NZ professional cullers used the .222 a lot because you could carry more ammo. These guys went into the scrub for weeks on end and cut the tails off for bounty records and payments.
The main target animal was red deer.
That is correct. Deer are considered a pest in NZ and there is no closed season or licence required. In the 60's and 70's thousands of Red deer were shot by New Zealand Forest Service deer cullers using the .222 and Red deer can get pretty large. Some loved the little round and some soon abandoned it and went back to the more popular deer cartridges like the .243, 7x57, .270, .308 and 30/06.
The Forest Service provided all the ammo and in .222 it was Norma (from memory). The cullers were enamoured by the .222's accuracy, lack of recoil and the slim light rifles that the round was chambered in such as the Sako Vixen and the BSA Hunter. It also killed way out of proportion to it's size.
The treble two is easy to shoot accurately and many commercial venison hunters also used it because they favored neck and head shots which received a higher price than body shot deer from the venison buyers. Bear in mind that most professional hunters are calm and cool under pressure and can place their shots where they want.
Personally, I prefer something larger because the deer population is a fraction of what it once was and I may only get one shot away in a day. I want that deer on the ground with no ifs, buts or maybes so I use a .308. Most hunters here use something similar and the .222 has taken a back seat to the .223 for those (a small percentage) that like to use a light round.
