“It is illegal to hunt deer in many states with a .223 because it often wounds but does not kill.” .... Those laws were written for .22lr, but written as “.22 caliber”, thus covering .223, .22/250, .220 swift, .224 Weatherby, etc, all of which will kill a deer with proper shot placement.
It is also legal in many states to use .224 diameter center fires for big game hunting.
I prefer bigger calibers for big game hunting.
That said with proper bullets and shot placement. I killed deer with several 224 dia. center fires. From 22hornet on up.