Of the standard handgun cartridges that you have mentioned, the 454 casull will give you the most down range energy. With most loads the recoil of the 454 can be hard to handle accurately for some people. I have a 12" barrel for my encore and really like to shoot it. I can't shoot as many rounds with it as I can with the 44mag barrel. I suggest that you don't go with any thing less powerful than the 44 due to the fact that you will most likely be shooting larger deer up there in Ohio. If you choose the 44 you will be using a very good catridge. If you buy a single shot pistol with interchangable barrels like T/C's contender or Encore then you can use straight walled rifle cartridges (i.e. 45/70).