For what it's worth: The heaviest deer in Maine for many years was killed with a .222 Rem. A hired deer exterminator used a .223 Rem, semi-auto rifle with a silencer to kill hundreds of deer, over bait, usually at over-populated islands off the coast. One set-up was within a hundred yards of a public meeting being held one evening at the town office. (Nobody heard a thing, but he shot about 30 deer.) His favorite shot was in the neck. A professional, shooting deer over bait is not a typical hunting condition, so don't take this as an endorsement of the .223 caliber/cartridge as a good deer round.