Most of those stories about "lead packing big deer" are the result of the nature of the animal and the circumstances under which it is frequently shot. All the worse of course the bigger they are..
A truly big whitetail is a once or twice lifetime animal. They are reclusive, smart, hard to see, and appear suddenly and usually not under the best of circumstances.
Shot opportunities are fleeting, frequently hurried and can occur at ANY distance from a few yards to as far as you can hit. If they aren't on the move they soon will be (count on it). You won't have much time to make the shot but if you hesitate he will be gone.
Under such circumstances, if you can react quickly enough at all, it's no wonder that, despite good intentions, shots are frequently not precisely placed, and human nature says that we think that more powerful cartridges provide some margin for bad placement.
It's a noble thought
But I am not sure it works.
I admit to being seduced by it myself in early years, but soon discovered that the real key is good field marksmanship because even the biggest bucks are very quickly killed by good bullets and correct placement from standard cartridges.
The Kansas bucks shown above were killed by the 6.5 Creedmoor at 250 yards (DRT); the 270 Winchester at 180 yards (DRT), and the 270 Winchester t 50 yards (chest hit scrambled 20 yards and kaput).
The best rifle you can bring on a trophy whitetail hunt is the one that you can hit a soccer ball sized target at reasonable distance,from field positions under a variety of circumstances.
So long as it's reasonable,cartridges are a secondary consideration IMHO.
