Pistol Caliber Selection

[jumbeaux]

Thought it might be interesting to see y'alls comments concerning Pistol Caliber recommendations. Purpose would be whitetail deer hunting (and plinking) within maximum ranges of 50 to 75 yards. East Texas whitetails average weight under 125 pounds. All loads would be hard cast flat nose. Would prefer using either PB or Unique Powders ( possibly lil gun ?)...handgun would be a Contender 10" or 14" barrel with low power scope. Considering either 30 Carbine, 45 Colt or 357 Magnum (currently shoot a S&W Model 28 4" 357 Magnum, a M1 Carbine and a Colt SAA)...looking for something fun, economical and did I say fun...please chime in with your favorite loads)...appreciate all of your views...

rick

[Wolfer]

I currently have pistols, revolvers in 22, 32 mag, 357, 44 spl, 45 acp, 45 colt and 44 cap and ball. Hands down my favorite is my new vaquero in 45 colt. I can shoot pretty powerful loads without earplugs. I don't except when I'm hunting of course. It's possibly my most accurate handgun, up close anyway. It handles MO. Whitetails very well. I've had it since they came out and the deer, coyotes and various other critters I've taken with it would fill a pickup bed to overflowing.
I went to a HP for deer hunting to get better blood trails but I can't tell it puts em down any faster.
I prefer the lee 452-255 RF for grouse and other small game. It just punches a hole thru and doesn't tear up much meat. I've taken several deer with this boolit @ 970 fps but blood trails are scimpy though not very long as a general rule. This is the most accurate boolit I've shot. The Keith boolit is not quite as accurate in my gun but hits deer with more authority. The end result is about the same though.
Penatration is not an issue with the solids.
For me this is one of the finest calibers ever made. Woody

[357maximum]

I would choose 357MAG 10 inch contender for your mission, I have made that very decision for myself actually. Stuff a 160-180 grain RNFP-GC in that puppy over some ALliant MP300 and be Merry. A nice used 357Contender BUll barrel (no choke/no octagon) is very handy, easily found, rahter inexpensive and quite effective , did I mention it is just plain fun? Mine wears a 2X Burris and I am tickled with the rig. No reason the good ol 45Colt would not do the same, but finding one of them barrels without that stupid 45/410 chamber is getting harder to do and they come with a premium that the 357MAG does not.

[Lefty Red]

Have to go with the 357 mag as well. Super cheap 38 special to shoot as well. Bullets and brass found everywhere.

Nothing against the 45LC or the 30 carbine either.

Lefty

[harley45]

357 as well plus most of the loads you work up will also work in that 28, which is my main deer gun here in Indiana

[jmort]

.38/.357

[Bzcraig]

.38/.357


Ditto for me too!

[Lonegun1894]

I have a Contender with 10" barrels in both .357Mag and .44 Mag, and the .357 is more fun. My .45 Colts are various Ruger revolvers, but I treat the .44 contender like a .45 Colt for the most part. I have taken deer with the .357 and the .45, and both work well. I would have to say the .357 will be more fun due to less recoil, allowing for more practice, and that same practice using less powder and lead, while still being very comfortable. If you however have any doubts about the .357 being enough gun (and I can assure you it is plenty, but had some doubts when I first started handgun hunting so understand), you may want to consider a .44 Mag barrel for your Contender. I know it is another caliber to load for, but they are much more common and cheaper than .45 Colt barrels, and quite possibly cheaper enough to fund the purchase of a set of .44mag dies if you don't already have a set. I would stay away from the .45/.410 barrels for your stated purpose, as the few that I have seen shot did not group nearly as well as the two standard .45 Colt (only) barrels I have seen, which are equal to my .44mag, and my .45C Colt revolvers. I have no experience with the .30 carbine, but have a .30 Herrett (which outperforms the .30 carbine) and it has worked very well for me also, but I have mostly used it on varmints and two deer, so not a good test yet. I use a 150gr Lee bullet in that one loaded to about 1750fps, and not sure how or if the .30 Carbine would do with that bullet weight. Best of luck, and I hope you get this gun set up in time for this season, but if not, you will have plenty of time to practice for next season. BTW, as to the .357 mag barrels, I have two of them. One set up with iron sights, and the other wears a 4x Simmons pistol scope, and I can't decide which I like better. I think I shoot these two .357 barrels about as much if not more than my .22LR barrel, if that tells you how much fun the .357 Contender is--and the price on them is usually much better than a .45 Colt Contender barrel.

[Crawdaddy]

I just got into Contenders and have several barrels. I have 357, 44 mag, 223, 30/30 AI and 45/70.

I have been pondering the same question. I have pretty much decided on 30/30. I'm shooting a 170 gr boolit powered by 16 grains of 4198. I also shoot 150 gr j words using 36 grs.

The 170 gr load is pretty mild but still plenty of power out to 100 yards. I am leaving for the lease tomorrow to hunt desert mulies and will probably use this boolit.

I'll let you know how it does.

My second choice will be the 45/70 with a 460 gr boolit. That has a pretty stout recoil but is manageable.

With my limited experience in mind, you may wish to experiment with those two calibers. Both shoot well. You didn't mention those calibers, not sure if you were looking for others.

[Larry Gibson]

+ another for the 357 Magnum to fit your needs.

I Contender handgun barrels of 10" or shorter in 22 Hornet, 32 H&R, 357 magnum, 44 Magnum, 45 ACP, 45 Colt and another in the 45 Colt/.410 combination. The 357 magnum barrel is very versatile and is certainly fun with the right cast bullet loads. It is also very deadly with the right magnum cast bullet loads. Just remember with a PB'd cast that the velocities will be much higher for a given load than in a revolver. Thus the PB'd cast bullet will give excellent magnum level performance with a much lower load.

Larry Gibson

[reloader28]

Well, I was going to say 357, but everybody else is already.
So I'm going with 44superdupermag. There is no way you can knock down a deer with something as small as a little old 357. Especially with cast boolits. Just aint gonna work.;):kidding:

[dragon813gt]

357 Mag
It's the most economical of the cartridges listed. And you already have a revolver chambered for it. I shoot 125 grain bullets for plinking. I use the same bullets for my 9mm pistols as well. And load a 359640 for hunting. Throw in some 158 grain SWCs and 148 grain HBWCs and you can run very light plinking loads to full power magnum loads. I cast and load for my 357s more than any other firearms.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
The smallest caliber I have used to punch holes through corn crunchers is caliber .375 Supermag in a Dan Wesson with the Lyman 375248. That load duplicated the old 38-55 load and did everything I expected. That is the smallest caliber I ever intend to use on deer in ILLinois. Course our deer get twice the size plus you are looking at to pop.
Every deer I know of that had to be tracked with dogs to find was shot with a caliber .357 magnum using a bullet of 158 grains or less. I know of few deer hit with the 180 grainers that did not properly expire. So I would recommend 180 grainers. I know others use less but generally they are not first time handgun hunters.
I would use that 45 Colt load you are confident and experienced with. It will do everything you want and you do not have to sit in the bushes wondering if you have enough in your hand to get the job done. Then you have another year to work with whatever you want to test and get confident with.
Next time I get north and can get a revolver lisence I am taking a Dan Wesson caliber .414 Supermag with a 280 grainer and thouroughly thrash the biggest ILLinois bean popper I can lay the sights on. I just like the knowledge no matter what deer I see I have the right item in hand to make it happen. If I can get two then the second revolver will be a caliber .475 Linebaugh with either a 320 or 400 grainer. Again I am a firm believer in hammering them hard.. at near 63 years old it just is little fun spending all day looking for wounded deer.
Mike in Peru

[runfiverun]

I'm a fan of the 45 colt and it's on your list.
but have you considered the 41 mag?
it's right in there tween the 357 and the 45 and is super easy to work with.
mild loads shoot pretty flat and super hard alloys aren't needed to get the job done either.

[white eagle]

I'm partial to the 44 mag
however like most I can't knock the 357 mag
as a matter of fact I will be carrying one at some point in the upcoming Wis gun deer hunt

[rush1886]

I'll add my fwiw, the 357! However, perhaps it's just the way my arms and hands are put together, I vastly prefer the 12" barrel. Better balance in my chubbies. It may be a small extra search to find one, but I like the 12". The NOE 360-180, gc or pb, is marvelous in the Contender. I shoot the gc variety myself. My gun, my hands, eyes and ears, I like IMR 4227.

[357maximum]

I had both a 12 and a 10 inch bull barrel at the same moment in time in 357....After using them both for awhile I chose to sell the 12incher and to keep the 10 as it just felt much more gooder er' to me :lol: .....different strokes for different folks.

[jumbeaux]

I never really thought about using my Model 28...it is a 4" barrel but other than the shorter sight radius (anyone ever scoped an N frame S&W ?...if so, results please) how much will energy (ft/lbs) will I lose ? Appreciate the input...

rick

[NVScouter]

I love the 45LC but if you already have a SAA and get the T/C you WILL make T/C Ruger only loads. I have 3 45LC in strong actions and have passed on many SAA clones because I'm terrified of mixing up a hot round into one.

357MAX or 44Mag is my opinion

[Southpaw 72]

I'll stick up for the 45lc. I blooded my OM BH this morning on a doe about the size of deer you have running around. I just prefer to punch bigger holes.That said, I don't think you can go wrong with the .357 on the contender platform.

[ironhead7544]

For hunting, I would go with the 45 Colt. You can still shoot it cheap for plinking with the cowboy bullets. 357 would be my second choice.

Personally, I would go get a 44 Special revolver. Will work for hunting and is a lot more fun for plinking than a single shot.

[Hamish]

I was beginning to wonder if anyone was going to mention the .41magnum! (next aquisition,,,,,:lol:)

.357mag, hands down. You're already loading for it, and, with the Contender, .357 Maximum load data can be used, and used comfortably. For goofing around it can be downloaded for minimal recoil.

That said, you run across basically any Contender barrel you've got a good candidate,,,,,,,


.30 carbine with a 110-125gr GC boolit? 311316? It's not like there isn't any info to be found on this site about it,,,,,

[marada]

i like the 44mag and a 300 grn LRFN boolit.

[TXGunNut]

Was going to put in a vote for the 45 Colt but the reasoning behind the 357 mag is very strong. My personal Contender Hunter is the 35 Rem, does that count since it can be loaded with pistol boolits? I took a nice E TX spike with it years ago but it hasn't been hunting since I started pouring my own.

[DanWalker]

I vote for 45 Colt. It is my all time favorite handgun hunting round. I wouldn't turn my nose up at a dirt cheap 357 mag barrel either though. I just find that when loaded to full power hunting levels, the 357 has an ungodly crack and sharp muzzle blast, all out of proportion to the killing power it is spitting out the barrel. You can kill just about everything that walks in the lower 48 with a 45 colt and moderate loads. a 250-300 grain boolit at 900-1100 fps is a combination that's tough to beat!

[1Shirt]

I would go with 347 first choice, and 45 Colt second. Either would do you well. Don't own a 41Mag, but have a friend who swears by it for deer, and think it would be great as well.

1Shirt!

[Bret4207]

357, dump the "hardcast" idea and use something in the 11-15 range, WW is about perfect in a nice FN or SWC of at least 160 grs. Lee used to catalog a 180 gr FN that is perfect for hunting IMO, but there are others that work fine too like the 358156. Not PB I know, but the darn things just plain WORKS!

[dragon813gt]

For PB pick up a MP 359640. That 170 grain FP hits extremely hard if pushed by a full charge of H110/W296.

[olereb]

My choice would be the 45colt or 44mag but can also see why you would choose the 357mag,cant beat the 45colt or 44mag in my opinion.

[9.3X62AL]

Not a T/C Contender owner/operator, can't help with that platform. I own three 357 Magnum revolvers and one 45 Colt revolver I would cheerfully hunt deer with, though--and have taken 1 deer with the 357 Mag. 146 grain Speer half-jacket SWC at 1350 FPS, the doe piled up inside 15 yards from a short-range shot into lungs & heart. The bullet exited, and made about a 1"-radius wound track that included a pulped heart. The 357 Mag is as small as I would go, and 160-200 grain boolits cast as soft-points would get the call these days. Bret's recommendation of the #358156 is a good one, though the lightest I would consider. Shots would be at or under 50 yards, also.

[felix]

From the looks of all the posts so far, it looks like the biggest diameter boolits are first in line, followed in succession to the smallest. All work fine, but with the boolit softness going up and well as the velocity as we work down to the smallest for the same killing power within the trajectory range. Considering the logic here, when using the factory 30-30s down through the 243s in killing power: 80 yard deer don't seem to have a chance. ... felix

[MT Gianni]

Deer to 100 yards and a Contender? I would pick 357 with 158 or greater weight boolits. 45 Colt with 225 gr or greater weight boolits and 30 Carbine with a minimum of 125 gr jacketed and 1500 fps. I would shorten the 30 Carbine range to 75 yards as I am not familiar with it in a TC.