Didn't get to hunt deer this year or last, but in 2002 I took a doe at ~75 yards with my .243 Winchester Model 70 Featherweight. I took her with a twixt-the-eyes headshot, which I would not have attempted had I not been 100% confident of making (75 yards ain't that tough a shot.) She dropped like a stone and never knew what hit her. Our California deer usually run pretty small, about 120 pounds for the does. I free floated the barrel, which greatly improved accuracy.

I used handloads with Hornady 100 grain Spire Points, 37.5 grains IMR 4064. My rifle will put three shots under an inch with this load, after that barrel heat makes the shots wander a bit.

I've only taken this one deer with my .243, so I don't know how they perform with heart/lung shots, but my guess is that it would be just fine with our sized deer.