Suppose you have a 44 or 45 caliber handgun firing a properly constructed 240 to 250 grain hollow point bullet, and you're hunting white-tailed deer. Odds are, you'll want to push that bullet fast enough to expand properly and do its job. But how fast is enough? At what point does the gain in recoil and muzzle blast exceed the potential gain in killing power?

Why am I asking? Well, my particular 45 caliber fires a 240 grain bullet in excess of 2000 fps, but I'm not sure that's necessary for the deer around here.

No, in all honesty I was just wondering what the (much) more experienced handgunners than me might think. And it might come in handy if I eventually get my hands on that 45 Colt Bisley . . . .