If the only rifle you have is a .223 then I would say load it with 60 or 80 grain bullets and maybe you'll be good if you can place the shot.
But if your like most hunters that's probably your varmit rifle or your souped up semi auto AR or MINI 14 and just wanting to say "yeah well this gun killed this deer". Can it kill a deer? Of course. Head shots with anything down to a pellet rifle can kill a deer if placement is right and distance is right. Is it an ethical weapon? No. While the speed is there the mass just is not. Use something else. Good luck.

Back in the late 60s and early 70s I killed several dozen with a
22-250 while they were eating our peanuts and soybeans...Never had a problem killing them with center lung shots or lower neck shots...I was using Remington 55gr bullets...I bought a .243 in 1980 and now use it for everything from crows to black bears...

About 10 years ago one of my brothers traded for a 22-250 Remington 700...I sighted her in with Federal Premium 60gr Nosler Partitions...This is my nieces deer rifle, at last count she had killed 14 deer with this gun...Never lost a one and most dropped in their tracks to high shoulder shots with a good exit, I know because I have helped her clean 6-7 of these deer...

It is perfectly legal in North Carolina to use a .22 for deer, the Regulations simply don't adress this matter...I guess we believe in less Government down here...

Some of us started hunting when we actually went for food, not antlers...We used whatever gun happened to be avaliable...We didn't have "deer" rifles or "varmit" rifles, heck I've killed several deer with a .22 rimfire to the brain while squirrel hunting...

Stick with the 60 grainers that are made for deer and you'll be fine...

For what it's worth I'd get something else, nothing smaller than a 708 or 7 x 57 but that's what I would use because it's how I believe

It will work just fine with the right bullet.. You have to have something faster than a 1 in 9 twist to shoot the 62 grain barnes... Mine won't shoot them.. I would say stay with the 53 grain barnes..

what my daughter uses..dont go more than 100 yards, and usually about 20-40 yards. shot placement is everything.
we use 55gr remi's

It's also worth pointing out that there is a big difference between a 250 pound northern bruiser of a buck, and a 90 pound southern doe. I'd feel pretty comfortable with a .223 with a 60 grain Nosler Partition or comparable bullet for smallish to medium-sized deer, but if I was going in an area that was known for very large deer, I'd probably want something bigger.

Having said that, if I did have a big buck in my sights and a .223 in my hand, I'd aim for a neck shot and it is lights out. I've used neck shots from time to time and given the proper situation (unmoving deer, close range, accurate rifle, good rest) they are absolutely deadly.

How in the world do us archers get the job done without the overkill of a 30-06.

while a neck shot will work, most of the time.
i would prefer the double lunger, right behind the shoulder.

The thing of it is, not many people actually "hunt" anymore, but instead they sit and wait for a deer to come to them. The main difference being that when sitting, the shots presented are generally a lot better than when out stalking and walking. A 223 with the right bullet is plenty good for the sitting style of hunting that most people do now days. Shot placement is key with any type of hunting, be it rifle or archery or muzzle loader for that matter.