How many big game animals have you killed (or even seen killed) with .224 centerfires?
As for your ".233" typographic error, it's interesting because when I first started hunting big game in Montana the state (like many others) had a .23-caliber minimum for big game. This was primarily due to the .220 Swift, because the people who made the rules for many game departments had a visceral reaction to any "twenty-two" caliber rifle being used on deer. Most had never seen a .220 Swift used on deer (or often even varmints) but they KNEW it wouldn't work. (This resulted in a bunch of .23-caliber wildcats, at least before the .243 Winchester appeared.)
Thankfully, Montana got rid of that rule many years ago. By the 1980's my wife and I were using the .220 Swift on big game, and I even used it as my "recoil cure" rifle when guiding pronghorn and deer hunters who flinched violently because they thought a 7mm or even .338 magnum had way more power so killed "better."
This isn't true. A "twenty-two" bullet through the lungs kills deer and antelope just about as quickly as a larger bullet, if you use the right bullet and put it in the right place. Usually they either die on the spot, or go 25-40 yards before keeling over, just like they do with a .243, 7mm-08 or even bigger rounds. Hell, I've seen one mule deer doe go 80 yards after a perfect hit through the lungs with a 200-grain bullet from a .300 Winchester Magnum--and no, the bullet didn't leave blood trail until about 5 yards before the deer fell.
If you have contrary experience I'd sure like to hear it.
