What would be an ethical shot distance for deer and bear with a .357 and 45 Colt?

[huntersdog]

I'm thinking about 75 yards on deer with the .357 Mag and 50 yards on black bears with the 45 LC. Wha6t you're thought?

I really love the lever action in 357 in the 45 Colt and I want to start hunting with them even more and also for small game too.

[Texas by God]

I completely agree with your range limits.

[MyFlatline]

I would say you are not giving the 45 colt a fair shake. When shooting mine into my bullet trap, it is the only caliber to reach the back steel. While it is not a fast bullet, it take a lot to stop it. I shoot a 255 gr.

[Shawlerbrook]

I agree. 75 yards sounds like a very reasonable limit.

[sharps4590]

I'd cut them both off at 50 yards.

[jmort]

I see a lot of people going 100 yards. Range is 0 to whatever you can shoot properly.

[NSB]

I'd give them both 100 yards if you can place the shot in the vitals and resist taking an "iffy" shot. I have a lot of bear in my area but I don't shoot them. I let friends hunt them on my place and a few have been taken. Most are around 200-300 pounds, not as big as most people think. I've shot over fifty deer with the .357mag in a handgun and another nine or ten with various .357 rifles. Expansion with a handgun really drops off past 75 yards even with the fastest loads and the rifle gets you another thirty to forty yards with reliable expansion. Note: I've never lost one with the .357mag but I never take a shot too far and I hunt the same way I would with a bow....only shoot when I know I can put the bullet in the vitals.

[veeman]

I shot a Doe with my Ruger Blackhawk 45 Colt at 103 yard, DRT! First handgun deer was with a 357 mag, also a Blackhawk. 65 yards, bang/flop! Shot placement, boys!

[GhostHawk]

Whatever range you can put 9 out of 10 into a 3" circle.

Both calibers IMO with good loads and assuming decent shooting are capable further than what you posted.

The .45 colt handi barrel you sold me stacks them into a roughly 1.5 inch group at 100 yards. Put that 200 + grain bullet where it needs to go = dead bear very quickly.

But to me the limiting factor is what you can make the round do with your loads in your rifle.

NOT terminal ballistics.

But maybe I'm crazy as a loon.

[jmort]

I shot a Doe with my Ruger Blackhawk 45 Colt at 103 yard, DRT! First handgun deer was with a 357 mag, also a Blackhawk. 65 yards, bang/flop! Shot placement, boys!

This.....

[OverMax]

Ethical distance?_~_ Under 100 yards. > for both.
Although I'd put my mola down on the old 1873 Colt holes mak'ins ability to stretch that 100 yrd ethical distance a bit further.
(Squinting my shooting eye a littl.) I'm thinking the 357 cartridge would be hard pressed to match.

[GoodOlBoy]

Ethical distance is limited by several factories, it's not just a number.

Number one is can YOU make a clean, accurate, pinpoint shot at X distance. I've seen and known old guys who can drop a deer at a hundred yards with a 22 long in an old single shot (despite rimfire not being legal for deer in Texas). I'm talking old men (most of whom are now gone) who ate this way during the depression. Flip side is I have seen and known guys who couldn't hit a deer at four yards with both barrels of a shotgun fired at once. I'm not trying to shame anybody by saying this. Some folks just ain't good at it. I've seen people who could out-shoot me on a paper target that couldn't hit a deer or squirrel if their life depended on it, and I've seen guys and girls who can't hit paper that can clean drop a deer every single time.

If you feel that YOU can only make a good clean shot with X caliber at X distance. Then at least you are setting YOU a reasonable distance. That is what counts. Ballistic-ally (despite folks claims) those rounds are capable of cleanly taking game at what we would consider to be staggering ranges, but the person who can do it is rare. I know I shot some calibers (30-30, and 32-20), and cleanly taken deer, well beyond what folks consider reasonable these days. And I know that these days I can't see well enough, and my hands ain't steady enough, to try those shots again. Sounds like you have set yourself a reasonable goal. Stick with it, have a good time, be safe, and take home some meat and hide!

Anyway God Bless, and One Love.

GoodOlBoy

[Groo]

Groo here
Put up a paper plate, shoot off hand 5 shots.
If all 5 hit , step back and repeat.
Continue till you miss one, the last target is your limit.
If that is not far enough, start practicing.

[35 Whelen]

The ethical distance is the distance at which you can consistently place a bullet in the vital area. Either cartridge out of a rifle is far more powerful than the same load out of a revolver, and folks have been killing deer with those caliber revolvers for decades.

I personally have killed three deer and one hog with .44 Special and 45 Colt revolver that were from 44 - 48 yds. A rifle will easily double that distance. Killed a sow at 50 yards last December with a .357 carbine and a cast HP.

35W

[smkummer]

If you can hit a 8-10” steel plate at 100 yards consistently with 45 colt, I wouldn’t pass up that shot. Since this is posted under lever guns, we are assuming your shooting a rifle. Good chance your shot will be 40-75 yards anyway.

[MyFlatline]

I'd say you should be able to do better that 8 to 10 inches. I do this at 60 yards all the time with my Henry.

227723

[indian joe]

I'd say you should be able to do better that 8 to 10 inches. I do this at 60 yards all the time with my Henry.

227723

Is that off a benchrest or standing offhand with buck fever????????

[greenjoytj]

Is that off a benchrest or standing offhand with buck fever????????

Off hand with buck fever, that’s the real test of the hunter accuracy capability. All firearms can group it’s shots tighter than a person can hold it. I can make very tight little groups when bench resting, but to make similar sized groups off hand standing I would need to glue the target to the end of the barrel. Next time you all goto the shooting range try a few shots standing unsupported free hand for a reality check on your real shooting capabilities.

[MyFlatline]

Off hand with buck fever, that’s the real test of the hunter accuracy capability. All firearms can group it’s shots tighter than a person can hold it. I can make very tight little groups when bench resting, but to make similar sized groups off hand standing I would need to glue the target to the end of the barrel. Next time you all goto the shooting range try a few shots standing unsupported free hand for a reality check on your real shooting capabilities.

I beg to differ, Not all rifles are tack drivers. The target posted was from load development, pretty consistent off of a front rest I'd say. I don't shoot targets off hand, I shoot gongs. If I can bang the 3 incher I'm happy. As for testing buck fever, film that for me..

[sghart3578]

Off hand with buck fever, that’s the real test of the hunter accuracy capability. All firearms can group it’s shots tighter than a person can hold it. I can make very tight little groups when bench resting, but to make similar sized groups off hand standing I would need to glue the target to the end of the barrel. Next time you all goto the shooting range try a few shots standing unsupported free hand for a reality check on your real shooting capabilities.

Maybe,

But almost every deer I have ever taken was from some kind of support. Either a log, the hood of a truck, etc.

Only one was taken standing un-supported. He stepped out 35 yards away. Not exactly challenging, even for me.

And you may or may not believe this, I really don't care. But I have never experienced buck fever before the shot. My huntin' buddy doesn't either. But I do get the shakes after I walk up to them and start looking them over.


Steve in N CA

[indian joe]

Is that off a benchrest or standing offhand with buck fever????????

I shouldna wrote that comment - that target is fine shooting with open sights no matter what you were leaning on

[Hanshi]

All the deer I killed with various 357s were 50 yards or under. I felt confident enough to stretch that quite a bit if needed. I did kill a buck at 90 yards with my .44 mag

[wv109323]

The answer lies within your ability to accurately place a shot and the load you are using. With factory ammo I say 50 yards is about right.
The 45 Colt can be uploaded in a strong modern action. The .357 Mag. with WW296 powder and a 125 gn. bullet may approach 2000 fps in a rifle. So stretching the shot out beyond 50 yards depends on what you are shooting.

[Seeker]

Here in Pa., if a bear comes within 100 yrds. of me, I'm gonna let the air out of his lungs with my .45 colt Henry BB with a c452-300 rn being pushed with 22grs. of H110.

[Old Two Wars]

45 Ruger new vaquero 255 gr lee flat point 15 yds from tree stand 400 lb black bear,Rossi circuit judge 160 gr lee flat point 50 yds whitetail doe. Make good bullets shoot often put them in the right place= food

[Drm50]

If you are old enough to have been around when magnum revolvers started being popular, you should remember that they were power house killers on deer and similar game. According to the gun
writers. Same writers list these cartridges as marginal when used in carbines. I'm not going to argue
about practical range for deer. There are to many varibles, the biggest two being the rifle and person
shooting it, not the cartridge.

[MT Gianni]

Somewhere on this site is a pic of a cow elk killed with one shot from a Rossi 92 inn 357. Bullet was the Ranch Dog 175. Set the limits you need for yourself and the weight of the game you hunt. Will there be snow for tracking if you miss hit it? Will it weight 250 lbs or 95. How close are you to keep out fences? Will you not shoot if it is after sunset but still legal light? What ever you do don't base it on what some guy said on the internet, but on your load research.

[megasupermagnum]

I figured I'd add some numbers into this. A factory 158 grain from a 4" revolver is about 1250 fps (handloads can be much faster). Nobody would dispute that as very effective to at least 50 yards. From a rifle, that is going about 1740 FPS, it still has 1230 FPS at 175 yards according to Hornady ballistic calculator. I realize BC is most likely lower with the higher velocity, but the limiting factor here is accuracy.

[dragon813gt]

My personal limit is 100 yards w/ a 357 rifle. Revolver would be shorter because I wouldn’t feel confident at 100 yards. I honestly can’t tell you the last time I shot a deer that wasn’t w/in bow distance. In most areas I hunt you can only shoot about 20 yards because the words are thick.