I do not feel a 22 caliber is adequate for deer. Maybe if you have one and decide you want to shoot a deer with it, but it is not a deer gun and should not be used to hunt deer on a regular bases.

"You don't judge a caliber on how well it performs on a good hit, you judge it on how well it performs on a bad hit."

If it will not kill what you are shooting at with a bad shot most if not all of the time it is inadequate.