Used the .44 mag in the 70's at the start of the handgun silhouette days. Thousands of .44's went down range. Now I use a Ruger Redhawk 7 1/2" with a 2X on it. I have taken probably 10 deer with it. I practice at 100 yards on a 8" steel plate firing from field positions sitting, rests, and even prone. The challenge of mastering handgun hunting is, practice. I have fired the .500 and .460 and I would dare say to be effective, practice, practice. This equates to hand loading and finding the load it likes, not to mention extreme savings in purchasing factory ammo unless your life allows you to pay $55 US for 20 rounds. I found the recoil of a .500 more than the .44 of course, but you can learn to tame it. I did not find the .460 any more or less in recoil. While firing the friends .460 one day we went at it for a while until the front sight ....ummm...departed...Both the .460 and .500 were ported.

My longest shot, I am not ashamed to say was 66 yards with the 2X crosshair/dot. The .44 is very capable with good shot placement. I have acquaintances who use the .45 Colt for black bear and have taken 12 (at least) in their life as a husband /wife team. Hard cast and heavy, varying barrel lengths single actions, usually Rugers or Sevilles. They shoot silhouettes all summer and are very proficient with the handgun. They keep the shots under 50 yards.