All of the pioneers at some point experienced technical problems that were rampant during their eras. Larry Kelley, for example, had to shoot a brown bear six times with his .44 Mag at point blank range and it was his guide that ultimately killed the bear with a .375 H&H. Larry was loaded up with 240 grain jacketed hollow-points and he experienced total bullet failure, that changed his direction in thinking to heavy (300 grain) hardcast bullets. He had more "horsepower" than Razor Dobbs, but the bullet quality and construction and design just wasn't there yet. Ross Seyfried was completely unimpressed with the .44 Magnum in Africa on a variety of game, using the bullet technology of the time, because those bullets didn't deliver on the promise.

Jack Huntington shot a big bovine in the shoulder with his .450 No. 2 NE double rifle loaded with 500 grain round-nose Woodleigh solids and the bullet made a hard right turn upon entering the shoulder, and it stayed on the on-side of the animal -- a complete failure, despite considerably higher horsepower levels than any of the handgun rounds we are discussing here.

All bullet failures. Not issues with the firearms, the calibers, placement, velocity, etc., etc., etc. A caliber/revolver/load combination is only as good as its bullet.

The Barnes Tripple Shock made many calibers that would have been considered inadequate in the past, viable alternatives to more abusive and harder-kicking rounds. It is all about the bullets.