Years ago, I had a 357 lever gun, it was a deer killing dude out to 125, especially with the 180 gr hollow points from Federal

That is what I have found with mine. The 180s leave the barrel of a carbine about the same speed as they do from a 357Max. Plenty for deer and hogs at 125 yards. Light recoil and handy as well

Wonder if a guy is salty enough, could he make what he wanted? .223 over 12 ga would be cool, donor barrels of course. I've probably got all the equipment, just don't have all the skills, or the time.

FWIW - I put a 1.5 X 4 scope on my 24 and sighted it in at 100 with the .223. Nice MOA group. For grins I put a large piece of white paper 2' X 2' with horizontal & vertical lines up up at 40 yds. I lined up the cross hairs with the lines on the paper and dumped a load of #6 12ga. Pattern was large spread but even. A turkey wouldn't have had a chance.

I bought a Savage 24 when I was in my teens. My brother still has it. It is a .22 mag. Over a 20 gauge 3". I had it scoped and almost used the .22 mag.exclusively. The .22 rifle barrel appears to be welded to the shotgun barrel for the whole length and not elevated up from the lower barrel on pillars like many I have seen. This made for a very accurate .22 mag. It was as stiff as a bull barrel. Only bad thing was the tip off mounts. They aren't very good.
As far as the .357 rifle for deer, I really like mine. I have a Winchester Trapper, a Marlin Cowboy, and a Ruger bolt gun. I especially like the Ruger's accuracy. They hammer deer and you can eat right up to the hole. No blood shot meat. Coupled with low recoil and low muzzle blast the .357 rifle is a winner. I keep my shots to under about 125 yards. Lots of drop after that. I like a heavy bullet with lots of meplate.