.308 vs .223 for Hunting Whitetail Deer

By Eric Jezierski

The size difference between .308 and .223 is substantial but don’t let that fool you, both can take deer (Photo: Eric Jezierski/Guns.com)
For many years intermediate calibers were the name of the game when it came to selecting the right cartridge for hunting deer, but that is not necessarily the case anymore. Due to improvements in ammunition technology and our understanding of the energy a bullet carries with it, .223 Remington has become a popular deer hunting cartridge. While many hunters have been using .308 Winchester for decades when taking whitetail deer, the growing popularity of the .223 among shooters has made many consider using the smaller projectile for their caliber of choice. Let’s dive in and see if .223 is really the best caliber for the job on your next hunt.
Legality
For many years, most states required the use of an intermediate cartridge for whitetail deer hunting. There are still some states’ regulations that deem .223 too small, such as Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia to name a few. In states such as Minnesota and Wisconsin, laws have been updated to allow the smaller, faster round to be used.
In contrast, .308 is a caliber that is universally known as a fantastic deer

Source: Guns.com