.357 Blackhawk

[farrerhaven]

I am trying to scope my .357 blackhawk with weaver mounts,and a Ncstar 4X32 scope.The parts are ordered just this week.I read good  reports from the handgun hunter magazine on this scope.I'll be using 158grain jhps on the local deer and want to try 158swcs on the local pig population.I am hoping for 75yrds at least as my range.Does anyone have a set-up like this?And what type of groups are you getting.Brian.

[LMM]

Don't have a scope for my Blackhawk but glad to see another .357 Magnum hunter out there.  Personally though, I stay away from jhp's for deer.  Prefer JSP's.  Agree on the weight though, 158gr.  Interested in hearing how your scope setup works out.  Also interested in hearing how the 158gr SWC works on your local pigs.  How large do the pigs get in your area?

[MS Hitman]

Personally, I'd opt for the SWCs for both species of game.  Another option you may want to consider is the 180 to 190 grain LBT style bullets.  These may be found at Cast Performance or Hunter Supply bullets.  After placement, penetration is key to successfully bagging game.

[farrerhaven]

Our pigs run into the average 150 to 200 pounds,but there was one almost  four hundred pounds running around our hunting camp a few years ago.I'll try that one only with my Redhawk in .44mag. As soon as I get the mounts and scope i,ll post what types of groups I get and the ranges,my Blackhawk is 1976 61/2 barrel  blued model.Brian. :-)

[Mannlicher]

I am not so sure that little NcStar will hold up to much pounding.  They are cheap, and for a reason.  
I also like a good hard cast LSWC of 160 grains over a bunch of 2400 powder for deer

[farrerhaven]

I mounted the weaver base and scope and tried .38 spl loads,and my groups were about 1 1/2 inchs at 25yrds ,this was of off a tree branch not your most stable rests.It was raining here in northern california you might have heard of the flooding.I'll be trying 357 mag loads from a sturdy shooting bench when the weather permits.Brian..

[farrerhaven]

Well at 25yrds with .357 mag loads 158gr jhps the first two shots hit the top of the target,then after a few clicks later two at the bottom of the paper.And afew up and  now they were to left at the right hight cutting almost the same hole.Now I have it dialed into this range,I need to start praticing on a regular basis.I was getting fair groups,but I can tell i'll need to go thru alot of rounds before deer hunting season.Brian. :roll:.

[dewy]

I was looking at trying to use 125gr sp on deer this year do you think it would work. I have in the past used 170 gr gold dots sp and they seem to work fine.

[farrerhaven]

I honestly don't know enough about pistol hunting.I just got started,I don't want to give bad advice on the lighter rounds on deer ,maybe someone else has more info?Brian. :wink:

[Catfish]

Farrerhaven,
   I put my first scope on a handgun in 1969 and have been shooting them off and on since then.  Some things you will learn real quick, 1. Handgun scopes have alot smaller field of veiw than rifle scopes of the same magnifaction. 2. It is much harder to find the proper hold to even see through a handgun scope, let alone find your target in one.  Once you get your scope mounted you`ll need to practice alot with it. I would recomand that if you use it for a hog gun you do it from a tree or some other place they can`t get to you because it will be a good while befor you will be able to pick-up a fast moveing target  with a scoped handgun. I took 1 deer last year and 1 deer this year with a .357 max. with a 4x scope and the .357 mag. will do the same thing, just not quite as far away. With alittle practice you should have no trouble takeing deer at 125 to 150 yrds. I load 158 gn. Serria HP`s for the .357 mag. and have had no trouble with them. They are to thin skinned for my .357 max. though, in it I shoot 158 gn. Hornady XTP`s. Even the Serria 170 gn. HP are to thin skinned for the Max.

[farrerhaven]

Thanks,I,ll  be praticing as much as possible,and yes I plan to hunt pigs from a stand.Brian.

[John C-S]

I have heard that these are the most deadly one shot stops in self defense. A deer is about the weight of a human. I have also heard that if you use the 125 SJHP on deer go for the broadside lung shot. The 158s are probably better all around but they do not deposit the energy inside the deer as quickly or effeciently as the 125s. I think in my opinion the 158s are too heavy and overpenetrative. With much lower velocity to boot. But maybe the 125s are a bit light for raking shots or shots that are not quite so ideal like the lung broadside. Anyway, I would be very interested in others' experinces with these loads compared. I like the 357 myself. The 44 Mag is better for hunting I admit. But the 357 can do the job if placement is done cooly.

[Mikey]

The 357 mag is adequate for whitetail within the limitations of the shooter and the load.  I prefer heavy, hardcast flatnosed or semi-wadcutter slugs in the 357.  I would not use the 125 gn hps - yes they are the fabled one-shot stopper on human targets and yes a whitetail is about the same weight as tha average man but that is about as far as the comparison goes.  If not placed right hollowpoints have a tendency to skid off major bone structures and rib cages and do nothing more than wound the animal - sometimes not fatally and you can lose the animal that way.  

The 158s will work well if you place the shot right - go for the soft nose over the hps.  If you are hand-loading your own, go for a heavy swc, you won't be disappointed.  HTH.  Mikey.

[Jerry Lester]

I've been hunting deer with the 357 magnum in both a revolver, and rifles for a long time, with quite a bit of success.

First off, I'd suggest you stay away from 125g bullets. The 125's in any configuration absolutely will not give you dependable performance at 357 velocities. The 125g HPs won't even penetrate a deers shoulder in most cases, much less reach the vitals. Even with a perfect behind the shoulder shot you take a very real chance of busting the bullet on a rib, and only wounding a deer.

On the 158g bullets, if you use a 158g HP in your revolver with maximum loads, you're still taking a chance on wounding a deer even with perfect placement. The only 158g HP that will give you a somewhat decent level of penetration is the Hornady XTP-HP. Even the 158g XTP-HPs will often fail to penetrate a deers shoulder, and reach the vitals if the range is too close, which with a revolver it should be.

I highly suggest you use a 158g SP in your deer loads. The 158g XTP-FPs will also give you pretty good performance out of a revolver, but the SPs are consistantly the best. I personally like the 158g Remington SPs, which are as good as it gets in the 357 magnum on deer from either a revolver or a rifle. My revolver load drives them just under 1400 fps, and my rifle load pushes that to around 1800 fps.

You're wanting 75 yards from your revolver but honestly, that's a bit far for a 357 magnum revolver in my opinion. With the right 158g SP load, I have no doubts that you could "kill" a deer at 150+ yards, but only because the bullet would penetrate enough to poke a hole through the vitals. There'd be no expansion, and without at least some, the 357 just doesn't work well on deer. I'd suggest you keep your ranges down to around 50, maybe 60 yards with your revolver.

I could probably write an article on the 357 magnum in a rifle, but you're asking about real world revolver capabilities. The 357 when fired through a rifle barrel is a lot more potent than when limited to revolver velocities.

[Mattkc]

I took a buck this year with a 158gr XTP-HP and was not happy with the results.  I was up on a little bluff shooting down.  I hit the deer in the neck and it went flop.  The problem was when I butchered the deer I found the round traveled down the neck into the shoulder where it looked like a small bomb went off.  Meat damage was to great and next year I'll switch to SP's.  I do like XTP-FP out of my Marlin lever they blow throw the deer and you get a nice blood trail.

[farrerhaven]

Thanks for all the info i'll try some 158 grain jsp.Brian. :grin: