just for the sake of throwing it out there, I brought my .223 into the field once this year ... shot a spike whitetail buck at about 135 yards ... drilled it directly in the shoulder with a 62g TSX ... that buck "ran" about 10 yards, if that ...
the compare/contrast starts when I mention that I have since shot three whitetail doe, all over 100lbs, with my .243 using the 85g TSX ... those shots ranged from about 65 yards to 185 yards ... The two doe I shot in the shoulders (and I do mean directly in the shoulders) both 'ran' further than the spike buck did ... about 20 yards each ... The third (at 185 yards) I shot in the neck about 4" behind where the spine and skull meet ... anyway, regarding the three shoulder-shot deer, does that mean the .223 is better than the .243 because it dropped the buck faster?
All I'm saying is, what I've been saying all along ... and is the same thing that others I consider "in the know from real experience" ... and that is, place the [bleep]' bullet where it goes, and watch the animal die ...
As to why or why not use nothing more than a .223 on deer ... who the hell knows? Not only can I say I don't care, but it also doesn't matter ...
last time I checked, dead is dead, regardless of the size of the exit wound ...
