Jetblast, you are right, I have no experience with shooting deer with a .22 caliber rifle. That is why I was asking the questions that I did. I was simply basing my opinion on what I have read from all the gun writers for the past 48 years about foot pounds of energy and how it falls off at longer distances. Also, the weight of the bullet calculated into energy vs mass. I personally feel that the .243 is minimum for deer. 2cents