my experience with a 357 mag as a deer hunting caliber

grumpyvette

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when I started hunting deer in about 1964 the only calibers I had access to was a 20 ga shotgun and a 6" barrel 357 mag revolver (model 28 S&W)
Id been hand loading for years and found a good accurate load with 2400 powder and a 158 grain bullet of 14.3 grains and a Winchester mag primer. (about 1500fps)
while that might not sound impressive its assuredly very lethal in the hands of a decent shot
zoom_1894_45colt.jpg

I could hold a decent group of a rest and I thought I was really ready to try handgun hunting deer.
I went to the range and sighted the pistol in to hit 2" high at 50 yards figuring that should put me on at about 100 yards( I later found that to be perfect as a zero, for site in as it allowed great shot placement out to 120 yards, never having the bullet further that 2" from the aim point)
I was sure I could kill deer , and being young I assumed it would knock the crap out of deer with a decent hit......the first deer I shot was at about 60 yards from my tree stand, a young (LEGAL) 4 point buck wandered into my tree stands kill zone and I managed one carefully placed heart shot followed by two rapid shots at a bouncing white tail as he bounded off into the brush, since he had not dropped I assumed ID some how missed but examining the area revealed blood so I carefully searched and found the dead buck about 70 yards from the bullets impact point, Id hit a bit high and further back than Id intended, and one of the following shots had ruined a lower leg, further experience revealed the 357 to be extremely deadly but not an instant stopper, in many cases.
my brother in law hunts with a marlin 357 mag carbine with good results but the 18" barrel adds significantly more velocity upping the velocity to (about, 1500- 1800fps, depending on loads used)
If you choose to use a 357 mag the lowest weight bullet Id suggest is a 158 grain and the speer 170 grain loaded over H110 or BLUE DOT powder has proven to be the best 357 mag hunting load Ive found, the lyman hard cast 170 grain works great on hogs
my brother-in laws hunted deer and hogs for many years with his, loads a 158 grain jacketed or 170 grain hard cast over a stiff load of BLUE DOT OR H110 POWDER
http://www.handloads.org/loaddata/de...Powder&Source=
358-175-gc-150-pb.jpg

http://www.neihandtools.com/catalog/index.html

this NEI cast bullet over 13 grains of H110 powder has been a very effective combo in my brother in laws no longer made dan wesson 8" 357 mag revolver
shot placement is critical but the bullets shoot through and exit on every hog shot so far. ranges tend to be under 40 yards, bullets are cast from 95% WW allow and 5% pure tin
yes you might think a 44 mag would be more effective but its shot placement more than power thats the critical factor and with bullets punching through and exiting, lack of power is not an issue

http://www.handloads.com/loaddata/default.asp?Caliber=357 Magnum&Weight=All&type=Handgun
http://www.neihandtools.com/catalog/index.html
this NEI design has proven to be very accurate,feeds flawlessly, and its damn effective at killing game in the hands of a good shot using a 357 mag in a marlin lever action,carbine or 8" revolver , if cast from 95% ww alloy and 5% pure tin

you'll get pass thru,s and not much reaction on impact at times but it delivers a fatal blow if you can shoot and know game anatomy, and while most deer run, few get more than 40 yards,its easily fatal at 100-120 yards in skilled hands with those loads as hes proved, but its not a, drop them on impact stopper, most of the time and most of his deer were not that far. its a very nice carbine but I prefer my 44 mag marlin, its not necessarily more deadly but it seems to get their attention better on impact

WHILE THE EXTRA BARREL LENGTH HELPS VELOCITY,
the fact that theres a longer sight radias and better sights is even more important

http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/357mag.html

btw
http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/i ... =000214230

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/i ... 0152670429

http://www.biggameinfo.com/BalCalc.aspx

http://www.snipercountry.com/ballistics/index.html

http://www.chuckhawks.com/handgun_power_chart.htm

http://www.handloads.org/loaddata/defau ... er&Source=


http://www.gunblast.com/Winchester-Ranger357.htm

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/pa...literature.htm


now that being stated I will say that although I have 100% confidence in the 357 mags ability to kill, the 44 mag is by far the most used hand gun caliber in both pistol and carbines I own and it performs noticeably better on both hogs and deer with 260-310 grain hot handloads, with which you can produce significantly higher hitting power, I've rarely dropped deer on the spot with a single shot from a 357 mag although they generally don,t run far with good shot placement, but I've frequently done that with the 44 mag, and yes I still have some run with good hits even with the 44 mag so its NOT a cure, its just a slightly better tool in my opinion, does it really matter if a single hit allows the animal to live 2-3 seconds longer before it drops if either caliber gets the job done?, now if the animals trying to climb into your tent to eat your butt , or get to you once wounded to seek revenge for injuries,I can see a HUGE difference but on hogs or deer, that run once hit, not so much
 
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just a quick story
AL borrowed my 44 mag carbine, and 50,cartridges loaded with 300 grain hard cast bullets to go deer hunting a few weeks ago and went hunting last Saturday,in mid Florida in an area of tall grass and palmettos, for opening weeks of general gun season,he shot a nice little 4 point buck at about 80 yards from a tree stand and the buck ran as thou totally untouched, ...after Id told AL several stories about how deadly that carbine was he was disappointed to say the least,...In fact he called me with his cell phone before even getting out of the stand, to tell me my carbine didn,t work all that well,...I told him to get down and follow the blood trail carefully, he called back about 30 minutes later to tell me that was one easy blood trail,to follow and all thou the grass was shoulder high, and the blood trail did,t start for a few yards the buck made it only about 45 yard max and it was hit low in the lungs,the bullet exited and the hit was a bit further back than he aimed.
after seeing the shot placement, was less than ideal, he said it did the same or better than the 30/30 he usually carried would have done in his experience with a similar hit, so hes still impressed.

http://myfwc.com/recreation/Hunt_SeasDates0910.htm

http://myfwc.com/docs/RecreationActivities/deer_zonesummary_20091030.pdf
and Id also point out that PROPER shot placement and knowing the games anatomy is CRITICAL, I had quite a few deer run when I used a 357 mag revolver for deer hunting when I first started hunting with a revolver and at the time I felt I just needed a bigger caliber, I swapped to a 44 mag, and things improved, but after a few years I had this feeling that it was my increased skill placing shots as much as the upgrade in power, so as a test, I went back to using a 8" 357 revolver, the results proved at least to me, that the 44 mag was more effective but the proper shot placement with the 357 mag made that revolver FAR more effective than I remember it being in fact, I quickly realized that if I was a better shot , when I started hunting with a revolver, I most likely would never have swapped
 
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