.223 is big enough, have killed a few FL deer (small) and several hogs with a .30 cal G.I. Carbine.
When I was in Jr. Hi. Our metal shop teacher's deer rifle was an old M1 carbine.
My grandpa is the one who got me into hunting - he used an M1 carbine for deer hunting (I still have it!). We were poor folks, didn't have a lots of guns to choose from - I used a single shot .410 with slugs for about my first 5yrs of deer hunting ('til I was old enough to mow folks yards and make enough to buy a pawnshop pump 12gauge and then used buckshot. I didn't have a rifle other than a .22 'til my senior year of college!).
