Hunting deer with .357?

[Swarner793]

would you get much better performance out of, say, a lever gun in 357 ???

I have taken a half dozen whitetails over the years with my lever .357. If you shoot .38 spl out of it, it is borderline suppressed But then, real close is the order of the day (or night) j/k

Be safe (and quiet).

Scott

[Retired]

Tried it once with .357 Mag with jacketed hollow points. Put two directly in her chest as she went by (watched them enter) at 15 yards. Tracked her for a half mile and then administered the coup de grace. Sold the 357 bought a Ruger Redhawk in the .44 Mag. One shot to the chest at 30 yards and he fell over.. You decide... Either way - practice, practice, practice

[synergy]

.357 mag out of a carbine is a MEAN mother-f***er of a cartridge.

It'll work just fine out of a pistol, provided you do your part.

[reverserboy]

Check out the buffalobore site.
I have some heavy .357 mag 158gr goldots.
That load will come out of a 2 1/4" Ruger sp101 at around 1300fps. I would not believe it if I did not see it on the crono.
Out of a 6" barrel you're looking at around 1650fps.

They also have solid bullets for hunting....I think 170gr.

Buffalobore heavy .357mag is not for use in light weight alloy guns.
It stings the hand when fired out of a sp101 which is all steel & girthy compared to a J frame. The recoil out of a 340pd (scandium J frame 12 oz) would be sick.
This ammo also kicks ass out of a 16" barrel lever action rifle.

Buffalobore is as good as it gets for factory loaded ammo,although it is expensive.

Doubletap also makes some good stuff,especially in 10mm & .45acp. I'm guessing Doubletap .357 will be about 80 to 100fps slower but is less expensive.

Both these companies offer way better stuff than you will get from the major ammo makers.

[crakkajakka15]

I think a .357 would do a fine job. My since DE opened upa handgun season a few years back as taken two deer with his scoped .44 MAG Taurus Raging Bull. The one was about a 15 yard shot and it dropped it dead in its tracks with a FMJ exiting both sides. The second was also with a FMJ and it ran about 40 yards after a 20+ yard shot. I think will be ok with a .357

[jrlayden]

Shot an 8pt last week. Winchester Partition Gold 180 grain .357 mag. 40 yard shot and the bullet went clean through the vitals and out the other side. I also had a TC scope on it. It's completely manageable to take a deer with and also very rewarding!

[kmrcstintn]

practice your shots at the maximum effective distance that you can shoot accurately; remember that not all shots will be broadside, so you might have to decrease the range for quartering-to and quartering-away shots; choose a load that is 158gr or heavier that your handgun and you group well; examples of some types of loads to consider: Federal American Eagle 158gr jsp; Remington 158gr jsp; Independence 158gr jsp; Federal Castsore 180gr lead flat tipped; Blazer Brass 158gr shallow cavity jhp; et al (in any case, I would opt for something that is a solid bullet -- no hollowpoints or shallow hollwpoints -- to maximize the penetration)

[jrlayden]

The winchester partition golds I used we hollow-point and it went clean through the rib/heart/lung and out the other side? Is that unnormal? It was 180 grain.