My brother who knows little about ballistics, has used a LOT of different guns/cartridges over the years, from a .223 on up. He shoots up to 8 deer a year and only compares how deer react when rib shot with the different cartridges. He uses factory loads...
When he had a .444 Marlin, he liked the performance pretty good, but he kept hearing how the 45/70 was better and as he has plenty of disposal income, he traded for one. First thing he told me was how disappointed he was with the 45/70, as on average, rib shot deer ran a LOT further than with the .444...
I think he had that 45/70 only two years when he traded for a .450 Marlin. HE said the .450, for the most part, fixed the deer running off problem, but had a LOT more recoil.
My brother is a above average game shot and I believe what he tells me, as he has no agenda to keep on what works for him and what doesn't. AND his findings fall right in with my experiences too...
BTW, my brother has been shooting a 7mm Rem. Mag for several years now, and he says he really likes the way he can take longer shots and have good clean kills. I don't know what brand of ammo or bullet weight he's using in it...
There's no question the slooow ones kill game, but there's NO question that "speed" kills, and the faster cartridges with good bullets, kill a LOT faster...
DM