Some years back I hit a 150 pound doe with a .44/300/XTP at less than 20 yards, from a 5 1/2" Redhawk. I'd chronographed the load at 1310 fps and shot it into enough water jugs, wet-pack etc. to know it would expand well within the first hundred yards.
Everything was perfect... I was sitting in a low tree stand, the doe stopped, and the front sight settled exactly where the shoulders meet the spine. My press-off was perfect. What I didn't count on was the yearling that snuck up behind her and shoved his cold nose under her udder.
My 'perfect shot' turned into 'How the #&@**$ did she get over THERE??' She took off at a sprint down a 200 yard grown-up waterway, towards some woods with a big creek running through them. I thought 'I know I hit her good' and bailed outta the tree to pick up my deer.
I immediately picked up a bright red blood trail, high on the brush she passed, so I figured '50 yards tops'. 45 minutes and 275 yards later, I found her dead in a creek bottom a full 300 yards from where I shot her.
I learned that she moved as I shot her, and I hit her a good 5-6 inches behind the shoulder, right under the spine. The bullet had still expanded which was evident from the quarter-sized exit, and it clipped the major vessels along the spine. I learned something from that.... if you hit them too far back, you are in for a tracking job. I've found several dead deer in the woods over the years, lost by the folks who shot them in almost exactly the spot I hit that doe.
I've got a few rounds of Leverevolution (or whatever you call it) 30-30 laying around here but Ive never killed anything with it. I'm quite happy with the Sierra 150 over 34.0 grains of H4895 or Winchester's Power Point factory load. I do use the Nosler 150 BT at 2940 from a 30-06 and at 220 yards, it still smashes deer like Thor's hammer.
Assuming a good hit