Good questions. My buddy Keith's .75, with a .735RB weighing almost 600gr., dropped perhaps 90% of it's moose in their tracks, yet always exited until the last 2 shot with it with much reduced loads. They too dropped in their tracks or perhaps took a step. The shuddering and staggering of the beast is really something to see - and Hear. The big balls smack pretty hard, sounding kinda like smacking a rug with a broom - a real whack or whock sound. If bone is struck, you can actually hear a 'crack" after the impact sound. My .69cal. 480gr. balls never exited, as the off shoulder always seem to get in the way, stopping the ball under the hide. I don't know if they'd exit on a true broadside shot or not. I doubt it, but with the .75, Keith dropped to 120gr. just to keep a ball inside. His normal 200gr. charge exited every time, from many angles. The moose that went up to 50yds after being hit, were ones already wounded by his friends with TC maxiball slugs from their 'stainless' "Hawkens". Bloody Hell.
: Anyway, with the big balls exiting, I am certain the thought of dumping energy is a fallacy, just as the fpe #'s seem to be.
; The .69 calibre ball, started at 1,550fps, impacting at some 90yd. to 100yards, made 3" to 5" round holes through the lungs which seemed to bleed out instantly. I assume the shock wave is what make the large holes as the ball rarely expanded to more than 7/8" and the WW balls expanded not at all, yet there were the holes in the lungs, 3" for WW balls and 5" for pure lead ones.
: Shoulders had no bloodshot meat of course and we lost only a handfull of bloody meat from the shoulder that might spoil is hung for a week in mild weather, so it was cut out.
; The term I used should have been pole-ax and in dropped at the shot, or stook, side sort of caving in - it's something to see for sure. Even a .54 RB, which many think is a big ball, will make a moose dash off as if not struck, even with it's much higher impact velocities than the bigger balls. I can see why Forsyth preferred the .14 bore and above, with the .69 being his favourite. It has enough power for the beasts of chase and the trajectory seems to be the most favourable as well (this is important) "with loads that are easily shot from the shoulder without excessive recoil".
: I should note that holes torugh meat are about bore size without destroying the tissue around the hole. "Eat right down to the hole", as Elmer Keith used to say of his large bore rifles.