Killing Formulas / How much is enough?

[kmittleman]

Hey folks,


I'm planning on picking up a Ruger BH in .41 mag in a month or so. I reload and plan on working up some loads for whitetail and hogs. However, I keep wondering, "How much is enough"? I've read through and tried out numerous killing formulas only to be told that they're imperfect and inaccurate. Well, that makes sense. Also, everyone tells me that, "it's all about bullet placement". Ok, I agree. However, in the same breath I'll be told that such and such caliber / load (ie. .357 mag in a handgun) is "marginal" for hunting. I've hunted with shotguns, muzzleloaders, rifles, and crossbows, but not handguns.

My question is, how do I know if my load will be reasonable for deer and hogs? My plan is to shoot no further than 50yds and hopefully have enough power that I can shoot broadside, quartering away/to, etc.

Any advice? Any ballpark numbers I can look at?


-Kevin

[Mikey]

Kevin: For the first part forget the numbers, they simply serve to confuse you and I believe, and regardless of what some may say or think, that the numbers people speak of were simply brought up long after these calibers were found to work all by their lonesome, without the benefit of a statistical analysis or someone's 'killing tables'. 

Here is what we know works well, especially for what you wish to hunt:  slow, heavy for the bore hardcast flat nsoed slugs work to penetrate through, break bone and put the animal down; sometimes fast and lightweight does the job but not on thick skinned or heavy animals like boar and bear where the sp/hps meet tough grizzle and fat, deflect and expand before penetrating; and, most often the nominal weight bullet for the bore especially in a hardcast Keith or LBT design over medium to fast charges work better than most imagine. 

To me the most important aspect of hunting is bullet placement.  The guy who cannot place his 44 magnum bullet will not be as successful as the guy who properly places a 38 special swc through the heart.  The hunter who puts a heavy 357 through the shoulders of a whitetail will be more successful than the hunter who only gets a handful of fur and pelt with a shot from a 500. 

I once hunted with a man who gave up his 308 for a 7mm mag because the 308 wouldn't kill a whitetail with a leg shot and when he found out that a 7mm mag also would not kill a whitetail with a leg shot he finally got the idea that he needed to improve his aim. 

I don't know where you intend to hunt or how large the whitetail or hog are that you are looking for but if you take that 41 and load it with most any Keith or LBT style hardcast slug in the 210 - 250 gn range to 11-1200'/sec (not max by any means) you should not have any problems harvesting either animal - just place your bullet properly (practice, practice, practice).  Animals can travel quite a distance before faltering and going down, even after being shot fatally with the first round but if your slug is hard enough and heavy enough to shoot on through the major bone structures and penetrate through the major organs (not tough on either animal) you will eat well that night................

Just remember that you don't need a blaster to be a master and you can get the job done and have more fun with a 41 (I borrowed that one too).............. HTH.

[cwlongshot]

The 41 Mag is an excellent choice and will do everything your describing with nearly all factory loads available. I would stay with better bullets if your hogs are bigger.  Say 200 or more pounds.

Handloaded the 41 Mag with good bullets and in the hands of a competent handgun hunter, will humanely harvest any animal on this continent and most of the world.

CW

[Lloyd Smale]

if your running cast id want a load that would shoot a 200 grain or heavier bullet at least 900 fps and preferably around 1100. If its jacketed stay away from hps for the most part and stick with bullets on the heavier end of spectrum and run pretty much max book loads. It may not take that much to kill a hog EVERYTIME but its reasuring when a marginal shot presents itself. Ive had to shoot a couple of them wounded and running away and a good cast bullet that with a load that will give deep penetrations is what a guy needs then. You will get all kinds of answers like i can do it with a 22 or i can do it with a light hp bullet and yes if all the stars are aligned you can but how often does that happen.

[sixshot]

There are some very good jacketed bullets out there & they will work great on deer. On hogs you will want to be a little more choosey on bullets selection, they are more compact & many can have a gristle plate that will challenge some jacketed bullets.
 Don't be concerned about the 41 maggie, believe me, it will do its part when the shooting starts. I shoot a 230 gr Keith style & a 250 gr LBT, both have taken plenty of big game, including elk. That wide, flatnose at 1100-1200 fps is fantastic, place the bullet correctly & you will get a nice, DEEP wound channel that will not fail you. We have taken one bull moose with the 230 gr softnose cast (one shot) but I didn't shoot it, my buddy did & he doesn't count!
  The penetration of these slugs has to be seen to believe, with a jacketed bullet you normally give up some of the all important penetration once they start to expand, thats not a big deal on deer but when you switch to hogs, elk, bear, moose, etc you need to choose your jacketed bullets wisely.
 A cast bullet is always consistent, it drives straight, deep & doesn't worry about angling shots. A jacketed bullet in soft tissue & at the proper velocity will put meat in the freezer, that same jacketed bullet that deflects off bone can lose almost all of the necessary penetration & fail.

Dick

[drdougrx]

Dick you  beat me to this post!!!!  I was searching for your previous posts which are an inspiration to the 41mag crowd!!

Kevin....this is for you!
http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,203782.msg1099063603.html#msg1099063603

[gr8ful]

My pet 41 Mag load 240gr LBT WFN over 19.5gr H4227 should run 1200 fps and will shoot clean thru the biggest hog or deer. at the ranges you are talking I wouldn't hesitate to try it on an elk.  I am with Mikey about the numbers and shot placement.

[Mohawk]

Mikey hit it dead to rights. I live by the "marginal" calibers, the .357 being the heaviest I have used. Using a well placed .357/.38 on deer, for example, isn't "Hey see what I can do!". Its more"This caliber is adequate despite the opinions of folks that may have never used it". I remember the .243 being called marginal and any round that didn't hit with 1,000 ftlbs were unadequate for clean kills theories. Both theories proved bogus. And IMHO if you incorporate a broadside double lung hit into the equation than MANY "marginal" calibers become extremely adequate. I will probably use Mikey's 200 gr .38 SWC load next year since my usual deer stand is set up right for it. It should have no problem. The 158 gr Soft SWC HP has already done a fine job and now it's the "Mikey Load's" turn.

[tinman]

AMEN Mikey!  Numbers never killed anything. 

[Camba]

Awesome!

Camba

[Redhawk1]

if your running cast id want a load that would shoot a 200 grain or heavier bullet at least 900 fps and preferably around 1100. If its jacketed stay away from hps for the most part and stick with bullets on the heavier end of spectrum and run pretty much max book loads. It may not take that much to kill a hog EVERYTIME but its reasuring when a marginal shot presents itself. Ive had to shoot a couple of them wounded and running away and a good cast bullet that with a load that will give deep penetrations is what a guy needs then. You will get all kinds of answers like i can do it with a 22 or i can do it with a light hp bullet and yes if all the stars are aligned you can but how often does that happen.

Well said Lloyd..

Just one question to some of you. Why do you use the word harvest? We kill game. Harvesting is something farmers do for crops. I know people like to use harvest so the anti don't get upset. But the fact remains we kill game.

[BIG Dog454]

All I know is that a 230 gr lead fn will shoot through a deer from briskit to tail at 1000 fps. and thats a fact.
Harvest? he** ya, I've fed them all year, they eat my crops, so why not harvest them.
BD

[coyotejoe]

Since there are no degrees of deadness how can there be degrees of killing power?

[Mohawk]

Actually, the harvesting of game animals is employed in wildlife management and other scientific circles for decades. Example, the harvesting of organs for donations. And the harvesting of bacteria for cultures. The antis know very well what we do. I once worked with one that asked why I eat deer for Thanksgiving. I replied that I have a pet turkey  (: 

[S.B.]

At least .40 caliber, with a 200-250 grain bullet, at, at least 1000 fps. My $.02, others opinion will differ but, this has always worked for me
Steve

[cwlongshot]

At least .40 caliber, with a 200-250 grain bullet, at, at least 1000 fps. My $.02, others opinion will differ but, this has always worked for me
Steve

I was also going to quote this, as many states use it as a minimum. For a experienced, educated and ethical hunter its a good sensible minimum.

But in if taken at face value and in the hands of in experienced hunters its simply inadequate. Possibly your, mine or say Mohawks hands it would likely be just fine... In Joe hunter who just got his hunter safety card and wants to start hunting and thinks hand gun hunting would be "cool". It is a different story...


CW

[buck460XVR]

I was also going to quote this, as many states use it as a minimum. For a experienced, educated and ethical hunter its a good sensible minimum.

But in if taken at face value and in the hands of in experienced hunters its simply inadequate. Possibly your, mine or say Mohawks hands it would likely be just fine... In Joe hunter who just got his hunter safety card and wants to start hunting and thinks hand gun hunting would be "cool". It is a different story...


CW

Seems like a broad statement to make with the assumption that ALL new/inexperienced hunters are bad shots and hunt unethically.  I help teach hunter safety classes and many of the kids and adults that complete the course are better shots and have better ethics than many of the old farts I see at the range and in the woods. Years of hunting experience does not automatically make one a better shot, nor does it have anything to do with ones ethics. Most violators have longer, more liberal hunting seasons than the rest of us, and most are not inexperienced at what they do. Hunting with a handgun does take more skill than with a long gun, and shots must be taken more carefully, but like more experienced hunters,  most newbies have the skills and ethics  if they decide to use them.

[cwlongshot]

I was also going to quote this, as many states use it as a minimum. For a experienced, educated and ethical hunter its a good sensible minimum.

But in if taken at face value and in the hands of in experienced hunters its simply inadequate. Possibly your, mine or say Mohawks hands it would likely be just fine... In Joe hunter who just got his hunter safety card and wants to start hunting and thinks hand gun hunting would be "cool". It is a different story...


CW

Seems like a broad statement to make with the assumption that ALL new/inexperienced hunters are bad shots and hunt unethically.  I help teach hunter safety classes and many of the kids and adults that complete the course are better shots and have better ethics than many of the old farts I see at the range and in the woods. Years of hunting experience does not automatically make one a better shot, nor does it have anything to do with ones ethics. Most violators have longer, more liberal hunting seasons than the rest of us, and most are not inexperienced at what they do. Hunting with a handgun does take more skill than with a long gun, and shots must be taken more carefully, but like more experienced hunters,  most newbies have the skills and ethics  if they decide to use them.

My point exactly...

You an I have been down this road before. I think for the most part we agree with each other... I do agree with your statement. Of coarse, its never as black and white.

If you remember, I too have trained allot of people. Teaching them how to safely and accurately shoot a handgun.  Most are professionals who make a living with a hand gun on there side and yes most cannot shoot it very well... Others are people simply looking for a NRA pistol coarse. By and large the untrained, brand new person to handguns is a better shot faster.

A persons ability to be ethical is not associated with any experience... Its something you have or do not.

CW

[buck460XVR]

Most are professionals who make a living with a hand gun on there side and yes most cannot shoot it very well...

...........sad ain't it.  Kinda like a trim carpenter that can't make good miters.

A persons ability to be ethical is not associated with any experience... Its something you have or do not.

Unfortunately, it's something installed in all of us by family and peers, early in life, at a young age, before we even know it. That's why most violators never change. It's why those that take poor shots do so year after year. It's not that they don't learn, it's because they don't care. One of the things that most impresses me when mentoring young hunters is their hesitance to take a bad shot.......to the point, that many wait too long and  lose an opportunity. But if one must have an error in judgement, this is the side to error on.


I didn't mean to jump on your post CW. It's just that it seems new hunters take a lot of flak they do not rightly deserve. Same with those of us that use big bores....it's always assumed that we are trying to make up for being a bad shot or poor hunter, when in reality, we just like to make loud noises and kill quickly. You are correct, for the most part, we do agree.

[S.B.]

cwlongshot, the posters question wasn't how to hit his intended target but, what load should he be using?
Steve

[bcraig]

HI,I hunted with a handgun exclusively for over 12 years but never used a 41 Magnum.
I always used a 44 magnum and tried the Hardcast route with Water dropped wheelweights and while they penetrate better than anything else in my experience they dont kill whitetail anywhere close to as fast as a good jacketed hollow point.
I once had a telephone conversation with JD Jones of SSK fame and aked him about Hard cast  for deer and his reply was that the Jacketed bullets would normally kill faster than the Hard cast .
I tried just cast bullets (not hard cast but pure lead Then paper patched)in a TC 44 mag and that killed fantastic.
Paco Kelley wrote that he considered the 170 grain bullet to be the fastest killer in a 41 magnum on deer.
If i were you i would just use the 170 grain factory load(I dont remember who makes it as i never had the 41,Remington or Winchester)get your practice in ,and go kill deer.
Might want to read some articles at Leverguns .com by paco kelley and make up your own mind.
Hope this has been of some help to you

[cwlongshot]

cwlongshot, the posters question wasn't how to hit his intended target but, what load should he be using?
Steve

As stated in my first post, about any hi velocity loading will work just fine for whitetails, but pick the heaviest for the pigs..

The 41 Mag is an excellent choice and will do everything your describing with nearly all factory loads available. I would stay with better bullets if your hogs are bigger.  Say 200 or more grains.

If you forced me into a exact bullet it would still be decided by the firearm. But I like the 175G Silver-tip and the STD Federal 210 HP... My 41's shoot them very well. the Silver-tip has performed excellently on the couple deer its run into.

CW

[Lloyd Smale]

in a perfect world where all shots are under 50 yards and broadside and shot placement would be exact and all I hunted were small whitetail i might buy into the jacketed hp bullet kill faster thought. but In the field it just doesnt work that way. Hit heavy bone and you can stop a jhp in its tracts. A cast bullet will always penetrate to the vitals at about any angle through an animal and will about allways give to holes to blead out of making tracking much easier. Ill give you one example that happened to me a couple years ago. I shot a 7 pointer with a 44 mag using 300 lfns. I admitidly made a poor first shot. Im sorry but it happens and happens to ANYONE that hunts with a handgun long enough. The deer took off running dead away from me and at about 75 yards i put one right in his but. The deer piled up on the spot and when we dressed it I found the bullet went the whole lenght of the deer took out the liver and one lung and exited the front of the chest. If i would have been hunt with a 41 mag using 170 hps id probably still be chasing that animal around. Ive also seen 3 hogs wounded in one day with a 41 mag using 170 grain factory ammo. All three pigs were recovered after being put down by my buddys 41 special using a 210 grain cast swc. All three shots failed to penetrate past the shoulder. So if a guys is stepping up to even larger deer id pass on the light hps. Sorry guys but in my experience jacketed bullets work well sometimes but cast bullets work well EVERY time.

HI,I hunted with a handgun exclusively for over 12 years but never used a 41 Magnum.
I always used a 44 magnum and tried the Hardcast route with Water dropped wheelweights and while they penetrate better than anything else in my experience they dont kill whitetail anywhere close to as fast as a good jacketed hollow point.
I once had a telephone conversation with JD Jones of SSK fame and aked him about Hard cast  for deer and his reply was that the Jacketed bullets would normally kill faster than the Hard cast .
I tried just cast bullets (not hard cast but pure lead Then paper patched)in a TC 44 mag and that killed fantastic.
Paco Kelley wrote that he considered the 170 grain bullet to be the fastest killer in a 41 magnum on deer.
If i were you i would just use the 170 grain factory load(I dont remember who makes it as i never had the 41,Remington or Winchester)get your practice in ,and go kill deer.
Might want to read some articles at Leverguns .com by paco kelley and make up your own mind.
Hope this has been of some help to you

[bcraig]

in a perfect world where all shots are under 50 yards and broadside and shot placement would be exact and all I hunted were small whitetail i might buy into the jacketed hp bullet kill faster thought. but In the field it just doesnt work that way. Hit heavy bone and you can stop a jhp in its tracts. A cast bullet will always penetrate to the vitals at about any angle through an animal and will about allways give to holes to blead out of making tracking much easier. Ill give you one example that happened to me a couple years ago. I shot a 7 pointer with a 44 mag using 300 lfns. I admitidly made a poor first shot. Im sorry but it happens and happens to ANYONE that hunts with a handgun long enough. The deer took off running dead away from me and at about 75 yards i put one right in his but. The deer piled up on the spot and when we dressed it I found the bullet went the whole lenght of the deer took out the liver and one lung and exited the front of the chest. If i would have been hunt with a 41 mag using 170 hps id probably still be chasing that animal around. Ive also seen 3 hogs wounded in one day with a 41 mag using 170 grain factory ammo. All three pigs were recovered after being put down by my buddys 41 special using a 210 grain cast swc. All three shots failed to penetrate past the shoulder. So if a guys is stepping up to even larger deer id pass on the light hps. Sorry guys but in my experience jacketed bullets work well sometimes but cast bullets work well EVERY time.

HI,I hunted with a handgun exclusively for over 12 years but never used a 41 Magnum.
I always used a 44 magnum and tried the Hardcast route with Water dropped wheelweights and while they penetrate better than anything else in my experience they dont kill whitetail anywhere close to as fast as a good jacketed hollow point.
I once had a telephone conversation with JD Jones of SSK fame and aked him about Hard cast  for deer and his reply was that the Jacketed bullets would normally kill faster than the Hard cast .
I tried just cast bullets (not hard cast but pure lead Then paper patched)in a TC 44 mag and that killed fantastic.
Paco Kelley wrote that he considered the 170 grain bullet to be the fastest killer in a 41 magnum on deer.
If i were you i would just use the 170 grain factory load(I dont remember who makes it as i never had the 41,Remington or Winchester)get your practice in ,and go kill deer.
Might want to read some articles at Leverguns .com by paco kelley and make up your own mind.
Hope this has been of some help to you

Yes cast bullets will always put a hole in an animal

in a perfect world where all shots are under 50 yards and broadside and shot placement would be exact and all I hunted were small whitetail i might buy into the jacketed hp bullet kill faster thought. but In the field it just doesnt work that way. Hit heavy bone and you can stop a jhp in its tracts. A cast bullet will always penetrate to the vitals at about any angle through an animal and will about allways give to holes to blead out of making tracking much easier. Ill give you one example that happened to me a couple years ago. I shot a 7 pointer with a 44 mag using 300 lfns. I admitidly made a poor first shot. Im sorry but it happens and happens to ANYONE that hunts with a handgun long enough. The deer took off running dead away from me and at about 75 yards i put one right in his but. The deer piled up on the spot and when we dressed it I found the bullet went the whole lenght of the deer took out the liver and one lung and exited the front of the chest. If i would have been hunt with a 41 mag using 170 hps id probably still be chasing that animal around. Ive also seen 3 hogs wounded in one day with a 41 mag using 170 grain factory ammo. All three pigs were recovered after being put down by my buddys 41 special using a 210 grain cast swc. All three shots failed to penetrate past the shoulder. So if a guys is stepping up to even larger deer id pass on the light hps. Sorry guys but in my experience jacketed bullets work well sometimes but cast bullets work well EVERY time.

I hunt in an area where LARGE deer(my biggest 260 with his guts out weighed on a set of cotton scales.
I Also hunt in an area where there are a lot of creeks and the last thing I want is for a deer to run any farther than it has to. I have had a couple of bad experiences with Hard cast as well as several of my hunting friends.Let me cite some examples.I hit one smallish buck(150 pounds live weight)right behind the shoulder at the edge of a field .I hit him with a water dropped 280 grain LBT WFN and a heavy load of 296(22 gr)at the shot the deer ran into the field(thank goodness)instead of into the woods.The deer ran over 100 yards and laid down like a cat sits with his feet folder under him. I walked up on him in sight of him the entire distance and he was down but had his head up watching me . i had to put a second shot into him. The bullet penetrated all the way through him with a small hole all the way through him. YEP cast sure does Penetrate ! Later examination showed a small hole . Deer did not leave a drop of blood on the ground and I got down on my hands and knees trying to find any. If deer had run into woods he most likely have been lost.All this talk about blood trails is a fallacy as I have seen a LOT of deer shot with both handguns and rifle that did not leave any blood trail at all BUT when deer was found and moved there waas blood where dead animal was laying.
So yes hard cast does reliably penetrate but it sure doesn,t destroy as much tissue as a good JHP or JSP.
On the other hand cast bullets can kill well when the nose is soft enough to expand such as a two piece bullet that Ross Seyfried described wherein the nose os poured of a softer metal so the nose expands and the rear of bullet keeps on penetrating.Now if Ross Seyfried and JD Jones both of who have killed WAAAAAAY more game animals witH handguns than any of us EVER will are not satisfied with hard cast performance and either prefer a csat that expands or a jacketed bullet for whitetail sized animals I think a person might ought to pay attention.Also according to George C Nonte and Lee Juras (of supervel fame ) a bullet that expands will kill faster(they both co authered a book hanguns for hunting)
I love the way cast shoots and when it has a soft nose to expand it kills well but think there are better choices for the hunting of whitetail sized game than a bullet that merely punches a hole.
But I am basing my choices on MY experiences and that of others who have killed far more Game animals than I or probably anyone else on this board combined.YMMV (your mileage may vary)
HI,I hunted with a handgun exclusively for over 12 years but never used a 41 Magnum.
I always used a 44 magnum and tried the Hardcast route with Water dropped wheelweights and while they penetrate better than anything else in my experience they dont kill whitetail anywhere close to as fast as a good jacketed hollow point.
I once had a telephone conversation with JD Jones of SSK fame and aked him about Hard cast  for deer and his reply was that the Jacketed bullets would normally kill faster than the Hard cast .
I tried just cast bullets (not hard cast but pure lead Then paper patched)in a TC 44 mag and that killed fantastic.
Paco Kelley wrote that he considered the 170 grain bullet to be the fastest killer in a 41 magnum on deer.
If i were you i would just use the 170 grain factory load(I dont remember who makes it as i never had the 41,Remington or Winchester)get your practice in ,and go kill deer.
Might want to read some articles at Leverguns .com by paco kelley and make up your own mind.
Hope this has been of some help to you

[Spencer, Carey]

Sir, I dont have the equipment to reload at present, and have had to rely on the standard remington 210sp factory offering for my 41blackhawk. I DO however have several custom loads for my 44's to include weights up to 320 grains. In all honesty the half dozen or so deer I have killed with that 41 have fallen every bit as fast as any with the 44 no matter how nasty the load. Those gentelmen who expound on on bullet placement are 110% correct. Choose quality components if you can reload, or reputable factory  offerings, aim true, follow through, and you will take your game home with you!

[S.B.]

bcraig, your post is sooo long and I'm so reluctant to reread posts that have been posted previously. Did you mention where your shots hit these runaway deer? Please, just a simple yes or no.
Steve

[bcraig]

bcraig, your post is sooo long and I'm so reluctant to reread posts that have been posted previously. Did you mention where your shots hit these runaway deer? Please, just a simple yes or no.
Steve

 YES OR NO

[hillbill]

Kevin: For the first part forget the numbers, they simply serve to confuse you and I believe, and regardless of what some may say or think, that the numbers people speak of were simply brought up long after these calibers were found to work all by their lonesome, without the benefit of a statistical analysis or someone's 'killing tables'. 

Here is what we know works well, especially for what you wish to hunt:  slow, heavy for the bore hardcast flat nsoed slugs work to penetrate through, break bone and put the animal down; sometimes fast and lightweight does the job but not on thick skinned or heavy animals like boar and bear where the sp/hps meet tough grizzle and fat, deflect and expand before penetrating; and, most often the nominal weight bullet for the bore especially in a hardcast Keith or LBT design over medium to fast charges work better than most imagine. 
ummm did not mikey say it all?

To me the most important aspect of hunting is bullet placement.  The guy who cannot place his 44 magnum bullet will not be as successful as the guy who properly places a 38 special swc through the heart.  The hunter who puts a heavy 357 through the shoulders of a whitetail will be more successful than the hunter who only gets a handful of fur and pelt with a shot from a 500. 

I once hunted with a man who gave up his 308 for a 7mm mag because the 308 wouldn't kill a whitetail with a leg shot and when he found out that a 7mm mag also would not kill a whitetail with a leg shot he finally got the idea that he needed to improve his aim. 

I don't know where you intend to hunt or how large the whitetail or hog are that you are looking for but if you take that 41 and load it with most any Keith or LBT style hardcast slug in the 210 - 250 gn range to 11-1200'/sec (not max by any means) you should not have any problems harvesting either animal - just place your bullet properly (practice, practice, practice).  Animals can travel quite a distance before faltering and going down, even after being shot fatally with the first round but if your slug is hard enough and heavy enough to shoot on through the major bone structures and penetrate through the major organs (not tough on either animal) you will eat well that night................

Just remember that you don't need a blaster to be a master and you can get the job done and have more fun with a 41 (I borrowed that one too).............. HTH.

[Hardbawl]

Think outside the bun!  What difference does it make if someone else thinks this bullet or that is the best.  It is your gun, your load, and your two hands that must perform.

Try this simple test.  Fill a bunch of milk jugs with water, with lids on.  Set them up in a row [I put them on a plank supported by two saw horses] so that all the labels face one end.  Stand back at least 25 yards and shoot the label on the first jug so that the bullet will pass through all the jugs until it comes to rest in a jug. 

Look at what you learned.  First you can hit the label which is about the size of a deers heart.  Second you bullet passed through so many jugs.  [That is about how far it will penetrate an animal.]  Note that the first and second jug were really blown all to , well, you know.  [That is about what it will do to the lungs on a broadside shot.]

Since you are a handloader, you can try different bullets.  The one you pick for whitetails may be different than the one you pick for hogs.

But, you know now what you and your pistol can do.  That is called confidence.

[SHOOTALL]

In Va. you must have a gun and load that produces 350 foot pounds of energy and be 23 cal. or larger to hunt deer or bear.
Here a 357 mag in the right spot works. Its your job to know the limits of yourself and your equipment. Don't mag up to offest lack of skill.