I carry an xd-m .40 in a chest holster during deer season as a second weapon but I'm not necessarily out there to shoot a deer with it, unless they decided to give me a very close shot, like 10-15 yards and in, and it would be easier to get the pistol on target than a long gun. It works well to put a second shot in a deer, say if you spine shoot one and its still kicking around, it does a much cleaner job than a near point blank second shot from a shotgun or muzzleloader. I had a doe a couple years ago that got hit a little far back, and after tracking and bumping her out of a brush pile, the .40 cal put her down at about 35 yards, clean pass through, dropped in her tracks. The round is stout enough, but it takes a LOT of shooting to get good enough with an auto to use it as more than a backup.