357 Mag in 10" barrel for deer?

[alan in ga]

have any of you taken deer with the plain ol 357 Magnum? What bullet to you recommend? I will use a 158 soft nose I guess unless someone has really good success with something else. I handload so anything is game.
thanks, Alan in ga.

[Danny]

I have taken a deer with a 6" .357 magnum, with a 158 grain XTP hollowpoint. It passed through the spine and dropped her on the spot, passing through and out the otherside. Good penetration and good shot placement work! I have also shot hogs with it and it works fine. It may not be everyone's first choice, but it works.

[Gregory]

Took one small doe at 40 yds used a 357 Mag with a 170 gr. cast SWC going about 1200 fps out of a 10" TC Contender.  It worked fine.

[BH]

Alan,

I've taken 2 deer with the 158gr XTP/FP at about 1500fps out of a 6 1/2" Blackhawk (~ 40 & 60 yards).  Both rounds passed through the lungs with a good blood trail.  I worked up a load for the 180gr XTP/HP which I had planned to use but couldn't get them to group nearly as well as the 158 FPs.  I'd try the 180 grs out of your 10" barrel to see if you could get them to shoot well since I think they would make a better deer round than the 158s.  I was a little concerned about the 158 HPs holding together so went with the FPs but it sounds like Danny has had good luck with them ( what range Danny?)

Bob

[W]

Alan;
I've taken 3 N.Y. whitetails with my 6.5" Blackhawk using factory 158 gr. JHPs (two 4 pointers and a doe).
The range was from 20 to +/- 60 yards. All were broadside shots and none of the shots passed thru. All were flattened out on the far side under the hide.
Deer ran 30 to 50 yards max.
Warren

[SingleShotShorty]

I have raken several deer with my Colt Python 8" barrel 357 Mag with 158 grain HP's but I feel that the 357 is a little light for whitetail. Good shot placement is critical. I prefer to hunt with my SRH 44 mag.

[Sixgun]

I shot a big mulley doe at 75 yards with my 4" Ruger Security Six.  I hit high in the heart lung area and she went about 150 yards and laid down and died.  I was useing a 180 gr Sierra silhouette bullet.  It didn't expand at all and punched a hole clear through.  She probably would have traveled farther but after I shot her I set down for a half hour and when I got to her she was bled out and dead.  

I shot another big doe with my 357 Marlin 1894.  She was running broadside about 50 yards away.  I heard the thump when I hit her and my two boys who were with me said they saw the bullet hit her in the butt.  She stopped about 75 yards away and looked back over her shoulder at me.  I shot her in the head and she went down.  The first bullet had completely taken out her heart and most of her lungs.  She didn't need the second shot.  The bullet in this case was a 180 gr Speer bullet intended for the 35 rem.  It worked good but had to be seated deep in order to work in the action of the 1894.

Sixgun

[Dragon31]

alan in ga

The question has been asked a number of times and the anwers all seem less that enthusiatic.  This is what I know.  Before there where other mags the .357 was it.  I've killed a number of deer with several different guns and have never found the round lacking in killing power. I always stayed with in my range to hit what I aimed at (that distance has changed over 50 years with age and scope mounted pistols).  
Just to check my own memory, this year I'm taking my .357 back to the field and see if she still has what it takes.  If you will check the Speer manuals # 12 & 13 there is a section .357 magnum (silhouette loads).  They list a 180 gr bullet leaving the 10 inch contender at 1573 ft per sec.  I used this load with a Hornady 180 SSP bullet and printed acceptable groups at 100 yards.  I also loaded the 180 Remington HP bullets with the same powder charge and got good groups but three inch from the first.   I also had a box of 170 grain speer flat soft points that I loaded a little hotter to shoot in my Ruger and Marlin.  I firmly believe that I'll kill my share of the deer in the 3 states that I hunt this year, with the .357.

[Graycg]

I started out handgun hunting with a 6 inch 686 Smith with 180 grain LBT WFNGC seated over a compressed charge of H110 and found it to be a competent killer of deer and pigs out to about 75 yards, but I picked my shots very carefully.  As I gained experience and competence with more powerful handguns, I left the 357 mag behind and haven't looked back.
    If you are a good shot and patient, you will find success, but I have to tell you, I feel so much better armed with my 12 inch 357 max contender, 14 inch 308 Bellm or any 44 mag than I do with a 357 mag.  Just my opinion.

regards,
 Graycg

[Bullseye]

Hit it in the heart lung area at under 100 yards, it is dead.  I have never undrstood why this is debated so much unless it is like the argument of a V6 or a V8.  If you take out the heart or lungs it is going to die.

[Danny]

Alan,

I've taken 2 deer with the 158gr XTP/FP at about 1500fps out of a 6 1/2" Blackhawk (~ 40 & 60 yards).  Both rounds passed through the lungs with a good blood trail.  I worked up a load for the 180gr XTP/HP which I had planned to use but couldn't get them to group nearly as well as the 158 FPs.  I'd try the 180 grs out of your 10" barrel to see if you could get them to shoot well since I think they would make a better deer round than the 158s.  I was a little concerned about the 158 HPs holding together so went with the FPs but it sounds like Danny has had good luck with them ( what range Danny?)

Bob

Out to about 50 yards, I haven't tried any shots further than that with that gun. It's accurate enough to do it, but the loose nut behind the trigger might not be!!!

[Larry Gibson]

alan in ga

"have any of you taken deer with the plain ol 357 Magnum?"

I'll assume you are refering to the 10" Contender?  If so it opens up a whole new dimension for the .357.  You will get from 300-400 fps more velocity than out of a 6" barreled revolver depending on ammo.  With that increase in velocity you will definately want to stick with the 158 SPs.  I normally recommend the 125 HPs/SPs with 4-6" revolvers in .357s for use on deer but they are not really suitable in the 10" Contender.  A good bullet I used was the Lyman 358156 cast of 1-16 alloy and driven to 1550 fps in the 10" Contender.  Expansion, penetration and terminal performance were excellent at that velocity.  It equaled the original published ballistics of the .357 out of an 8 3/8th barrel upon which the reputation of the .357 was established.

Larry Gibson

Larry Gibson

[TScottO]

I’m fairly new to handgun hunting for Whitetail. When I was making a choice of what caliber I was going to use this is what I used to help me make my choice: From what I have seen, read and been told by folks with much more experience on the subject than me the true debate rather a 357 is adequate for Whitetail isn’t the issue. The point that always holds true in the end is that shot placement is more critical. The use of the 357 simply limits the angle and or distance you can hit a deer and still penetrate enough to hit the vitals. If you’re the type of person that can watch a deer walk away and refuse a marginal shot due to caliber then the 357 will be fine. However if you do not have that sort of self control then you need something that will give deeper penetration and shoot farther. I personally don’t want to go home and know if I had a bigger gun that I could have taken the deer I just let walk. Hunting here in the thick woods of the south where you may only get a chance at one or two bucks per year I want to limit the odds of having to pass on a shot because I didn’t have enough gun. In my opinion the price of a Contender barrel with more caliber is a small price to pay when compared to having to let an animal walk.

Good luck and be safe,
Scott

[BH]

Danny,

I'm very familiar with the "loose nut behind the trigger".  I see him in the mirror every time I shave :lol: .

TScottO,

Your point is well made and accurate!  As I've gotten older I find myself wanting to put more challenge into the hunt especially when the deer are plentiful.  And, as you point out, the 357 Mag has limitations that force you to be selective.

Good Hunting,
Bob

[Dragon31]

I agree the  .357 mag. in a 10 inch Contender barrel is a step up from the what we currently consider to be a standard commercial .357 round today (150+ ft per sec in the 180 grain).  I have my Dad's orginal .357 Smith (8 3/8 inch barrel) and have killed deer with it over 50 years ago.  I believe the orginal commercial rounds that we used in the early 1950's where considerable hotter than the commercial stuff we shoot today.  I like both commerical and cast bullets that are heavier.  I have molds that cast 170 and 180 grain bullets, and have one mold that cast a 200 grain bullet that shoots well in an old Ruger Blawkhawk I have.  
As far as passing on deer.  Sure I have passed on shots with a hand gun, but I shoot a Tack driving .270 Sendero and I've passed on shots with her too, as well as her sister Sendero in 300 win mag.  You want to go nuts try living in a state that was shotgun state only 20 years ago. You would have either missed or passed up a lot of shots.
I may have to get the old Blackhawk out put the Weaver scope base back on, mount the Leopold 2.5 on her and see if she can still put meat on the table.

[alan in ga]

the only deer I have taken with a pistol was a 35 yard shot with a Ruger Red Hawk in 44 mag. I used to cast my own 250 Keiths out of an RCBS mold [with the round groove, not squared like a Keith 'should' be!] using wheel weights. One shot high in lungs. Ran 100 yards with no blood trail. ALL the blood was puddled in lungs until he dropped and died where it all ran out [finally].
I think about any well placed shot from a 35 caliber handgun should do ok. I tend to like soft nose [point?]bullets over hollow points. BUT,,a friend who used to hunt with a 14" Herret 357 used 158 HPs and got very good penetration thru deer,,a few LENGTHWISE! Don't ask me how or why,,but he had pictures to boot!
I think a 158 SP will be the bullet. It's possible one of the newer high tech hollow points would hold together,,,but I like the insurance of a good blood trail with TWO holes in the deer. Of course,,at least one of the holes needs to be in the lower section of the deer.
I have fended off the urge to ream this barrel to MAX or B&D. I have use of both reamers [free],,,but think the basic 357 Magnum might be pretty good in a 10" barrel as is.
One thing I don't do anymore,,hunt with revolvers. I just don't like wearing hearing protection when deer hunting,,,and the 'dog ear' blast coming from cylinder gaps is not for me,,,especially when tree trunk might be right there to reflect it back at my ears!
alan in ga
Got the 4X Leupold mounted in Warne steel rings. Not bad.

[WD45]

Have you checked out the articles on sixgunner .com ? There is a load of good info there.

[JRWHITETAIL]

I agree with DANNY. 357 with XTPs is the way to go. I have found deer don't always travel the way you want. So good shot placement is crushal. So you must shoot what you can hit with. And practice, alot!