I've had excellent results with the Hornady 55gr PtSpt (much better accuracy with the ones without the cannelure).
Better results yet with the 60gr Spt Hornady. This is probably my favorite "deer" bullet for the .223Rem.
I've also had very good performance from the Sierra 63gr semi-pt, and even the 65gr GameKing from a 1/12" twist barrel (Remington M7 w/18.5"bbl).
If I'm going to shoot deer with a $1 bullet, I'll just go ahead and use something a bit bigger, perhaps a Berger 115gr VLD from either a .257Roberts or .257WbyMag. But then again the Bergers are only ~0.35 each........ I don't really see the point of the Noslers in .224". I've only recovered 4 bullets from all the deer that I've shot with .22cf's, and they performed really no different from other larger soft points. They were well mushroomed and retained 55-70% of their weight. Usually stopped just under the hide after wrecking havoc all out of proportion to their weight/diameter. A 35gr V-max from a .22Hornet @ 3,100fps however just "exploded" the heart on a little button buck, and didn't make it out of the rib-cage breaking up completely. Largest piece of the bullet was the plastic tip, but the deer was DRT, so it really didn't matter......
If I want a "monolithic" .22 bullet, I'll just use a cast bullet from my .22Hornet. BTDT too.
Again, I've wounded deer with much larger cartridges where the bullets failed, but even then, PROPER shot placement would always compensate for a "failed" bullet.
Shot placement ALWAYS matters...... I shot at a deer in the '08 season with my .257wby, before I replaced the awful factory trigger with a Timney. I yanked the shot about 3' over the deer's back due to the trigger failing to release with the "normal" amount of trigger pressure I'm used to. (2.5-7lbs). I believe the deer were even more suprised than I was because none of them fell to the "earth shattering kaboom"...They just stood there looking at me some 90yds distant. (yeah; thinking "yeah, it's a fool, but what kind of fool is it that misses with a Weatherby? They kill just from the concussion, you know....) But the second shot didn't miss......
The 100gr Hornady PtSpt was balled up under the hide on the far-side and weighed 67.5gr in the classic "Interlok" pattern. Just about what the 55gr and 60gr bullets do from my .223 and .22-250 repectively.....
So, yeah, duh, you have to hit 'em to kill 'em....... the .22's make that easier for some folks, I suppose.