My Friend, The .357 Written by Skeeter

[Dale53]

Just so there is no misunderstanding;
I am a believer in a handgun caliber that starts with a ".4". In my case it has always been a .44. My favored field pistol caliber is .44 Special. However, all of my deer have been taken with a .44 Magnum and my home cast bullets (using a Lyman 429421 or an H&G 503 - essentially, the same bullet (except my last deer was taken with the Lee C430-310 RF that I and Frank Siefer designed. Despite the fact I have had .357's since I was age 14 (70+ years ago) and have used them extensively on edible small game for years with excellent results. I have never shot anything bigger with the .357.

That does not mean they won't work on deer and hogs. Skeeter was always fully credible in my eyes. I only met Skeeter one time, at the NRA Convention, and we didn't talk long. I own and have read all of his books and he "tells it like it is". A .357 is my bedside companion. Using factory loads, the .357 can be considerably more effective than my beloved .44 Specials. However, using my own cast bullets, the .44 can be VERY effective.

Just because I favor the .44's, does not mean I look down on the .357 as a choice.

I have really enjoyed this thread as people have just expressed their opinion and people remain Ladies and Gentlemen on this forum, in general.

.357 has some very nice attributes - one is the fact that .38 Special's mostly work well in the typical .357 handgun. One of my favored field loads around this part of the country is the .38 full charge wadcutter. It is EXCELLENT on small game (lots of stopping power without excess damage) and quite comfortable to shoot all day long.

But, I like the .32's, also, so keep that in mind(:>)).

FWIW
Dale53

[robg]

22rf and 357mag are so useful and adaptable .no excessive recoil/noise accurate inexpensive to shoot whats not to like?

[derek45]

here it is, in it's entirety

http://www.darkcanyon.net/MyFriend_The357.htm

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[TNsailorman]

Thanks Derek, I just printed the article. He was one of the few writers that I trusted back in the day. james

[dangitgriff]

Thank you, Derek.

[Low Budget Shooter]

I made it through the last shortage of reloading components on an 8-lb can of Red Dot. Skeeter's load of 5.0 grains Red Dot in 357 worked GREAT for me.

[ddixie884]

Can't go wrong with Skeeter...........