This nonsense has been discussed beyond reason. Most of the people that endorse the 223 and small calibers for game will be singing a different tune when you ask them about personal defense.
How is it that small calibers and cartridges are such great game killers, but you need a canon to kill a human in a self defense scenario?
In my experience - I usually hear the opposite.
"Why can I engage and kill terrorists who go 200lbs with a 223 but a 120-140 lb deer on the hoof is suddenly too much?" (disregard bullet construction differences in the 2 scenarios)
I don't know the answer- would I hesitate to shoot a deer if all I had in my hands was a 223 with proper bullets? Nope. Would I generally select a 223? Nope. For me there's a difference between "prefer" and "works".
