I have killed deer easily with 45 ACP handguns which were generating around 300 ft/lbs of energy on impact. THey actually harvest deer very well, WHY??
Because the bullets I used, Rem Golden Sabers, are designed for this speicific velocity range and they performed perfectly. The bullet had enough weight to fully penetrate the vitals and do plenty of damage to quickly harvest the deer.
That said, I took very close shots, no more then 30 yards and was very confident of the shot placement.
1000 ft/lbs of energy is far more then is needed to kill a deer. The trouble is in saying when X amount of energy will kill a deer and when Y amount of energy will not kill a deer.
Shot placement is key, that and what is required by law of course.
Don;t get caught up in kenetic energy, it can be very misleading if you use that to predict a bullets game taking potential.
Kirby Allen(50)