I put the 41 mag as a minimum, 41 mag, 44 Mag, 45 Colt and 454 Casull are all great hunting rounds. Any of those you choose would be a good choice.
Ruger Redhawk

I' ve had a 454 Casull, 44 mag, and 357. For my money my 7mm-08 Encore is the hunting handgun and best handgun hunting caliber (if I can' t kill it with this I need a Rifle to hunt it). Of the " traditional" handgun calibers I' d go for the 44 mag, most people can learn to deal with the recoil, and you can use 44 spec for lighter game. Just my 2cents.

Gordon

for me it' s the .44 mag. If you reload you can " heat" up the .45LC ( if you have a blackhawk or contender) and then it' s quite a round. I' d like to try a .454 someday.

recoiljunky, interesting link, but not quite correct. The cartridge being referred to on that webpage as being short Colt is actually the 45 S&W (45 S&W Schofield). Although you can fire a 45 S&W out of a 45 Colt, there would be no reason to rename either. The proper name is and always has been 45 Colt. Refer to Cartridges of the World 9th Edition by Frank Barnes.

45 Colt is the correct name for that cartridge.On the other hand allot of the gun manufacturers list their guns as 45 Long Colt (45LC).If you go into the Speer #13 reloading manual it shows it as 45 Colt. Years ago when I first found interest in guns, I mentioned to a old friend I had bought a 45 Long Colt.He corrected me that it was 45 Colt.Not that it really matters. The name 45 Long Colt is embedded for some reason in people' s minds. Not saying it' s correct but for the most part we know what cartridge is being talked about. Call it what you wish.To me it will always be called 45 Colt and not LC.
Ruger Redhawk

I have a box of new W-W brass marked .45 LC. not .45 Colt.

Yeah, the names of cartridges is far from an exact science. Consider the 44 mag / 44 special. They should' ve been named 43 mag / 43 special.

NEHunter , That maybe but that doesn' t make it correct.Ruger for one says 45LC describing their revolvers chambered in 45Colt.I imagine so many call it LC that these companies are following suit. Either way it' s good old cartridge and will be around for many years to come.
Ruger Redhawk

Since I have no earthly need to try and impress anyone, I' ll stay with the 44 Mag Redhawk.

A lot of folks find the 44 mag redhawk impressive.