is the 357 mag

[white eagle]

adequate to hunt deer sized game with
yes I know all about shot placement just wondering if anyone has any first hand
hunting knowledge with this cartridge ??
I mainly use the 44 mag and 45 colt but I have access to a 357 as well
thought I may work up a hunting load for it IF its up for the task

[subsonic]

No, the class IIIA fur on a whitetail is impervious to all .357 ammo.

[white eagle]

so what would be considered a good hunting weight boolit in that cal ?

[SP101GUY]

The Lee 158RF works great for me, but I shoot them in the head.

AJ

[44man]

I don't like it because it is too bullet construction specific. The right bullet works, the wrong one will fail.
Everyone says bullet placement but good luck shooting off hand so you need a scope and a rest for every shot.
I have no time to work out stuff with the little gun so it drops deer from 10 yards to 100 every time.

[Char-Gar]

Meplat is the name of the game for take down of deer with cast bullets from handguns. The .357 will work, but the 44 and 45 will work better. I don't know why anyone would choose the .357 over the 44 or 45 if they have the choice.

[bigboredad]

Hey isn't your son going to be mad if you take back is present:kidding: I have no experience so i can offer nothing but my opinion. I think a heavy bullet with a good sized meplat would be the best choice again just a opinion. Have you talked to Tom he might know what would work the best and you know he can build the best

[spqrzilla]

Can you kill deer with a .357 Magnum? Sure. But its probably pretty much on the bottom of the range of adequate cartridges. In Colorado, the handgun power requirements in the regulations pretty much forbid its use. And like Chargar I don't think its the best choice.

[MBTcustom]

I think that .357 mag loaded with 200grain boolits with a hot charge of powder would be just fine for close range work (>50yrds) on small sized deer, especially if you are shooting with an 8" barrel. Most of the deer here in Arkansas don't get much bigger than 150lb. I would also use a boolit that has a flat point or maybe a hollow point.

[19112TAP]

Ranch Dog is coming out with a mold for the Marlin 357 that will have a large meplat soon, I got one of the first ones and have been working up loads for my Marlin 1894c and also my Ruger Bisley and so far this boolit has some promise. You can find a post on here in the levergun area that shows the boolit and some hogs he was able to take with them.

[9.3X62AL]

Exactly one whitetail with the 357 in 1984, and the critter went DRT. Bullet used was the old-school Speer 146 half-jacket HP, and it went through-and-through. The load wasn't monster-strong, likely 15.0 grains of WW-296 or thereabouts. The revolver LOVED that bullet (6" M-586).

I'm playing around with a BisHawk x 357 Magnum and using Lyman #358156 run to 1550 FPS or so. Such loads are marked on the base with red Hi-Liter to keep them AWAY from my 19 x 2.5", 686 x 4", or pre-27 x 6.5". RUGER ONLY. These are also loaded "long" and crimped into the lower crimp groove, and Ackley-level powder-pouring with WW-296 and Alliant 2400. These loads did well and appeared safe in winter temps, but I want to try them at 100*+ before pronouncing them "safe" in my Bishawk. I won't give out load data, sorry. It's rated "R" with gratuitous violence, though extraction has been effortless to date.

[Ohio Rusty]

My wife uses a 170 grain HP GC NOE in her contender. Plenty of medicine with good bullet placement. Placement is the key with any caliber.
Ohio Rusty ><>

[white eagle]

Meplat is the name of the game for take down of deer with cast bullets from handguns. The .357 will work, but the 44 and 45 will work better. I don't know why anyone would choose the .357 over the 44 or 45 if they have the choice.

is that the copper thingy on the back ?

[MBTcustom]

No, grasshopper, the copper thingy on the back is a gas check. The meplat refers to the flat nose and how big it is. comes from the french, when they tried to say "flat"they got their "muh" mixed up in there.:razz:

[songdog53]

Yes, you can for can kill a whitetail with 22LR but i perfer the 44mag because hunt in brush and want it to either hit ground there or if runs will be leaking good. The round will do it's job if you do yours and enjoy it and be careful.

[Bass Ackward]

People lose perspective.

Many here would be embarrassed to say that a 30 caliber, 160 grainer at 1800 fps wouldn't kill a deer.

Yet feel no regret saying that a 35 at 1600 fps with a 160 grainer isn't enough.

Strike velocities below 1200 fps should be avoided. Go from there.

What you do during the reloading and load development process is the key. Discipline during use is the difference maker between success and failure.

[Whitworth]

As long as it is loaded correctly (this applies to every firearm you choose), and you do your part, it is adequate. JMHO.

[44man]

As long as it is loaded correctly (this applies to every firearm you choose), and you do your part, it is adequate. JMHO.
That is the key! Take a .30 with a pointed hard cast, it is a paper punch. Flatten the nose, it is still a paper punch. Oh sure, hit the CNS and it will kill, so will a stick. There is velocity so make the boolit expand without a loss of penetration and things get good.
A .357 is not much larger so the meplat has not improved yet. Make it heavier and still not much with a hard boolit so you need some expansion but velocity is lower then a rifle so you can't go too far or penetration is lost. The boolit is only as heavy as the lightest .44 that is not good at all either with cast or a quick opening jacketed. (The light .44 cast has a better meplat.)
Fast opening .357's will not penetrate either.
A balance must be found and that will change a lot for each animal size.
That makes the caliber very hard to work with.
It sure will kill but don't expect everything you shoot to drop or leave a blood trail. DRT means a CNS hit, can you do it?

[sixshot]

Years ago I took a couple of mulies with a 150 gr Sierra JHC, no problem but always felt it was marginal. I have a friend who's taken several black bears with his but the shots were close & he could place the slug right where he wanted it.
One of the better known gun writers uses one quite often with Federal factory ammo & a 180 gr jacketed slug from an 8" revolver & has taken many whitetails with it. The answer is, it will work but there isn't much margin of error. There are better calibers out there.
This is one place where a softnose 357 slug works great, it gives much more expansion & will also give the needed penetration.

Dick

[Larry Gibson]

As long as it is loaded correctly (this applies to every firearm you choose), and you do your part, it is adequate. JMHO.

Concer with that. I've killed numerous deer with a .357 using numerous different types of ammuntion. I do not concur with the heavier bullets being the best. The quickest kills with heart/lung shots using 4 -6" barreled revolvers came with 125 JHP/SPs at 1450 - 1600 fps.

Using cast bullets a 358156 cast of 16-1 Lead Tin alloy, HP'd with the Forster 1/8" HPing tool to 1/3 - 1/2 the nose depth and loaded to 1450+ fps in a 6"+ revolver makes for a very deadly deer load within 100 yards if you can put the bullet in the heart lung area. The several deer i've shot with this combination have all been one shot kills and the deer went down very quickly with minimal travel. All wound channels showed excellent expansion of the bullet and were through and through. There was no evidence of the nose blowing off the bullets.

I have no problem handgun hunting deer with such a combination in a 6"+ barreled revolver or a 10" Contender or cabine for that matter. Even if I had to shoot a deer with a 4" barreled revolver my concern would be bullet placement as always, not whether the .357 cartridge is capable. Additional caliber size, recoil and muzzle balst can not make up for poor bullet placement.

Larry Gibson

[USSR]

I don't like it because it is too bullet construction specific. The right bullet works, the wrong one will fail.

+1. I have shot 2 and 1/2 deer with a .357 Magnum (6" M686). In all cases, the ammo used was Winchester's 145gr Super-X Silvertip. On the last deer (the 1/2 deer), the deer was shot by another hunter and came over to me and laid down under the tree stand I was in. Thinking I would dispatch the deer for the other hunter, I shot the deer in the back to one side of the spine, in an angle that would enter the chest area. The deer promptly got up and ran off, and I am left thinking ***? This was first thing in the morning, and in the afternoon after lunch, I went back to the same general area to hunt. Along came a deer that I quickly dispatched with my shotgun. In dressing out the deer, I found a .357 slug that had mushroom and failed to penetrate the heavy gristle plate of the back. Needless to say, I changed my load selection after that year. In MHO, the .357 Magnum is a marginal deer cartridge, and I have since moved up to a M25-5 .45 Colt with heavy handloads that I believe will work much better.

Don

[white eagle]

you need to use cast
I would not even consider using a factory made jacketed bullet
in any handgun but your story reaffirms that assumption

[Bass Ackward]

I don't like it because it is too bullet construction specific. The right bullet works, the wrong one will fail.


Is this the 357 you are talking about or 240 XTPs in 44 Mag. I'm confused. :grin:

Use the wrong anything in any caliber and shoot in the wrong place and it is likely to be disappointing.

I'm telling you that with Obama in there and the current debt situation, you could probably get a good deal on one of the Missouri's 18" guns.

Put a handle on that and light up your world.

[358wcf]

I know this might be the wrong place, but- Yes, I've taken exactly 6 Calif Coastal Blacktails (smallish deer) with my 357Mag IN A 24" RIFLE BARREL. All were 158gr JHP Winchester factory loads clocked at 1850fps at the muzzle. Clean, one shot kills out to about 120yds- Would I try to take those same shots with a 6" revolver? NO WAY! My accuracy with the handgun isn't there beyond perhaps 50-60 yds, and energy isn't there, either.
The handgun is a hunting tool at short range, with a heavy, flat-nosed lead bullet at moderate velocity, used by an expert marksman. Stretch the range, and youre asking for trouble.
I carry a handgun when I hunt as a weapon of opportunity, not as my primary tool. The rifle or shotgun is my hunting tool of choice, but I still prefer to carry a revolver as well. You just never know-

358wcf

[44man]

Is this the 357 you are talking about or 240 XTPs in 44 Mag. I'm confused. :grin:

Use the wrong anything in any caliber and shoot in the wrong place and it is likely to be disappointing.

I'm telling you that with Obama in there and the current debt situation, you could probably get a good deal on one of the Missouri's 18" guns.

Put a handle on that and light up your world.
Now c'mon Bass, the .357 of course is the hardest but I give no praise to the 240 XTP either. Better in the .44 special.

[Piedmont]

Along came a deer that I quickly dispatched with my shotgun. In dressing out the deer, I found a .357 slug that had mushroom and failed to penetrate the heavy gristle plate of the back.
Don
For years I have read of the gristle plate on hogs. Now deer seem to be growing them. Evolution. It prevents hunters from killing deer.

[white eagle]

seems to me there was a fella named after an insect that was kinda fond of the 357 mag
may have to look him up see what he says

[USSR]

For years I have read of the gristle plate on hogs. Now deer seem to be growing them. Evolution. It prevents hunters from killing deer.

So, you got a better name for the heavy, suet-like plate on the back of a big, fat doe?

Don

[bhn22]

I have been solemnly assured that 44 magnums are not enough gun for deer, and that at least a 454 Casull is a sensible minimum for deer 50 yards & under. I suggested that either caliber would be plenty, especially at 50 yards, if my tormenter would quit shooting them in the ass.

[Groo]

Groo here
The 357 will take deer BUT first you must hit correctly,[ most shoot good enough
to do this], you must drive deeply [this means heavy for cal bullets ]
and I would limit the range. 50yds or less.
The shot would be a shoulder shot so as to hit bone and break them down.
[ lose meat but don't run as far]
The bullet should be between 158 and 200 if cast [ adj to the size of game]
And Hp's tend not to be a good thing as most are designed for bad guys,and
deer are different..
The thing is that the 357 will KILL well but how FAR will you track the game???

[rintinglen]

Somewhere in the 20th century, deer got a lot tougher! The last venison I ate came from a nice 150 lb 4 point western count buck killed with a 357 and factory ammunition at 25 yards (estimated.) Is it a cross Country 600 yard elk killer? No, maybe not, but witin the limits of most handgun shooters, certainly within mine, it will kill white tails. It's not my first choice, bigger is usually better, but in these days of the second great depression, you make do with what you have. Having seen wounded deer hit badly with much larger guns still dying days after being hit, I votes with those that argue in favor of placement.

[GP100man]

Patience & disepline is a must for any hunter !!!

It`ll kill .

I feel boolits in the 160-170 gr. is a must for larger game , any heavier & ya can`t push em hard enuff out of a 4-6" revolver .

[Changeling]

For years I have read of the gristle plate on hogs. Now deer seem to be growing them. Evolution. It prevents hunters from killing deer.


No deer aren't growing grissle plates silly, that was Bass riding bareback, so to speak, LOL! :p


Just kidding Bass!

[1Shirt]

For rifles and as a hunting blt, really like the Ranch Dog which casts right at 190 sized and lubed from my alloy. Thing it will handle grissle plates of 4 legged venison to at least 100 yds.
1Shirt!:coffeecom

[bob208]

i took 2 with a 358429 over 11.5 gr 2400 in .38 cases. in a 6.5" blackhawlk. both were 1 shot kills.

[pmeisel]

The 357 will do the job if you do yours.

[dgslyr]

I shot a little 8 point once with a 38 spl. wadcuter.About 25 yards away really intent on working his scrape.The commercial wadcutter went in one side and out the other thru the lungs.He ran about 20 feet staight into an oak tree and fell over.No doubt knocked insensible from his collision with the 2 ft. in diameter oak,he bled to death before he could regain consciousness.It was my Dads Colt that I thought was loaded with 357 mags,but in the dark I didn't check to see what loads were in it.

[Dannix]

I shot the deer in the back to one side of the spine, in an angle that would enter the chest area.... In dressing out the deer, I found a .357 slug that had mushroom and failed to penetrate the heavy gristle plate of the back. Needless to say, I changed my load selection after that year.
Could you elaborate on the old load Don? Just curious what it was.

[BOOM BOOM]

HI
First I have never done it.
I prefer the 44 mag.
OK DISCLAIMER MADE.
My friend Wade has done it 2 times.
Jerry Lister has killed over 100, lives in one of THOSE STATES JUST OUTSIDE OF HEAVEN, uses the American Eagle 158gr. sp load.
He says to keep shots 50yds. & under.
I did terminal ballistic tests on a road kill Mule deer. 158 cast shot through chest, shoulders,& hips of deer from a 6 &1/2 " Blackhawk, at 25yds.
146gr. Speer HP shot through the chest.:Fire::Fire:

[pdawg_shooter]

Years ago I read an article about a fellow who got run up a tree by a cape buffalo. He ended up killing it with a .357. Took all the rounds he had but he got it done. A 150/200 pound deer? Not a problem that I can see, IF YOU HIT IT RIGHT. I have never done it but many have. If that was all I had I wouldn't go hungry for sure.

[RugerSP101]

adequate to hunt deer sized game with
yes I know all about shot placement just wondering if anyone has any first hand
hunting knowledge with this cartridge ??
I mainly use the 44 mag and 45 colt but I have access to a 357 as well
thought I may work up a hunting load for it IF its up for the task

I havent deer hunted in years, but for me the 357magnum is just this side of underpowered for big game.
Id rather overkill than be skirtin the edge of inadequacy.
Just an opinion.

[Blammer]

adequate to hunt deer sized game with
yes I know all about shot placement just wondering if anyone has any first hand
hunting knowledge with this cartridge ??
I mainly use the 44 mag and 45 colt but I have access to a 357 as well
thought I may work up a hunting load for it IF its up for the task



Yep.

.

[btroj]

What is overkill? I find overkill hard to define. Underkill, however, is much easier.
I would prefer not to use a 357 in a revolver for deer. A lever gun makes it much more viable. It still is on the small side for my preferences. Maybe that is why I use a 45-70?