Nomercy

It's this kind of thing that gives hunting a bad name...yes it's important to consider how much stank you're carrying at a given range before taking a shot, but there are too many variables....first thing, your load isn't the same as the test load in factory ammo, sure it's close, but not the same. Secondly, you're not shooting THE test rifle under test conditions. Thirdly, that information is calculated from the muzzle velocity, so can not be regarded as accurate even under the test conditions.

There isn't a magic number you can just say that means you'll kill a deer or it will walk away, if you hit a deer in the heart with a .22lr, lucky to have 800ft.lbs. at 25yrds, the deer isn't going to say, hey, you only have 789ft.lbs. I don't think I'll die for that, but only 11 more would have done it. OR, you can hit a deer in the @$$ with 4000ft.lbs. from a .416 rigby, and it's probably not going to drop for days. Everything comes down to placement, sure it's good to consider that you might not have enough stank to make a bad shot, but if you make a good shot, it would take less energy to do the job. Hit them in the heart, and they're going down with even a measly 300ft.lbs., but miss terribly, and all the energy in the world will only wound them.

Screw the 10 ring, keep them in the zero!!!

Quilly

i think foot pounds is not really a big issue as well. comes down to where you put the bullet. just look at bow hunters 300fps. kills deer. just that it takes alittle longer for them to expire.