good deer calibers for 10" barrel

[PoorAim]

I will be picking up my first encore frame at the end  of the month, and would like to start getting into pistol hunting (eventually).

For the "small" 10" barrel length, what are some good caliber choices
for game up to deer? I would like the longest range choice (Not the biggest hole), but I'm not sure what range with a 10" barrel is considered "long" There are rifle calibers, like the 260 and 7-08 that I really like for deer hunting, but am pretty sure they are not good choices in 10" barrels. Would the 7-30 waters be a good choice?

I'm thinking some good choices in the 15" lengths aren't so good at 10"

 Thanks

[C A Plater]

The .260 and 7-08 may be a little intense in a 10 inch for comfort and 7-30, .30-30, .44 mag, and .454 are much better at the shorter length from a muzzle blast standpoint.   10 inch Encores are a bit scarce and it may be hard to find a 7-30 or .30-30 but they are common in Contender barrels.  7-30 would be an excellent choice though.

[bigbore442001]

Hmm. It seems that the .300 Whisper is a very efficient round out of the 10" barrel.

I will be hunting a shotgun, muzzleloader and handgun area in southern New Hampshire this fall. I plan to use a 10" .44 magnum barrel with a 1.5X Tasco scope. In the area I'll be hunting it seems that the furthest shot will be about 50 yards.

[Gregory]

Out to 100 yds in a 10" bbl for deer, I'd pick from a 357 Max, 41 Mag, or 44 Mag.

[MAX HUNTER]

Out to 100 yrds. I would use either 357 Max or 44 Mag. Both very good for deer !

[rickyp]

what about the old 357 herrette? it was desinged as a hunting round out of a 10 inch barrel

[smoky]

I have a 10 3/4" encore stainless barrel chambered in 7mm Benchrest.  I was unfamiliar with the cartridge but I hand load and I asked the question about it being good for deer sized game.

The answer was a resounding yes (out to 200 yds or so) so I bought it.  I haven't taken a deer with it yet, but I have no doubt that it is capable.  Recoil is very mild to me, about like shooting a .38.

The trick with this caliber is that you really need to reload in order to make it work well.  I do, and the variety of powders and projectiles available make it easy to tune a load.  Mine is shooting 1" @ 100 yds off the bench and I'm still learning to shoot the extended eye relief scope.

If you reload or want to start, then this is a caliber worth considering.

Smoky

[Bug]

You know,this topic brings up some questions that have ocurred to me over a period of time:

1. What does the .357 max give up to the .357 Herrett, if anything?

2. Is there any real difference in the .30-30 and the .30 Herrett, other than efficiency (the .30-30 burns more powder, but doesn't it go as fast)?

3. Just how much difference is there b/t the 7mmTCU, and the 7-30Waters?

I'm not trying to hijack his thread. I think this info might prove helpful to PoorAim, wouldn't it? I haven't been able to compare these myself, generally having only one of the two, in each scenario.

[jhalcott]

I have 10 and 14" 7tc/u barrels The longer barrel gets at least 175 fps MORE than the 10".Some loads were well over 200 fps different.I used 120's and 139's,but concentrated on accuracy over velocity. My 30-30 10" barrel was a fun pistol to shoot,but I used the 14" when I went hunting because I got 175-200 more fps from it AND less unburned powder. It also had a 1/10 twist compared to the 1/14 in the 10"barrel. A friend had a 30 herret 10" and could get 200o+ fps with 150's. As far as comparing the 357 Herret and the 357 Max,I'd say the max is a better round because of the available factory ammo.Forming Herret cases can be a chore.

[MAX HUNTER]

All these are great caliber's guy's. But the deer's not going know if the bullet going 175 fps. faster. Or if was shot with .38 Cal or .44 Cal. When it all comes down to the kill. SHOT PLACEMENT, SHOT PLACEMENT, SHOT PLACEMENT. Dead Deer !