Deer are easy to kill.. The few deer I have killed with .223 were with a factory winchester 55gr sp. I hate reloading and I am a cheap azz. Stocked up on a pile of 62 gr sp seconds a while back. I would go mass production with those and have a round that I can plink with as well as hunt with.
As to your front sight and the scope. Dont over think it. Grab whatever offset scope mount is on sale, bolt it up, and run it. You wont notice the front sight
