I've been taking this new S&W 629 out to the range every Wednesday afternoon, and the fun just keeps getting better. I'm no Jerry Miculek firing it double action, but I don't do too bad shooting single action. Shooting single action, offhand I can keep most shots on the 15" gong at 50 yards with my .44 magnum loads and most shots on the 8" gong at 25 yards with both my .44 Special and .44 Magnum Loads. I also took some of my 1/3 ounce shot loads over to the Skeet field and had fun shooting the station 8 clay targets. These shot loads are made out of .303 British or .30-40 Krag brass that is cut to .44 Mag cylinder length and the rim trimmed to .44 rim dimensions. I've shot these shot loads for many years in my 7 1/2" Ruger Super Blackhawks, but for some reason they stick in my 629.
Hardcastonly, that's a pretty fair guide for first time pistol buyers that you posted.
"44 mag= 270 grain-320 grain
45 caliber -300 grain-350 grain"
I've only shot two big game animals with my pistols. Both were black bears in the 5-5 1/2' range on DIY spot and stalk hunts. The first was with a 220 grain cast bullet from my Govt model 1911 .45 acp., the other was with a 250 grain gas checked cast bullet from one of my .44 magnum Ruger Super Blackhawks. Both were one shot kills that died close to where they were standing when I shot them. Like Hardcastonly posted, "shot placement is the critical factor."