OK, let's differentiate "hunting" from "shooting". The benchmark for a hunter is shot placement and perhaps stalking, depending on what "NW means. The .223 is an artist's cartridge, not a beginner's tool.
I missed this post until just now, but it's worth repeating. Just because a certain cartridge, and in this case the 223, will kill a deer, does not necessarily mean it is a good choice. I have seen deer killed with a 22 LR, but in reality, it is a very poor choice. I have also killed deer with the 223, for the record.
Here is the deal with a beginning hunter, and every single one of us on here were once a beginning hunter.......they are going to make mistakes and take a bad shot from time to time. I remember the time when the 243 was the minimum one legal for use here in Kentucky, and the debate about whether or not it was "adequate" reminds me of the argument about the 223 today. I saw a number of deer wounded and lost with the 243, but in every case that I can remember, it was not the fault of the 243, but the fault of the hunter because they did not place the shot properly. It would also have caused a wounded deer if they'd been using something bigger, because of the bad shot placement, as these were inexperienced hunters, who did not know how to choose their shot.
Today, the 243 is pretty much universally accepted as a good choice for deer, and it's one of my favorites. For a beginning hunter, I prefer it to anything else......just as I believe they need plenty of help in the decision making process on when and where to place their shot. Although I know plenty of adults who do so, I would not let an inexperienced hunter under my tutelage use a 223, unless they were an exceptional shot and there was not doubt that they could place the bullet precisely, and then I'd much prefer something bigger, like the 243.
