Mythbusted! .357 Magnum 125JHP on Deer

[wild willy]

Back to the thread where were you aiming on the deer? A liver shot is not far from a gut shot.Now away from the thread shooting a deer between the eyes with a .22 won't kill it (not right away anyhow)anybody who has butchered any livestock knows between the eyes is too low.Go get one of your european mounts and hold it like a deer holds it heads and tell me where a shot between the eyes goes it not into the brain.

[Deja vu]

I agree. In the past when I butchered cows we would shoot them right where the hair on there forehead made a spiral. We would use a 22 short on them. Took them down every time.

[Elkins45]

More deer are taken, (er rather poached) with a .22lr than just about any other round

How do we know this?

[buck460XVR]

Originally posted byElkins45:

How do we know this?

Maybe the author of the post is just telling us his kill ratio, eh? Otherwise, since hunting deer with a .22LR is illegal in the majority of states where deer hunting is allowed, he is trying to tell us that poachers take more deer than legal hunters. Whadda you think?

[DannyB1954]

I had a house adjacent to the Stanislaus National forest. Come hunting season all the deer would be in my neighborhood. You could sometimes hear a .22 go off, and you just knew someone was filling a freezer. All the Elmer Fudds would be in the forest.

Personally I am too lazy to hunt, and If deer tasted better than cow, we would be raising deer instead of cow.

[GeauxTigers]

You must not be eating the right deer, cause I find mine taste much better than cow.

+1 for the 125 grn 357 on deer. I've been shooting them for years in my Marlin lever carbine and within a hundred yards the deer might as well skin themselves cause they're going in the freezer. Probably killed a dozen deer with it in the last ten years and only had one go further than 30 yards, and it left behind a blood trail that looked like it was put down with a 5 gallon bucket so it wasn't so difficult to track. Hell, until I read this post I had no idea that my bullets weren't as good as the heavier slower bullets

[buck460XVR]

Originally posted by GeauxTigers:

Hell, until I read this post I had no idea that my bullets weren't as good as the heavier slower bullets

Goes to show you what a great source of information the internet is. Hell, till I read posts like these, I had no idea I was one of only a handfull of folks in the world that ever had to trail a deer more than 30 yards.

[GeauxTigers]

I didn't mean that I have never trailed any deer further than 30 yards, just the ones I've used the 357 on, and that may be a hyperbole, but if it is its not by much. It probably has more to do with shot placement than the bullet itself doing anything magical, I'm just saying I've never had any reason to believe that that particular load was in any way inadequate for deer sized game.

[Brotherbadger]

Nice kill.

[buck460XVR]

I'm just saying I've never had any reason to believe that that particular load was in any way inadequate for deer sized game.

Nobody here has said anything about it being inadequate. The debate is only if it is the best choice over other options out there. Most 125 gr JHP bullets meant for .357 are for SD/HD use and not large game. They are also designed to expand at velocities much lower than what is produced in carbines. If they work for you, great...... but they are not what I would recommend first when asked for a .357 hunting bullet. There are just too many better options out there

[jimbob86]

Maybe it's an optical illusion, but that looks like a very small deer. Don't get me wrong, that is the best eatin', but I think that thing is not topping 70 lbs dressed.

I do not doubt a 125gr XTP launched at over 2200f/sec passed all the way through that.

If the animal in question weighed 220 pounds live weight, the results might very well have been different ...... and there are darn few hunters that could pass up a shot at the buck of a lifetime because they did not bring enough gun.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

Another 125 bullet and another deer in the fridge. Small buck full pass though.

He ran about 25 yards and dropped within eyesight. No tracking required.

[tahunua001]

I've taken does with 147gr gold dots from a 9mm... dropped her right there. gold dots, xtps, just about any bonded bullet is going to hold together well enough to do a great job as long as you pick your shots.

and also... why didn't you start your own thread instead of resurrecting a 2 year old thread.

[kcub]

I killed a mule deer buck with a 125 jhp. Neck shot did not pass through, drt. I'd not use it again though because I want it to break through bone and exit.

But it was a 6" Python

[Sevens]

Good God man, IT IS HIS OWN THREAD!!!!
Sheesh! Lol.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

I did load a soft point this time. The rifle gives it so much power I'd be surprised if one ever got stopped.

[kcub]

125 JSP is better. Congrats, where'd you hit him? Range? So it passed through? Did it hit bone?

[Gunplummer]

I don't care what you hunt with. I was looking at the ratchet set up on the pole. Is that like something you use to drag a boat on a trailer? I have been using a come-a-long for years, but sometimes depending where you are at, the come-a-long is not short enough. That ratchet looks like it would work great in a low ceiling garage.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

The ratchet is great. You only lift 25% of the weight.

He was about 50 Yards out and moving. I got him right in the liver. It looked like a grenade went off inside. Entrance and exit holes were small. The only bone that could have been hit was a rib bone.

[Slamfire]

Threads like this are just great. When someone can show that they are having success with a particular load, we can all learn.

Most deer in my area are actually small, a 120 pound deer is a good sized deer. According to gunwriters, cannon shells will bounce off these deer, and yet, the OP is doing quite well with a 357 Magnum rifle.

[Unlicensed Dremel]

Lots of deer have fallen to .22lr - is .22lr a good round for deer, too? You tell me.

One anecdote doesn't in any way disprove the truth that a 125s are less-than-ideal, in the opinion of most who know.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

Lots of deer have fallen to .22lr - is .22lr a good round for deer, too? You tell me.

One anecdote doesn't in any way disprove the truth that a 125s are less-than-ideal, in the opinion of most who know

First of all my deer haven't required any tracking. Shoot a deer with a .22 in the body and you'll be tracking.

Second, this isn't the first deer I've taken with this load so it's not a one anecdote like you say. I'm not sure how many deer I have to shoot with this to prove how devastating it is but if luck is on my side I'll keep bringing them home.

[sfwusc]

Come on folks. There is a huge difference between .22lr and .357 mag.


In my ER rotation during pharmacy school the only gun shot death I saw was with a .22lr. I saw a 3 year take a .40sw and only have a bad scar. Difference is where they were hit.

[Jack O'Conner]

Steve:

Good shooting! Congrats!

Jack

[the357plan]

Congrats on both deer.

I too have a Ruger 77/357 and wouldn't have any qualms putting a 125 gr. into the head, neck (under 60 yds.) or behind the front shoulder (under 150 yds.). But typically, I prefer to keep it zeroed with 158 gr. JSP Remington Express. However, I'm thinking about switching to Buffalo Bore Heavy 357 Mag 140 gr. Barnes XPB if the rifle is accurate enough with them.

I've done more handgun hunting than rifle and therefore have no issue hunting with a 357 carbine.

Slightly off topic: Darned if I would wear white pants deer hunting (unless there was snow on the ground).