357 for deer hunting

[dewy]

I have been Practicing for some time now and even though the 357 is good on wood chucks I've been told that deer might be a stretch for it I was wondering for thoughts that have shot a deer with it, if the deer went far after even a well placed shot. The deer that I have shot with the muzzleloader went down after 15 yards but the ones with the bow a hundreds or more yards even with a good blood trail. Will the 357 leave a good blood trail? Will it drop a deer with a good shot in the kill zone or will it run until it bleeds to death? I plan on using the 357 this year but I'm not sure if it's got the power to do a good job.

Thanks
 

[ftw]

I have killed two deer with a 6" 357 with my own handloads,180 gr Hornady XTP's, and a friend of mine using my handloads has also killed two deer. One of his was finishing off a wounded but walking deer.

Two of the deer,included the rear ham wounded deer went right down with a point of the shoulder/low neck shot. My other deer tried to run but stumbled and died in sight, maybe 35 yards. My friend reported his also tried to run across a field and went down in sight.

The 357 is not my first choice in a deer handgun but it can be very effective. As a bowhunter you know all about waiting for the perfect shot,knowing your effective range and getting close. If you apply all of those things to your handgun hunting, you should do fine.

Good Luck!

[Mikey]

dewy:  The 357 magnum has been taking deer since it was developed.  Most fellas who hunt with revolvers in this caliber prefer shots at 50 yds or under.  Some fellas who use this cartridge in a carbine or rifle will shoot out to 100 yds and the cartridge will do the job.  Many prefer the 158 gn swc or 180 gn jacketed over stiff charges of powder (but within sane limits) and it does the job.  I prefer a 200 gn swc over WW296 for my 357 mags but I carry shorter barrels than most. 

The most important aspect of any hunting, especially handgun hunting, is shot placement.  A revolver/pistol bullet will impact a whitetail in the same manner as a rifle bullet or shotgun slug.  Many whitetail walk away wounded opening day due to poor shot placement.  A fellow I used to hunt with who prefered a 7mm mag to a 308 because it did the job better always lost at least one deer during the season due to poor shot placement. 

Your 357 will do the job as long as you have the right load and do your job.  I have always found it easier to miss with a handgun, which is why I have to practice so much (llolol) but it works for me.  HTH.  Mikey.

[dewy]

Thanks you for the info I was starting to get worried after a few things I heard about the 357. Due to deer season being three months away and spending all summer building a good shooting load for the 357 that is very accurate out to 50 yards but yet at almost full power and then be told by one of my friends that the 357 mite not drop them even with good shot placement I've always been the one shot one kill type and if the 357 can not do that then why take it.

So thanks for restoring my confidence in the discussion to use the 357.

[Jerry Lester]

You'll do fine with that 357 on deer. The 357 in my Blackhawk, or my Marlin 1894C is pretty much my primary deer caliber nowdays. I've killed 9 with my Blackhawk, and dozens(or more) with a 357 rifle. With properly placed shots, the 357 magnum is "more" than enough for deer. No matter "what" the present day gun writers say about it, like Mikey said, this caliber has been killing deer since it's introduction. If you can find some older hunting/shooting magazines, you'll be very surprized to read articles from around the time of the 357's begining about how deadly this caliber was proving to be for them in those days. To my knowledge, deer are no bigger, or tougher now than they were then.

The 357 magnum has earned a bad reputation because for some reason, hunters have leaned towards hollow point bullets for deer. While a HP in the 357 is a reliable, and proven man stopper, it leaves a lot to be desired on a deer. The "only" HP bullets I've had any decent results with are the heavier(158g +) Hornady XTP-HP's, and they still aren't a bullet I'd trust 100%.

If you want utterly reliable, repeatable results with the 357 on deer, then load up some full house loads with a good 158g SP bullet. My favorite is the Remington(bulk/Midway) 158g SP's. The 158g SP's offer the very best balance of velocity/trajectory, expansion, and penetration. They shoot flat, hit hard, and will bust through both shoulders of a broadside deer(even 180lb +), and still exit in most cases leaving a very good blood trail.

[terry]

 I bought a 357mag S&W Performance center M327 tactial with scope rail and red dot sight alittle while back and love the pistol and have been doing alot of wild hog hunting this summer with it giveing it a good test run before I desided to take it deer hunting this fall. From what I have seen using my 180gr XTP HP handloads on several wild hogs inclueding one big trophy boar with good cutters I can say a deer does not have a chance come fall. This 180gr XTP load combo is just blowing right through good sized hogs like butter and dropping them fast. I clean and eat these hogs and anyone who has ever cleaned a wild hog can tell you the hide is unreal thick sometimes almost 2" on a big boar plus shielding in the shoulder area. The bones are bigger and most wild hogs are thicker than a average deer in my area also. So what I am saying I guess is a deer is much less of tough target than a big wild boar so I have no problem using my 357 this fall on deer after all teh success I have been haveing on wild hogs the last few weeks. If one gets away I know I made a bad shot not the guns fault.

[Gregory]

I can't add much to what Jerry said, my experience is one small doe at 30 yds . using a 357 Mag 10" TC Contender. A 170 gr SWC through the lungs did her in with no problem, she went down in sight of my tree stand. 

[AuProspector]

I have personally kill over 10 mule deer.  The longest shot was 50 to 60 yards.   Only 2 were body hits in the heart/lung area, the rest were head shots.  These kills came with the lowly .38 Special and Rem's 158 LSWCHP.

The head shot deer were DOA on their way to the ground, the heart/lung shot took the usual 2 minutes, 53 seconds to totally expire.

In all honesty, I always thought that a heavier caliber would be more approperiate.  But because of the reduced recoil, I could shoot that 4" revolver .38 Special and place the bullet exactly where I wanted it.  It's hard to argue with success, Still, I wouldn't recommend the .38 as a deer round.

Shooting deer with a handgun is much less desireable than shooting with a rifle.  Keeping that in mind, if a handgun round doesn't kill with the 'thunder of thor', don't be surprised if a failure comes when using a handgun.

As a side, an aquaintence of mine who passed away, used to take elk with the .357 mag. with a model S&W 19, 6" bbl., 158gr bullet.  All were heart/lung shots under 50 yards.  He never lost one.  He always said that the elk either drop in the tracks or didn't go far.  His comments to me were, "I wouldn't hesitate to shoot an elk with the .357 mag."  This isn't a recommendation, just fact.  I don't know how many elk he took, he was a terrific shot, and he was a distant friend with the immortals "Skeeter Skelton/Bill Jordan."

In regards to barrel length, I've carried a handgun almost all my adult life.  Either professional or personally.  I've found that anything longer than a 4" barrel is a pain-in-the-ribs proposition.  Meaning when you sit down with a 4" barrel, it doesn't jab itself into the ground/seat and the grip is pushed up into your ribs.  IMHO, I have no problem giving up a few feet of velocity for the extra comfort.  Plus, I'm somewhat lazy and like to sit.  No charge for the extra info.

Dewy, I hope my experience helps in your decision making and I hope you  Fair Well in your hunt.

My .23 cents  (inflation)

[Uncle Ji]

Amen to all positive comments, I probably hunt with a 357 more than any other cartridge and found it very effective taking into account it's limitations which you should have no difficulty doing you being a bow hunter.,use it like your hunting with a small loud bow.    As stated by others don't go any lighter than 158 grains but preferably heavier.  I use 158 grain SPs on the wild goats here but prefer 180s on deer and pigs.  The Nosler 180 grain Partition Golds are great for this purpose making a nice hole but with great weight retention and penetration.  They are also available in a factory load from Winchester if you don't reload.  Good luck & best wishes on your hunt, and keep us posted.

[winman]

My hangun deer kills have all been with a .44mag, a .45 Colt, or a .44 Special. The .357 with a good hit should be sufficient. Personally I prefer a heavier bullet.l 

[winman]

Like others have said, I use bowhunting techniques when handgund hunting. My shots have always been under 30 yards. I would never shoot at a deer at a distance greater than I could hit a pie plate consistently, even under duress. Please show the animal some respect. 

[Questor]

I've been following the whole 357 for deer debate for years and what I've learned is that it's perfectly good on Eastern whitetails so long as you use the right bullet and keep the distance to about 50 yards.  I think marginal bullets have given it the bad reputation more than anything else.

[Troggy]

I say if yer realy confident in your shooting skills then take it deer hunting and tell us how it works.

[Old Griz]

I like the 300-gr Federal CastCores in my .44 mag, but the 180-gr .357 CastCores didn't group well in my .357. However, every gun shoots differently and likes different stuff. Give the CastCores a try in your .357. If they group well, it would be a humdinger deer cartridge.

I know a guy who has taken three bucks with a .357. The first two were 30 & 60 yard shots. The third . . . well, he was tired and sat down to eat a snack. A couple of minutes after opening a pack of peanut butter crackers, this buck came charging through the brush looking for the peanut butter. He shot it in self defense. The range was up close and personal.

I've taken peanut butter crackers with me ever since he told me that story. So far I've never been attacked by a deer. Now there was that time the Black Angus heffer came after me when she smelled the Doe-in-Heat . . . . well, that better left for another time.

[Van/TX]

Luckily the 180 castcores group well in my .357 mag.  I've killed 3 deer with it.  Two dropped (including the one below) and one went about 50 yards.  All shots under 30 yards ...Van

[rockbilly]

My first deer with a handgun was taken in 1964 near Santa Rosa, NM.  The gun was a 4 inch model 28, S&W in .357.  It was a rather large mule deer doe, dropped dead in her tracks at about 40 yards from a heart/lung shot.  Since that time I have taken many more with a handgun, mostly with a contender in .44 or 30-30.

The old model 28 went to Nam with me in 1965 and remained there with a friend when I returned to the states.

I am convinced, in most cases it is not the caliber, but the ability of the shooter to hit the target that drops the deer.  If you handle the .357 well on the range, or shooting chucks, then go for it.  It will do the job for you.

[ANACONDA45]

I like the larger bore with mild loads for most of my deer hunting(44's with 250s@1150, 45LC with 280@1050) but the 357 has killed many deer for me with 158s in my youth because it was handy(on my hip all the time) while checking fences and feeding cows, and of course hunting. Like with a bow or a 22 magnum rifle or anything shot placement is king, a double lunged deer does not live long, some make a few jumps and are dead others may go in a mad hundred yard dash and crash. If I was going to pick a bullet today it would be a 180, the Nosler partition to be exact, the 158s of various designs, including remington SJHP, sierra JHC, exited only around 50 percent of the time on perfect shots, but most that did not exit were against the opposite side of the deer, some mushroomed nicely, some just in  pieces. To quote a custom bullet maker, can't remember which one, "if you find the bullet or part of it, it must have worked somewhat, because that means the animal died, you were able to find it and you were skinning it". I have no experience with cast bullets in the 357 for hunting so I can not offer advice there, but I prefer them in the larger calibers for most hunting big or small. Good luck and good hunting