I have no experience shooting deer with a .223 and I only know one person who uses one. He's taken several deer and even a 300lb+ black bear with it. He tells me that he loves his .233 but has learned that head shots work best. I have no idea what ammo he uses but from what I know about him its probably not the premium stuff.
Perhaps our opinions differ because of different hunting methods. I like to track if snow is on the ground or still hunt in very thick cover. Shots tend to be very close and fired off hand with little time to decide to shoot or not. Shot angle is often quartering to, away, or straight on. If the shot doesn't put the animal down on the spot blood tracking is required. In super thick cover an animal that runs even 50 yards can be hard to find with a poor blood trail. I feel that a bigger bullet will not only have a better chance of putting a deer down but also leave a better blood trail to follow if need be. I started hunting with a 30-30 and for my style of hunting I feel like that's a great choice for recoil sensitive shooters.
I know many here have cleanly taken deer and more with the .223 just like Walter D.M. Bell killed many elephants with 6.5 and 7mm's. I just feel like there are better choices and I don't stand alone in my opinion.
