The last deer I killed was with the gun I happened to have on me. It was a Glock 17 loaded with some of those old nylon clad HPs. Not a very hot load but I hit him exactly right between the eyes.
I had to go to my parents house (I was visiting) and got Daddy’s Honda 4 wheeler. When I got back to the deer, to my surprise it was still moving. I had to shoot him again. It was a spike but really large. In fact so heavy I could not get the gambrel up without help.
My parents who both grew up on a farm did most of the dressing and cleaning. It turned out not to be very good and they turned it into sausage.
I determined then I was not going to kill anything else except for snakes etc. I am not opposed to hunting, I support it as it is good for the game to have pressure on it. I just no longer enjoy it.
I do still enjoy walking through the woods tho and want to have something in my pocket just in case. That is usually one of the little Hungarian copies of the Walther in .22 LR. The little thing is very, very accurate.
On a much more trivial level, a rabid raccoon in my back yard tried to charge me. He didn't get far because I shot him 3 times with my little .380 backup pistol . . . which I happened to have in my pocket while my .45 was sitting on the kitchen table. You NOTICE when you are carrying a .45, I forget I have the .380 on me.
Unfortunately the .380 stopped him, but didn't drop him. He ran off into the woods, but no doubt died soon after because he left a significant blood trail down to the creek, where I lost him. He won't be missed. I had to quarantine my dogs last year on account of a rabid raccoon.
But I think I'm just going to have to put up with the .45. He would have gone nowhere at all after 3 hits with that.