Man some of you guys think you have to have a hand cannon to kill a deer. i have killed four deer in my life with a 357 mag. s&w 686 4" and a 6". 125 sp bullet. i will testify to it's lethality. one did a 180 and hit the ground. i have seen all fall. i have a 41 mag but havent hunted with it. i have a 44 mag dont hunt with it either. the fbi released a list of most lethal handguns for law enforcement several years ago . the 357 mag had the highest one shot kill rate of any other carried duty weapon. you say it was popular then ,no, more dept's carried 38 spl +p ammo in 357mags. a deer is about the size of a human (probably lighter than some)it doesnt take a cannon. what caliber has been responsible for more killed people? the 22lr. bullet placement means more than anything.i have seen deer shot with 300 win mags run for a long way from a poor shot. i will defend my favorite hand gun caliber, go for it coot. just practice and practice more.