I've been using a .223 for about 5 years on deer. 55 and 62 grain PSP's perform well and expand predictably out of a 16" barrel. I will NOT SHOOT more than 250 yards with this caliber - it will kill them but there will be some tracking involved... Most of my shots have been 80-175 yards... most neck shots DRT. The few I have shot in the shoulder/heart/lungs have run 20-40 yards with very little blood. I thinks it is a great tool but it will magnify the problems with a marginal shot, whereas a larger caliber might do a bit more damage on an off hit.

I think it is a great caliber for shooting deer and hogs.

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went"
Will Rogers