I've killed hundreds of deer with a 223 and have seen other hundreds killed with a 22-250. So my answer is yes they kill deer but not as well as a 243 which I've also killed plenty and seen plenty more killed with. No the 243 is in no danger of being replaced but I would agree that with better bullets performance is enhanced. Bullet choice is another topic that is always a hard choice because its hard to find that one bullet that does everything esp when its on the small side. For example if I were to shoot directly into shoulders I'd prefer a tsx or nos pt but with that same bullet move back 4" and youre going to have a blood trail to follow and prob not a very big one. Not saying the animal wont die or be found but it will run most of the time. I have never used premium bullets on deer out of a 22 cal but have used many other types. Most of my deer were killed with 55 nos solid base or 55 hdy sp. I don't really know why you would want to hunt seiously with a 223 when there are better tools. That being said the bulk of my rifles are in 22 or less and 30 cal. With a few 7-08s 7 rem mags and a 7stw. I'm not a 243 or 270 fan either....whoa I just bashed them both in the same sentence. I hope I don't get removed from the fire.
