[Hellgate]

JC5503,
I would not take that gun whitetail hunting unless you can stick the muzzle in the buck's ear and pull the trigger. It could kill a deer but you may have to track it for a long time. You are probably going to have ballistics somewhere less than a 38 special. A .357 magnum is considered minimal for handgun whitetail hunting. Some states set minimum muzzle energy requirements and that gun won't do it. Even if you loaded it up to 30grs powder the short sight radius would not let you get a good aim unless real close and a few 30 grain loads might shoot the gun loose by pulling the arbor out of the frame. The 200gr conicals can be loaded off the gun but they generate more pressure and drag as they go down the barrel which can pull the arbor loose over time. A Remington fully stoked or a Dragoon or Walker would be a better choice. The Walker has a 9" barrel, holds about 55grs powder under the ball and shoots like a rifle (I have TWO!). I know there are people out there who have killed deer with less and may have shot all kinds of heavy loads from their brass framed Colt but, geeze, I have enough trouble getting one with a scoped '06 let alone a snubbie C&B and a ball flying at about 600-700 fps.