Do I believe it

[armednfree]

A guy I know, long time caster, told me he killed a deer with a Rossi 92 in 357. He said he used a powder coated 125 grain Lee TL boolit and 20.5 grains of H110. Looking at the manual that's would be around 2000fps. He said the deer was about 60 yards away mostly broadside. First round broke both shoulders and stopped under the hide. He said it was flattened and beat up but still intact. He said his second shot taken while the deer was on the ground went just above the heart and exited the other side.

Thing its he's a coon hunter and like most he can pull a pretty long yarn. Coon hunters put fishermen to shame in that respect.

I put together some of those loads. Using my Rossi 92 we will see what they can do.

[Thumbcocker]

Boolit placement kills deer. That load would not be my first choice, I prefer heavier boolits and bigger diameter, but a lot of folks regularly take deer with .357 handguns and levers.

I would not call bs on that story at all.

[RU shooter]

I’d call it possible . That load and speed is similar to a 45 cal round ball (128gr)from a muzzleloader and have seen my dad kill quite a few doe with similar results meaning flattened out ball and no exit

[Bigslug]

I tend NOT to doubt him.

Going by the approximate age range most on this forum seem to be in, we all grew up with a conventional wisdom for what bullet weight you needed based on the performance of jacketed, lead core, expanding bullets. This is the school of thought that for .30-06 would assign 180 grains to elk, 150 grains to deer, and 130 grains or less to varmints.

For solid copper expanding bullets and non-expanding or more gradually expanding cast, those rules don't directly apply.

I've done rows of milk jugs with cast where everything about the load is exactly the same except the alloy and had the penetration jump from three jugs to nine.



Both are a 130 grain .32 WFN at about 1250 fps - pretty tame compared with what your Rossi load will be churning out.

[rbuck351]

I don't find his story at all out of line from what I would expect from that load. What part do you find hard to except?

[G W Wade]

Lots of people have strange ideas on what works. Maybe something their dad or grandfather told them , possibly some odd shot the took that worked. Local guy used nothing but 90 gr in 270 W for deer. Buddy in Colorado dumped an elk with 125 JHP from 357 Mag. Actually common, but not to the majority of experienced shooters like us LOL GW

[Cosmic_Charlie]

MSM on this board has taken four deer this season with a Federal .327 mag out of a gp100 revolver.

[alfadan]

People kill deer with sharp sticks, so I believe him.

[armednfree]

Unchecked powder coat at 2000 fps. I know people say it's fine but it's outside my experience.
I guess I learn today, headed for the range with that exact load. I made damn sure that coating cured the entire 20 minutes. My short cooked ones work fine for under 1000 fps, don't want to try that with these. Got a bit of a lesson when I pulled some bullets. The coating came off at the crimp. Worked great for 38 spl, maybe not so much for 357.

[Scrounge]

People kill deer with sharp sticks, so I believe him.

And I was told long ago (for me) that there have been more deer taken with a .22LR than all other cartridges combined. I absolutely cannot swear it's true, but sure can't swear it isn't, either.

Bill

[Hickok]

I was standing right beside a friend with a S&W Model 19 4" barrel loaded with 125gr HP's,....a big doe came out of trees at about 40-50 yards. He pulled up, two-handed hold, bang! Deer took a big jump, ran about 30 yards and piled up. Through and through, behind the shoulder.

I like heavier bullets/bullets in .357, but that 125gr jacketed hp did perfectly that day.

[SSGOldfart]

It's shot placement clear and simple.

[Hickok]

Unchecked powder coat at 2000 fps. I know people say it's fine but it's outside my experience.
I guess I learn today, headed for the range with that exact load. I made damn sure that coating cured the entire 20 minutes. My short cooked ones work fine for under 1000 fps, don't want to try that with these. Got a bit of a lesson when I pulled some bullets. The coating came off at the crimp. Worked great for 38 spl, maybe not so much for 357.

Please post your results with a PC plain-based boolit at 2000fps. I have always been curious about how fast a un-checked PCed boolit can be pushed, as to accuracy and leading.

[popper]

I shoot a 145gr PC @2k fps from 1:10 18" Ar15. MOA.

[Froogal]

And I was told long ago (for me) that there have been more deer taken with a .22LR than all other cartridges combined. I absolutely cannot swear it's true, but sure can't swear it isn't, either.

Bill

I can swear it is true. Saw it with my own eyes. Granted it WAS a lucky shot because it almost missed, but hit the spine almost dead center between the front and the rear shoulders. The deer dropped like a rock.

[armednfree]

Well, the results are in. 20 round through the Rossi 92. Accuracy was not good. Good enough I guess but nothing to be excited about. Plus at the lowest setting the gun still shot 8" high. The bullets were It's a smoking load, no question about that. Accuracy was nothing to write home about, bad enough that I may not explore it further. But at that with my eyes it could have been me. If I do it again Ill move to 25 yards just for the sake of a better sight picture. I find a 2-1/2 inch orange bull a bit difficult to hold on consistently.


As a side note I also shot the Lee 166 powder coated with 16 grains LiL-Gun. Accuracy was just OK in the rifle, 2-1/2" at 50 yards. At 25 yards with the 4" GP-100 I blew the 2-1/2" centers out of my target. A stout load for sure. I'd like to see a different nose on it but I think it would work OK for deer in either the rifle or the handgun.

On examining the rifle I could see a real faint shade of blue in the barrel, almost undetectable. On cleaning both guns not a single spec of blue. Normal dirty patches with no color.

[Bigslug]

What are you using for metal?

At speeds north of what can be attained with black powder, you'll want to be hardening things up considerably. Oven heat and water quenched wheelweight come immediately to mind.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

And I was told long ago (for me) that there have been more deer taken with a .22LR than all other cartridges combined. I absolutely cannot swear it's true, but sure can't swear it isn't, either.

Bill

You know how they tend to stare at you....put a .22 right in the Adam's apple and that pole axes them supposedly.

[MT Gianni]

From the doubts you have and what you have related the range seems the most likely to be stretched by a known storyteller. The load seems fine.

[waksupi]

Well, the results are in. 20 round through the Rossi 92. Accuracy was not good. Good enough I guess but nothing to be excited about. Plus at the lowest setting the gun still shot 8" high. The bullets were It's a smoking load, no question about that. Accuracy was nothing to write home about, bad enough that I may not explore it further. But at that with my eyes it could have been me. If I do it again Ill move to 25 yards just for the sake of a better sight picture. I find a 2-1/2 inch orange bull a bit difficult to hold on consistently.


As a side note I also shot the Lee 166 powder coated with 16 grains LiL-Gun. Accuracy was just OK in the rifle, 2-1/2" at 50 yards. At 25 yards with the 4" GP-100 I blew the 2-1/2" centers out of my target. A stout load for sure. I'd like to see a different nose on it but I think it would work OK for deer in either the rifle or the handgun.

On examining the rifle I could see a real faint shade of blue in the barrel, almost undetectable. On cleaning both guns not a single spec of blue. Normal dirty patches with no color.

No need for "smoking" loads. Shoot your most accurate load.