True, many believe larger is better. The...can I say the word... :redface: ..inlines :shocked2: now come primarily in only .50 cal. and many beginners have been brainwashed into thinking that caliber is somehow magical. They want to do the Jim Shockey thing and knock down a big critter hundreds of yards across a canyon with their fake front boomer.
At ranges I kept a number of ball sizes in my box. If some guy started making fun of the tiny calibers, e.g. .40 and .45, I would wait until he walked away. Then I would set a .731 ball used in my Brown Bess on top of his muzzle. I would say nothing but the look on their face when they returned was precious. Never another word about guys using small calibers.
Enneyhow, I believe there may be a trend going back to smaller ball sizes. They require less lead and less powder. Both are comodities that are getting somewhat scarce and very costly.
BTW, I limit my deer hunting range to no more than 100 yards. My .45 will bring them down very nicely inside that. Over 100 yards it runs out of legs very quickly and, IMHO, is not humanely effective.