[steveNChunter]

My idea of the best deer round (without being cartridge specific) uses a bullet that will reliably, fully expand whether it hits the shoulder or ribcage, but will still hold together and retain most of its weight and make a passthrough every time. Also I personally like rounds that have over 3000 fps muzzle velocity that use bullets under about 120 grains and don't have a lot of recoil. I shot my first deer when I was 11 with my dads .220 swift, right behind the shoulder of a small spike, the bullet did not exit but the vitals were mush and the deer didn't travel even 15 yards. So I guess you could say I've had influence since a young age that the lighter calibers work. My dad always taught me that shot placement was everything, and that using the right bullet was more important than using the "right" cartridge. I still believe that to be true. I realize not everyone agrees.

This is just what I prefer, there are plenty of other ways to "skin the preverbial cat". This is just how I like to do it.

Also I'm not trying to say a .224 is the ultimate caliber for deer, in fact I believe .243/6mm is the smallest "ideal" caliber for deer if you plan on hitting solid bone.