Please educate me????

[ar-steve]

I have heard many times that 357 mag is too light for black bear, but 10mm auto is ok.
Is there a real difference between these to? Isn't there only 1mm difference?
What am I missing?  thanks from a long time lurker   ar-steve

[Lloyd Smale]

The 10mm has the ability to handle bullets as heavy as 220 grain and loaded to max levels its closer to the 41 mag then the 357

[ar-steve]

How fast is the 10mm 220 going?  can't you get 200grn for the 357?

I am a 41mag fan by the way

[swampthing]

Depends what you are shooting them out of. Compare a 10" contender in .357mag to a 4" auto in 10mm and the .357mag will get the nod. since you won't find many .357mag automatics I think it's fair to look at it this way.
     A .357mag that is loaded with a good 180g bullet and shot from a strong 6+inch barreled revolver or 10" contender will work fine on Black Bear. As a matter of fact a 10"-12" contender in .357mag will be sufficient for most any game animal you come across, with the right bullet of course. I personally like the larger bores better, they don't need to be pushed as fast as the smaller bores to get the job done, makes shooting a lot easier on the ears.

[corbanzo]

What black bears?  I wouldn't carry anything smaller than a .44 mag where I live, but our blackies get around 400 lbs or so... 

I would trust a heavy .357 or 10mm where black bears are around 300lbs at a very maximum. 

A 200 grain bullet is pretty darn big for a 357, takes up quite a bit of the case capacity.

[Lloyd Smale]

personaly i dont think either is the ulitmate cartridge for bear but with a good hardcast bullet and good shot placement theyd get the job done if you had nothing better. A 357 in a tc or better yet a carbine does step it up another notch in power and probably makes it superior to the 10mm. I think that both of them and ill even throw the 41s in there too make great whitetail rounds and good guns for small pigs and small bear but when push comes to shove and your hunting a bigger critter like large hogs and bear personaly i prefer a 44 mag or 45 colt. It might be that i just had better days with the 44s and 45s but theyve allways seemed to dump game better then even the 41 mag for me. Ill probably catch flak from the 357 and especially the 41 mag fans for that statement but so be it. Im just going by my own expereinces in the field shooting game and observering others. If it were me and i wanted to handgun hunt and only had a 357 or a 10mm id probably consider selling or trading up to a 44 mag. Now ive taken game with rounds much smaller then even the 357 and know with proper shot placement it doesnt take much to kill a whitetail or even a bear but field conditions and hunting pressure sometimes present problems even for an experienced handgun hunter and I like the margin of error a 44 alows for.

[Redhawk1]

I am sure in the right circumstances a 375 Mag with the proper bullet will work, but I always say, use enough gun. My minimum for black bear is 44 Mag or a 45 Colt with my hand loads.