My best guess is that in my lifetime I have shot between 80 & 90 deer. I have never lost one. The closest I ever came was an 80 pound spike that was shot at about 30 yards with a 44 magnum Blackhawk Hunter. I tracked the deer almost a 1/4 mile in a circle, just like a rabbit, and it died about 125 yards from where it was shot. When we examined the carcass you could have dropped a golf ball completely through the body, through both lungs. The things I can say with confidence are these: High velocity rounds produce more bloodshot meat and bone fragments than slow heavy ones. Bullets that pass through leave a better trail and quicker kill than those that do not. A spine shot is the surest way to anchor an animal and prevent the need to track. Of the deer I have shot, about 1/3 never left a 5 yard circle from where they were standing when I fired, and only a dozen made it out of sight of the stand. If you cannot control yourself enough to pass up questionable shots, you should not hunt. Good judgement, patience, and shot placement is way more important than caliber. That being said, given the choice of a dozen different caliber weapons to hunt with, I would choose the 444 anywhere but as a beanfield rifle for whitetails. Just sayin......
