"I do wonder though......let's say you have just gotten an all expenses paid trip to the Jicarilla, big mule deer are the target. Assuming it were legal, how many would show up with a .222?"
How about the flip side of that? What if I did get that trip and on day four of a five day hunt, I drop my .280 and bust the scope and crack the stock. However, I also brought my .222 because they said I could shoot coyotes if we had time. I'll guarantee, on day five, I'm hunting mule deer with my .222! I know what JGR is saying and I agree (mostly), but in some cases a .222 is more than sufficient for the job.
I've helped cull does and smaller bucks on some South TX high-fence ranches. It can be nerve-racking when the owner says "shoot that one, but don't miss, because that buck behind is a $5000 deer and that other one over there is a $7000 deer". If you shoot through, it may be an expensive mistake, so I want a precision, small caliber rifle - my .221 fits the bill nicely and so would a .222. Neither would be my first choice if I was going strictly after a big buck though.
Shooting someone's tied up pet isn't exactly "hunting".
