[44 AMP]

I recall reading, many years ago, Keith writing (either in Sixguns, or one of his articles) about how the .45 Colt would penetrate the weathered 1 inch planking and bury the bullet base flush in the 2x4 frame of an old outhouse, at 700 yards.

Never tested it myself, but if true (and I rather suspect it is) that is enough penetration to create a lethal wound at that distance. Not enough guarantee a humane kill on large game at that distance, in my opinion, but certainly enough for that at half that distance.

I've spent a couple decades plinking at 200yds distance with a 7.5" Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt, mostly offhand. I feel that I could humanely take deer at that range, with that gun and load, under the right conditions. But I wouldn't attempt it, unless my family were starving and that was the only way of feeding them.

The equipment is capable of it, but most shooters are not. With a scoped gun, properly rested, it becomes much simpler, especially with a flatter shooting cartridge. But even then, it is beyond the current capabilities of the majority of handgun shooters.

I believe anyone with decent eye/hand coordination could learn how to do it (provided they had an open mind about it), but the majority of shooters aren't able to put in the time (practice) it takes to gain the skill, and then master it. Long range shooting at fixed targets is fun, but its more of a "let's see if I can" thing than anything else. And, in my opinion, something that shouldn't be done with standard hanguns as a hunting practice.

With a scoped high intensity pistol, a couple hundred yard shot on a standing animal is not at all unreasonable, and many do it successfully every year. With an iron sighted "carry" gun, it's much more difficult, and not something I would advocate as sporting.