357 versus deer

[Noreaster]

The handi rifle you showed was very hard to find in Maine a couple of years ago. The folks at KTP couldn't keep them in stock. I was told that fathers were buying them for their kids, along witha 100 pack of 38 spl. The kids shot the 38 specials all summer, (couple of hundred packs,) and then they switched to 158 or 180 grain 357 magnum deer loads before the season. Soon enough the dads found the rifle to be very "handy" and they were buying red dots and scopes and everything else. That was the rifle to have and they still fly off the shelves to this day. I think with the rifle velocities you would be better off with a JSP or a real quality JHP made for hunting.

[SHR970]

I must have missed the memo. I have dropped a 3x3 mullie with a 158 gr. SP and a 6x5 mulie with a Sierra 170 JHC out of my GP100 6". In the nasty conditions I was hunting in I was unable to bring my rifle to bear. In both cases I shot into the boiler room. In both cases I didn't have to go far to get my animal. These were the only two I shot at with my revolver.

Too many people don't spend time shooting free hand. Too many don't practice for the long shots; by that I mean 100 yards or more. Learn to shoot the label on a 2 liter bottle at 100 yards with consistency. If you can do that you can drop a deer with the proper ammo.

[BiggDaddyBrown]

Would either of these two loads be adequate for deer out to about 75 yards? The one on the left is a Blazer Brass 158 grain JHP. The one on the left is an American Eagle .357 magnum High Velocity 158 grain JSP.

Why yes I think that both of them round's are an excellent choice.

[Deaf Smith]

Get your 5-6 inch .357 and use Buffalo Bore .357

https://www.buffalobore.com/

3. 5 inch S&W model 27

a. Item 19A/20-180gr. Hard Cast =1398 fps
b. Item 19B/20-170gr. JHC = 1380 fps
c. Item 19C/20-158gr. Jacketed Hollow Point = 1457 fps
d. Item 19D/20-125gr. Jacketed Hollow Point = 1543 fps

Do plenty for deer if you hit right.

Deaf

[GeauxTide]

I'm not form Missouri, but I'd have to see your 45 LC load blow through an 8" pine tree. Evidently Alabama pine trees are not as stout as the ones we grow here in SC.

Yep, there genetically modified to allow easier clear cutting for coal mines. But wait, they did the same thing in Louisiana!

[Jack O'Conner]

If a 357 MAG hunter restricts his shots to typical archery distances, he can kill just about anything that walks.

Jack

[Sarge]

Win73, either of those loads should be fine from your little NEF.

A) Putting down injured animals and B) shooting frisky, healthy ones in their own element is two different things; I have used handguns to do plenty of both.

I can honestly say that the one deer I shot under B was an utter failure rooted in my own inexperience at the time. I shot way too far (hit both times) and used the much-touted 110 grain ammo of the mid 70's. I've since seen several deer shot with hot SWC loads and I wasn't impressed; but again none of those were perfect shots.

If I was deer hunting with a 357 today, I would load it with 180 XTP's, running ass fast as prudence allowed, and I wouldn't take any raking shots. I'd aim for the heart or the spine at the shoulder and I wouldn't shoot past 50 yards, period.

[mega twin]

I'm not form Missouri, but I'd have to see your 45 LC load blow through an 8" pine tree


Depend on diameter,or circumference,I would say.

[Sarge]

It will do it, megatwin. I used to load 325 grain hardcast LBT's over however much H110 that Hodgdon #26 said you could get away with in a (5 1/2") Ruger Blackhawk. Shot them through an 8" utility pole and they exited with enough velocity to bury halfway into a native oak 2x8 leaned against it.

[solocam72]

A good friend of mine that's a deputy sherrif swears by his ankle carry ruger sp101 .357 magnum for dispatching wounded deer, I asked him about the fancy kimber .45 auto on his hip, he said not even close! As a handloader and owning many of both calibers I already knew the .357 magnum was the hands down winner, he said he had shot a couple different deer over the years with his .45 auto and had to put more than one in them, (I'm sure they weren't the best placed shots) after a couple bad experiences he started using the .357 mag exclusively. My brother watched a cop shoot a charging rottweiler several times in the frontal area with a .45 auto and the dog turned and went squalling heading back home and on to its porch! Everybody in the barber shop in town witnessed this event. I also know that officer well, I asked him what the hell happened? The weapon used was his .45 auto service pistol, he told me with it charging him he couldn't get a good solid head shot so he pumped as many rounds in the front of the dog as he had to to stop the situation! The dog had to be put down when the owner returned home from work

[Sarge]

My brother watched a cop shoot a charging rottweiler several times in the frontal area with a .45 auto and the dog turned and went squalling heading back home and on to its porch! Everybody in the barber shop in town witnessed this event. I also know that officer well, I asked him what the hell happened? The weapon used was his .45 auto service pistol, he told me with it charging him he couldn't get a good solid head shot so he pumped as many rounds in the front of the dog as he had to to stop the situation!

BTDT with a 100+ pound Pit/Mastiff mix. Didn't even see the damn thing until it was maybe 16' out and it was boom-boom time by then. Took 4 to bust him down/turn him and 1 for the finish... .40/165/Golden Saber from a G-22.