ORIGINAL: Doug S
I had the chance to try it, it was a great experience and one that I would not recomend or try again.
Considering how many people were killed with that type of weapon, I figured that a deer would be no different. I spent a year practicing and I got quite good with a .44 Remington, managed to cram in35grs of 3f with no wad or filler. First shot a little highknocked a 100lb doe over, 2nd missed, 3rd wasclose to the heart as it tried to get up and the fourth was a close range finisher. I was very lucky, in my excitement I underestimated the range and the first shot must have hit some nerves because if she had not gone down I would have been in for a long chase.
I know another guy who tried it, he was also sucessful and he also will not do it again. Killing a person in self defense or time of war is alot different from cleanly taking game.
This is why I requested Whitehair report his results if he hunted with one. Doug's story gives us some real-life context as to the performance one can expect with a 44 rem. cap and ball relvolver. That he won't do it again, nor his friend wouldn't either, is telling me something. It's telling me that I won't probably be satisified with its killing performance if I tried it.
I like PB's idea of the single shot. Its barrel is alot longer than any cylinder allowing more charge and more time and more bore for the charge to accelerate the ball. Still, for a RB under900 fps, one should be prepared for performance on par with a bow, meaning , it may take a little extra time to kill the game.