Thank you RyanScott; If you want to kill deer, and not be afraid of recoil, I raised all three of my boys on my good old standby .270 with 130 gr. bullet; .243 might do on does on head shots, but I would not shoot anything less;
kill them quick, with the right equipment;
I would never shoot at a deer with a .223;
for all you naysayers out there, check out the twist of any .223 barrel; the round tumbles after about 100 yds; It's designed to tumble and fragment after hitting anything; even a blade of grass will cause the round to fragment; Hits your finger, and tears up your hand; That's what it's supposed to do; Not designed to kill deer;
Welcome to the fire sir. You might find it more rewarding to type a little less and read a little more on this topic. When I say read a little more I would tend to listen to the people with all the pictures of dead animals.