Originally Posted by
eldeguello
This minumum energy BS is just that. Bullet performance is more important, and shot placement is everything. My 54 caliber Hawken will not produce the minumum energy usually specified, but the big ball will take deer cleanely if I put the ball in the right spot.
I've dropped a doe in her tracks at 338 yds with a 200gr .40cal ML bullet leaving the muzzle at 2050fps....arriving with around 500-600 ft-lbs of energy. Complete pass-thru, DRT.
Bullet placement is 1st. Bullet performance is 2rd. Energy is somewhere on the periphery for larger-caliber projectiles.
The people who tought 1000 ft-lbs as a "minimum" are probably the same jokers I saw on a hunting show stating that a 300 Winchester Magnum was the minimum cartridge acceptable for whitetails. You don't have to gut a deer with the shot to kill it.