Yes, legal in Alabama. Haven't used one myself but my son shot two this year with a .223 WSSM, one bang-flop kill, the other ran about 40 yards. No exit holes, no blood trail. This with 55 gr. factory loads. With handloads/heavier bullets I would not hesitate to use the standard .223 on our small/medium size deer, especially if hunting open fields with no brush to interfere (not that I subscribe to the "brush buster" theory). Nosler makes a 60 gr. partition that ought to be good for the purpose. As others have stated, and especially for larger northern or western deer, I'd rather "gun up" a bit from .223 diameter, regardless of the specific cartridge.