I would agree that the "big bullet - modest velocity" guns of yesteryear cannot compare with today's high performance centerfire rifles. But the comparison is primarily related to the bullets travel from the muzzle to the animal, though. Once the bullet hits the vitals of a big game animal, it has been my experience that big bullets kill a lot better than their foot-pounds of energy figures would suggest.

Imagine the buffalo hunters of the late 1800's shooting these2,000 lb.beasts at 500 yards with abig lead bullet that only left the muzzle at 1200 fps. I'm not sure what the remaining energy is at 400 or 500 yards; but those big old bison were stacked up like cord wood with rifles in this peformance class. And bison are an animal that is known to scoff at a center chest hit with a 7 Rem Mag - look at the hunter as if to say "is that all you got?" Something to think about . . . .