I like my game to die asap, not eventually. How many deer or other big game have been lost because of someone using a pipsqueak caliber and the animal was able to move off and die and not be found. I do not use a large caliber to make up for bad shooting. I use it so I inflict the least amount of pain and suffering as possible to the animals I kill. I have a problem with those who say what does the caliber matter, it does matter. Just because you can kill with a small caliber does not mean you should use it on big game. Yes, you can kill a deer with a .223, you can also kill them with rocks, people can justify practically anything, however it is not the act of someone who is concerned about the quarry they hunt. In fact, I once saw a doe shot on the shoulder with a .223, the back end of the bullet was still visible in the hole, another hunter killed the deer. Then there is the "I only take head shots, or neck shots". I have also sen the result of those shots, deer running around with the front end of the face or the lower jaw shot off or holes through necks that did not break the spine or cut the artery. My job put me in position to see all kinds of results of hunters more concerned with themselves than the animals thery hunted, "gotta get one, no matter what". While I do not shoot deer on the shoulder, I shoot behind the shoulder, I assure you the .308 or the 45-70 rounds I use would not be stopped by the shoulder bone. What should have been a fatal shot did little but cause pain and fear. I use enough gun, I do not have to lament making an animal suffer needlessly, nor losing the animal. It is easier to do the right thing than to try to justify the wrong thing. You will use what you use, I am not going to get into a protracted fight over this, but you ask how a .223 is not enough gun. My experience and the experience of others tells me so.