9mm for deer

NC HILLBILLY and buzz are wise men.

Not to belabor the point further, I think it's been hashed out pretty well, but:
If you look at various terminal ballistic research you will find that, even with modern expanding projectiles, most handgun calibers are not effective at stopping people. Time and again, the conclusion is that a bigger weapon (ie more energy, not necessarily caliber) is better.
There was a time when people carried .32's confidently. We know better now, and incidents end quicker as a result. That said, even a modern 9mm is not ideal for immediately stopping a threat unless you get a solid CNS hit. .380's are even frowned upon due to lack of sufficient penetration, although many people (including me) will carry them in certain circumstances since they are better than nothing.
Sorry to be long winded

Let's see:

115 grains at just under 1300 fps.

Same ballistics as the 1888 vintage black powder .32-20 from a 24 inch 1873 Winchester rifle.

The .32-20 was originally marketed by Winchester as a general purpose round for up to deer size game.

.60 caliber buckshot said:

Let's see:

115 grains at just under 1300 fps.

Same ballistics as the 1888 vintage black powder .32-20 from a 24 inch 1873 Winchester rifle.

The .32-20 was originally marketed by Winchester as a general purpose round for up to deer size game.

Click to expand...

Coca-Cola used to be laced with cocaine, didn't mean it was a good idea...

Looking further, in original 1880s black powder loads, the .38WCF pushed a 180 grain .40 caliber bullet to 1300 fps from a 24 " barrel.

A 21st century 10mm pistol could then be said to deliver the same ballistics as a 19th century Winchester .38-40 lever action rifle - in a convenient package that can be worn on the hip!

That is among the "no way in Hades" pistol sport or dinner hunting rounds for me, for medium to larger game.

Defensive round for such sized game - maybe. Survival round for such game - most definitely.

But I would never, ever use less than 10mm for sport or dinner hunting for medium or larger sized game. I do not relish the thought of anything dying for me. I would lose several nights of sleep if something I killed did not die instantly. Especially for sport or just a tasty dinner.

9mm is an adequate defensive round against humans, where the goal is simply to stop a threat, and "suffering" is an afterthought. But it is (along with .40S&W and .45ACP) a very questionable sport hunting round).

When you shoot a deer it doesn't look down at the blood pouring out, or it's sudden difficulty in breathing and think "oh crap, I've been shot" and then sit down. They run as hard as they can to get away from whatever spooked them until they pass out from lack of oxygen to the brain. Kind of like shooting someone on PCP. You really can't compare the two.

Apex Predator said:

When you shoot a deer it doesn't look down at the blood pouring out, or it's sudden difficulty in breathing and think "oh crap, I've been shot" and then sit down. They run as hard as they can to get away from whatever spooked them until they pass out from lack of oxygen to the brain. Kind of like shooting someone on PCP. You really can't compare the two.

Click to expand...

True dat (at least on the last part). Ever pepper-spray a dog, heck-bent on killing something, point blank (right in the eyeballs?) (at zero range), with some very, very good pepper spray? Well, I have. Zero effect. Absolutely zero. Spray is worthless for dogs or bears, in my book. Same effect as with an animal shot (or people on high octane dope). But I never want anything not intent on killing ME to suffer. One bit. I get zero pleasure from the act of killing anything.