.357 for deer?

[Savage10FP308]

I was looking around at the local shop and saw a nice 6in GP100 in .357. I asked to handle it and the clerk asked me "are you looking to buy a deer handgun?". I said no, I just like guns!:D I knew people hunted deer with the .357 and it certainly is powerful enough, but would this be a good gun to try this with? If so then how far out should I be expecting to drop an animal, and if not then what gun would be a better choice?

[Scorch]

I think with practice and a steady hand, you could reliably drop deer out to 50 yds with a 357 revolver. You need to work on shooting from hunting positions until you can keep your groups under 5" and then you are probably ready.

[mete]

A 44 Mag is about twice as effective as the 357. Practice, practice !!

[banditt007]

i think .357 mag is min handgun size for deer, much better off with a more powerful handgun. with the 357 i'd say you would really need to have some hard cast bullets so they dont expand and they will penetrate enough.

again shot placement is key you can kill it with a .22 short in the eye haha

I'd say a bigger hand cannon would be preferable.

Maybe use the .357 as a 'finishing off' shot on a deer.

[hoghunting]

A lot depends on how big the deer are where you are hunting. Here in the central part of TX, the deer are not very large- doe 80-90 lbs and a good sized buck might go 130 lbs. The 357 could be used out to about 80 yds and work very well with a well placed shot. I not sure I would try the same on a 250 lb deer.

[mikejonestkd]

A .357 is considered a "man stopping" round by the self defense crowd and it is considered the standard by which other revolver rounds are judged for stopping a 150 -200 lb person. logically in theory it should have a similar effect on deer sized game.
In reality it is adequate but a bit on the low side for deer, if you haven't already bought the revolver, consider stepping up in power to the .44. Use full house for deer and .44 specials for practice.

I watched a good friend empty his colt into a deer at 75 yards with 158 JSP's.
5 good hits ( Ribs/ lungs/ heart/ shoulder ) 1 poor hit ( flank ). The deer barely moved with each hit and still ran 100 yards.