Everyone is entitled to their opinion, so I'm not going to "down" anyone for their choice of caliber. For me, I wouldn't hunt deer with anything less than the 243 and here's the my "take" on this subject. Not all shots on deer are a perfect broad-side shots and not all deer hunters are perfect shots. With that said, taking a shot that accidentally missed the "boiler room" with a 223 or a 30-06, your chances of recovering a deer with the 06 are much higher. Just my .02