I shot a deer with a .45acp once just to see if it had enough "mojo" to be called a true deer caliber. I think it was about the fastest setup you could probably get in a .45acp for such a stunt. I got a box of the bestus hollow points from Cor Bon in +P power. The gun was a NEAT little gun I borrowed from a buddy who was curious himself what would happen. The rifle was a German push bolt .45acp (was a WWII vintage piece) that wore a lil scope on it and might've had a 16" ish barrel on it.
Anyway I carried it out too a bowstand where I knew I'd get a good close shot. Shortly a lil doe came by and I stopped her broadside at only 20 yds. I shot her perfectly behind the right shoulder. She jumped and ran out of sight. I waited 30 mins and got down. NO blood trail, nothing, only a lil hair where she was standing when I popped her and an occasional tip here and there through the woods. Luckily I knew the woods pretty well so I managed to find her piled up 250yds away. :confused Sadly the coyotes found her before I did and had already began lunching on her before I could get there.
Anyway I did a "field autopsy" on her to see what the bullet did. I found the bullet lodged neatly between her lungs. It fully penetrated one lung but didn't touch the other. Thus her ability to make it so far before expiring. Had I hit a shoulder or shot her at a further distance or at a less than perfectly broadside shot angle I doubt she would've gone down within an hour or two. I decided then and there that the .45acp was no deer hunting caliber. Sure it'll work fine for dispatching one that's already wounded and it certainly will keep intruders at bay, but I'd rather have my .357 Smith in a deer stand with it's higher velocity and smaller frontal area (equals more penetration in such instances, the bigger caliber would require more velocity for satisfactory results) for deer.
Likewise I've heard of folks using the .45LongColt for hunting but in stock trim it's nearly identical too the acp in velocity and power terms. Only a handloader with a stout gun like a Red Hawk or a few lever guns can safely power load the .45LC to act more like the .44 Mag.
:wink
RA
