Although I personally don't like the .22 cal bullets for deer, I have heard of deer being taken with them. A good friend of mine knows an older man who is the "camp cook" where they hunt. Old man sits at the camp watching a food plot located about 200 yards behind the camp and takes shoulder shots when he sees a deer that he wants.While he may have to take a second shot to finish them off, he claims he has never had to track one. They always DRT. I don't know. He said, he said... if you know what I mean. I would always stick with a minimum .243 win for deer. Especially in Minn where your deer are so big