Remington 700's with the 16.5" threaded barrel and Timney trigger can be found for a great deal. It's a 1-8" twist 5R barrel and shoots lights out. If only Tikka made a factory threaded barrel 223 with a 16"-18" barrel. That would be awesome.

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Tikkas aren’t the only option, but they are the most reliable and smoothest option under a grand. Tikka triggers and barrels are also generally better than anything else in their price range. But I hear you on having to cut and thread. My local smith’s charge for that work went up 30% over the last couple of years. A factory 18” threaded barrel for suppressors would make my day.

PNWG’s intent was in the right place with his comments to you on R700s, even if the delivery was coarse. They can be accurate guns, but they have design issues with the trigger that can make them less reliable and less safe in the field. And changing the trigger to a aftermarket model doesn’t fix those issues. If you hunt with one of these guns, it’s best to carry them with an empty chamber and to try your best to keep dirt, debris, water and ice from getting into the action. You can search for this info here on Rokslide and another places. Not saying it’s a bad gun, but R700s and their clones definitely have their limitations.

Tahr said:

You dont have to be a slave to Tikka. There are lots of good .223's out there although slightly limited if you want a 1:8 twist (which you will need for the 75-80 grn class of projectiles). Fit and feel is important and the best might not be a Tikka.

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Not really in my experience at all.

For me, when looking at a rifle, I observe 3 things in order of importance to me... Long term reliability, long term repeatability, and accuracy throughout the life of the barrel. Nothing really comes close to Sako and Tikka rifles in my use cases.

I've never owned a custom gun that performed any better in these categories and I've owned around 30 of them from a few different builders. Same goes with factory rifles of (pick your brand).

ElPollo said:

Tikkas aren’t the only option, but they are the most reliable and smoothest option under a grand. Tikka triggers and barrels are also generally better than anything else in their price range. But I hear you on having to cut and thread. My local smith’s charge for that work went up 30% over the last couple of years. A factory 18” threaded barrel for suppressors would make my day.

PNWG’s intent was in the right place with his comments to you on R700s, even if the delivery was coarse. They can be accurate guns, but they have design issues with the trigger that can make them less reliable and less safe in the field. And changing the trigger to a aftermarket model doesn’t fix those issues. If you hunt with one of these guns, it’s best to carry them with an empty chamber and to try your best to keep dirt, debris, water and ice from getting into the action. You can search for this info here on Rokslide and another places. Not saying it’s a bad gun, but R700s and their clones definitely have their limitations.

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What you said holds true for every rifle. Keep stuff out of the action and the trigger if you want optimal performance and guaranteed function. Don't adjust the trigger down to a hairs breadth of trigger pull, and take care of your gear. I've used Remington 700's and their clones my entire life without issue. Yes, I've read the articles on failures that have happened and those are unfortunate, if not entirely repeatable assuming you're taking care of your equipment. I feel like if they were as huge a deal as they're made out to be there wouldn't be countless manufacturers copying their design and selling tons of them. I've knocked my remingtons and clones around a fair amount trying to simulate the issues I've heard of with nothing happening. It was loaded with a dummy round, with a live primer, and sand instead of powder. That being said I'm not going to fill the action with debris, or ice or anything else to test it. Nor would I try and run it if it got packed full of stuff in the field. I'd clean it out first.