IMO far too many people give deer and other critters way too much credit for being bullet proof and hard to kill!
the simple fact is, placing almost any center fire caliber bullet fired from same center fire rifle in the vitals and you have a DEAD "X" animal.
The area where I think MOST folks like to add in "WHAT EVER" is the fact in the field many things can happen,(not to mention, most folks do NOT shoot as well as they THINK they do) and that then tends to make many folks THINK larger calibers give more wiggle room, to make a some what poor shot, still end up being a killing shot.
and to be honest I will agree with this line of logic, for MOST hunters.
Lets face it, only a SMALL percentage of hunters, are GREAT marksmen, and spend real time behind there weapons, shooting often and in many field like conditions. and this is doe to the fact MOST people don't have the time, the money, a safe place top do, so, and many NO desire to do so period!
we are now even worse IMO< since urban development has taken over so many places, where folks USED to live more rural and shot more often, grew up shooting from younger ages, and well, lets face it, we also now live ina world where , media sells more things than anyone actually USING something.
Marketing sells things, folks read "X" stat's and then BUY based on what they read, thinking there purchase will lead them to all the hype a marketing agency can print about "X" product.
SO< again, I can see why many folks recommend larger calibers over smaller one's, to a POINT!
I would challenge anyone to go to a public range and spend a few days watching the AVERAGE person shoot there guns at targets, and then come back and tell me HOW accurate most are?
you would be surprised at how some are super accurate and well, MOST are NOT!
and by average shooters I mean folks buying loaded ammo, shooting basic put together hunting rifles,
NOT the guys hand tuning handloads and with with custom rifles!
I have done a LOT of range work, and it can be a scary day at the range LOL
so, having some wiggle room maybe on shot placement, might NOT be such a bad thing for many hunters based on my experience , over having smaller caliber that needs a more accurate shooter behind the rifle!