Which Single Shot Cartridge for Deer??

[ohiochuck]

If I want to use a single shot handgun for deer hunting, which cartridge may work best- Accuracy using a scope, recoil, and range? Is anyone using a .375 Winchester, 40-65 Winchester, 45-70, etc.? In Ohio I am limited- must be .357 or larger cal, min. 5 inch barrel, must use a straight walled case-tapered case is OK (no bottleneck cart.) Ohio still refuses to face allowing these cartridges to be used in a centerfire rifle.

[Hickory]

The 44 mag will do the job very well, up to 100yds.
If you want more, 500 S&W will work too.

[Dale53]

My choice, given Ohio's limitations, would be the .44 Magnum without question.

A good Keith or WFN or LFN bullet of sufficient weight (my choice is a 250 Keith) will take any Deer, Hog, or Black Bear within 100 yards if the hunter is a good shot.

After all, many of us has done that with a revolver chambered for the .44 Magnum and the single shot should actually give a bit more velocity (no barrel cylinder gap).

I have a couple of TC actions and several barrels, so I have shot them a good bit.

FWIW
Dale53

[Blammer]

357 Magnum, 44 magnum 41 magnum, all are very good choices!

Pick one you can shoot well and load for easily for lots of practice and you'll bring home the meat for sure.

[PepperBuddha]

.45-70 in Ruger #3. Must load your own. Factory loads are too light...

[NickSS]

For Ohio I would pick either a 44 mag or a 45 colt and if you can shoot it with accuracy something like the 454 casuel or 460 S&W. Anything bigger makes it difficult to obtain accurate placement of your shots unless you are a well practiced pistol shooter.

[Lead Fred]

45-70 Because...

They dont wibble...

They dont wabble...

They just fall down:Fire:

[GabbyM]

38-55 or 375 WIN to shoot Lyman #375449. Cast from a soft alloy around BHN 8 to 10. Shoot it at around 1500 fps. You might also consider a hollow point mold. Trajectory and retained energy will be much higher than 44 mag. About 22 gains of 2400 powder under that 265 gain bullet will get er done. I don't know how long of a barrel you'd need but whatever you like.

[S.R.Custom]

When I lived in Ohio, the regulations on handgun cartridges were even more restrictive than they are today. The desire to have the most powerful cartridge allowed in the field led me to the .445 SuperMag.

While you guys now have a broader selection open to you, the .445 SM is still a very good choice. And the neat thing is, if you already load for the .44 Mag, you can load for the .445 SM with zero additional expense. 'Cept for brass, of course.

[mooman76]

I would probably chose 45LC if I was starting from scratch but the others mentioned are good too.

[Wayne Smith]

I"ll agree with Gabby, especially if you might have some longer shots. Scope the pistol and you should do all right. If only w/in 100 yds then any of the above suggestions fit.

[pmeisel]

I have used 357 with success. I would consider a 44 or 45 if I owned one.

[redneckdan]

there are quite a few fans of the .357 max in southern michigan.

[2shot]

Most of my handgun hunting is with a scoped TC Contender with a 12" Hunter barrel and in 44 mag. My state has the same restrictions on handguns as yours. I'm very happy with the 44 and I can hit the black of a B-2 target every time with this TC at 100 yards when I do my part. To date my longest shots have been 120 yards and 127 yards checked with a lazer rangfinder. Even at these longer ranges the deer I have hit just drop in their tracks.

I have been on a quest lately to find another cartridge to shoot for handgun hunting. I have a spare TC Contender frame that I would like to start useing but I haven't decided on what caliber. In my state we can use anything 30 cal and up as long as it's avalible in a factory load that produces at least 500 fpe at the muzzle. No restrictions on lenght as long as it's a straight wall cartridge and no bottleneck over 1.4". I can shoot the 300 Whisper as a bottleneck and I'm thinking hard about that. Other choices are like yours, 357 Maximum, 375 Win 45-70. The 357 Max looks good and seems to have a loyal following. I like the 375 Win but I have heard that it's hard on Contender frames. The 45-70 while a great cartridge seems to me like a little to much for handgun deer although it certainly would work if you could handle the recoil.

My vote would be the 44 mag, 357 Max and the 375 Win and not necesarily in that order.

2shot

[GabbyM]

[QUOTE=2shot; I like the 375 Win but I have heard that it's hard on Contender frames.
2shot[/QUOTE]

I'm sure you could loosen up a Contender with heavy 375 Win loads. Looking in the book I see rifle loads with 255 grain J bullet over 40.5gr AA2230 at 2045 fps and 48,500 C.U.P. That looks like a very nasty shooter in a pistol but I'm sure some guys like it that way. Probably makes good substitute for a flare gun in a pinch too. Over on the cast bullet side of the page loads look much more suitable for pistol. Which is why I previously mentioned 22 grains of 2400 under the 264 grain Lyman bullet. I don't know what pressure that load would run at but I'd think it would be less than a 44 mag. While you can fill the case clear full of RX7 or IMR3031 such loads would seam ill conceived in a ten inch or so pistol.

The 38 calibers lend themselves to shooting soft expandable boolits quite well. Bullets are long enough to mushroom half way down and still stay together. Plus the cartridges look cool in your belt loops. Or you can pretend to be practical and say they're easier to load with gloved hands than the short fat ones.

[part_timer]

We've used the 357 Max the last couple of years with no problems out to about 90 yards so far. I like it because it is easy on powder and the recoil is very manageable. I've also used the 375 win to kill a couple. Either of them will do a great job if you put the boolit in the right place.

[2shot]

I'm sure you could loosen up a Contender with heavy 375 Win loads.


Sorry I should have said that this is what I have heard but don't know if it's true or not. I know you are right, I'm sure I could loosen up my Contender with hot 44 loads too. Maybe it's just a rumor from single shot haters.:veryconfu

Out of the three cartridges I mentioned the 375 Win would be my first choice and I think ohiochuck should look into this one. Plenty of bullet weight and fps with somewhat of a middle bore with good SD to keep the velocity up at longer ranges and could be used for game much larger than deer if needed. I would like to hear more about those people that hunt with the 375 Win and I'm sure that ohiochuck would too.

2shot

[Gunfixer]

The original "first generation" contenders did not have as good a metallurgy as the second, third and g2. You could "loosen" them with a steady diet of heavy loads. I have 2 of the "second" gen frames that have shot who knows how many rounds each from 22lr to 45-70 including 375 win, 444 mar, and 375 JDJ and am unable to discern any deviance of tolerances. I shot 2 full years of silouhette with the 375 win after beating my head against a wall trying to get a 35 rem better than 2" @ 100. I was using sierras 200 J-word and I forget how much IMR 4198. Factory ammo shot 2" @ 100yd, loads with the bullet seated to touch the lands shot 1 big ragged hole. I never shot a deer, but it stomped a 200 lb pig. Velocity was just over 2000 fps. I sold it to get the 375 JDJ.( am working with the lyman 375499 in it and a 375 H&H #1)

[Doc Highwall]

You can also get this on a Encore frame but it is not as small as the contender frame for the grip. I have both and the Contender fits my hand better. I would suggest try both at a gun shop first to see what you like for your hand. I am not going to trade my Encore because you can put more powerful cartridges on it like the 6mmBr, 6.5mmBr and, 7mmBr that I have it for.

[jimb16]

I'm in Ohio and I use a .44 Mag with a 240 gr SWC PB or a .45 Colt with a pb RN. Either works well for me. BTW in my Contender, I can bounce pop cans out to 100 with the .44 mag.

[Johnch]

I took a deer with my 45/70 14" Contender here in Ohio this year
Topped with a Bushnell 2-6 x 32 scope

I load 36 gr of 4198 behind a 320 gr soft cast boolit and get almost 1600 fps

Off the bench this load will do sub 2" at 100 yds

I found this load , the recoil is easy to handle

And it has ruined 5 or 6 deer's days over the last few years

I have never had less than perfict results out past 125 yds


But if I am hunting the timber , with close shots
I take the 44 mag

John

[Groo]

Groo here
I am also a Buckeye any legal cartridge from a 10 in contender will work..
I used my 45-70 SSK this year[can you say overkill] but have been looking for a 357max
10 in or so as the best for size weight flat shooting and power [Ohio deer arn't THAT big and
shot THAT far]

[Doc Highwall]

My two choices are the 357 Max shooting something like the RCBS 200 gr FN or the 375 Win. shooting Lyman 375449 264 gr FN.