thousands of deer have been killed with a .22 rimfire at night........
It is all about bullet placement and blood loss (shock).
A 77 year old gentleman at church has a very gory hunting photo album. He legally shoots 2 deer every year for meat, he cares nothing for horns. He has a .222 he had customized from Shilen back in the early 70s. He lines up on their head, whistles so they look his way and shoots them in the head. He has a photo album, mostly old polaroids, with about 70 photos, one of each deer he shot with the top of its head missing.
I brought him a box of oranges from my tree last season and he had a spike buck in the back of his truck with most of the skull cavity missing and showed me his album. Really nice old guy. If it's within 300 yards he can make the shot. Over that he passes.
So if you are ever in the country in Texas during December, and you hear someone give a sharp whistle, drop to the ground immediately................