You can bang a nail into a board with a wrench, but I prefer to use a hammer.

In this case;
.243 for smaller deer
.270 for bigger deer

Now;
.223 is good for predators and varmints.

Good question. The tracking distance might even be longer using the 55 gr FMJ in the vitals. I'd probably just shoot it in the side of the head if i was using the FMJ. Notice that the bow was never grabbed and I have plenty of confidence in shooting my bow. It's time to eat not play tracker.

The bottom line is this: If you head out every time with the bare minimum, sooner or later, something will go wrong.

223 for deer
 

223 for deer or bear is a joke,,,the whole point here is ethical shots,,sorry but 223 dont cut it,,if i was lost and all i had was 223 or bow at 40 yrds ,,come on get real,,,some of these coments border on stupidity,,how many bear have you shot with a 223,the us military took on the 5.56mm because it was easy to shoot with little or no recoil.that dont make it a bear or deer bullit.why would someone buy a 223cal rifle to use for big game when a 243 or larger firearm cost the same...come on boys grow up and step up:mad:

You can never be to sure whats meant as a joke in some hunting forums.I got into a debate in another forum regarding head shots with the .223 for culling deer.IMO head shots on deer are not an ethical choice.Far to great a chance the deer will move or the shot might be off a bit.I finally gave up in frustration.See it here-
http://forums.accuratereloading.com/...3/m/8751055531

The .223 with proper bullets works fine on deer. I know a guy who quit using his .25-06 and .30-06 because he says his .222 puts them down quicker. I know another guy who says he found the .222 to be a better deerslayer than his .30-06 also. I carry a .22-250 for deer occassionally.

I used to hunt in Maryland and was talking to an older hunter that had a .30 carbine. He said it worked for him. I would not want to use a .30 carbine but don't think twice about my .223 0r 22 Hi-power. I did not stand in the woods and argue with him about his favorite rifle because I never used one. When I was a kid I was convinced a .243 was too light for deer. That was from listening to older guys that never used one. I have used all kinds of calibers over the years and now I can barely remember the time I had to blood trail one. When I was younger I listened to the same nonsense about shooting deer in the "vitals" from older guys. I now use mostly lighter calibers and hit them in the neck,shoulder or head. Yes, I said head.
Of all the different rounds I have used to shoot them in the so called "vitals", the 7-30 Waters is probably the one that made me track the farthest. I would definitely take a .22 center fire over that. I hunt public land, and usually in two states. My buddies and I have dropped a lot of deer that were already hit near the vitals(Within a 16" radius). Some are hit in such weird places we can't figure out what was being aimed at. Some of my friends are magnum fans, but I don't preach to them, as they seem to do O.K.

But when a hammer is not readily available a wrench could be an easier way to bang in a small nail rather than make a trip to the work bench for that one small particular job

While I have agreed in this discussion all along that a small 223 or 222 could work, it sounds like your friend is trying to be contrary. I guess he also thinks that Subaru's are better luxuray cars than full sized Buicks. A 30.06 for most intents and purposes is an excellent deer cartridge.

I believe you're incorrect about the US military's reason for going with the 5.56. I believe it was primarily because the ammo was lighter and allowed a soldier to carry more ammo in the field. I think it was a secondary strategy to incapacitate the enemy (still being ultimately lethal) causing their comrades to care for them rather than have them continue fighting as they would when more immediate kills were achieved with the bigger 30 cals. One more thing; lets not distort the OP. I don't recall any discussion about bear hunting wiith a 223, but rather only deer