I have a 100% recovery rate with a .22-250 on deer (as in I'm 1 for 1), dropped a small 7 pointer last year. As I said earlier, wouldn't be my first choice. I hit him solidly at close range, took him right off of his feet, got up ran 10 yards, hit a tree and died. Does it work, yes. Are there a lot of shots I'd comfortably take with a 30-06 that I'd pass up or at least think twice about with the .22-250, yes. I used it to prove to my old man that it was plenty to take down a deer, but to be honest, I questioned that rifle at every turn because I knew my margin of error was tiny with it. My thinking on the subject is, if you're going to be out hunting, there are a million things that can go wrong to ruin the one shot you may have at your chosen target - if you're second guessing yourself because of caliber inadequacy (either real or perceived) you're in the wrong. You owe it to whatever you're shooting to make sure it dies and dies now. If you can honestly say that when you line up on a deer that you're 100% sure that the caliber you're using is cabable of making the clean kill, then go nuts. If its marginal, then you need to work on your shooting skills and/or rethink your equipment