I am and always will be a fan of the .45 acp. But in the days before the "Humane Society", we cops in rural areas had to put down a lot of feral dogs. I recall one in particular, only about 35 pounds, but mean as a snake and it wasn't about to give up on the deer carcass it was guarding. My shot with a 1911 Series 70 using ball ammo was square into the side of the brain pan and I expected the dog would be bowled over. Instead, it stiffened and remained standing for about 5 seconds, before tipping over like a frozen statue.
With car struck deer, I invariably used a carbine so I don't have much anecdotal information to offer there, except one instance where I used a Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 mag. The deer was dragging it's hind legs and trying to make the woods and my shot was behind the shoulders, quartering away at 20 yards or so. It dumped her as good as any deer rifle could...but she was already traumatized.
