Looking for .357 deerloads

[wade45]

       I am looking for deer loads for the .357 Mag. using Win.296 and hardcast lead swc bullets. I have been using 2400 but was given the 296 as a gift and was just curious if anyone had some ideas or pet loads to share. This year I'm planing to act as a "guide" for my wife who loves to hunt but hasn't gotten a deer yet and just want to keep my gear light and simple to help her. Any loads would be appreciated.

[Catfish]

You`ll love the 296. That is the only powder I load in my hot handgun loads. For .357 deer loads I load max. load of 296 behind a Serria 158 gn. hp. In the .357 max. I shoot 158 gn. Hornady bullets with max. powder charge. Both are very accurate bullets but the Hornady is to tough for the .357 mag., and the Serria is to soft for the max.

[M60ACE]

Wade,
 There are many approaches to your dilemma, as there are many combinations that MAY work out well.
Here are my recommendations, based on my experiences. I will adress bullet selection first.
If you choose a jacketed bullet, I would reccomend nothing less than a 180gr bullet. The reason for this is they have beter sectional density, thus better penatration. They also retain velocity better, compared to lighter bullets.
There are 2 good bullets available, 1. Hornady XTP 180gr. HP 2.(believe it or not) Remingtons 180gr SJHP. This bullet is available at http://www.midwayusa.com/  (I took a nice doe with this bullet, heart/lung--complete broadside pass through.
 A hardcast lead bullet with a wide flat nose in 165-200gr is hard to beat. They're good bone crushers, make a nice wound channel, and are deep penetraters. They are quite affordable and well made, available from Leadheads, https://www.proshootpro.com/ I purchased some of the gas checked 200gr bullets and they consistantly chronographed at 1215-1223, thats 8 ft SD. His bullets were never more than .05 of a grain difference in weight (dillon electronic scale).
 The muzzle energy is 661 ftlbs, with 435 ftlbs remaining at 125 yds. This load yeilds an impressive(for a .357)
542 ftlbs at 50yds with a Taylor KO index of 11.3 (NOTE: 50 yds. IS THE LONGEST SHOT I PERSONALLY WOULD ATTEMP WITH MY CAPABILITIES).
I will be testing A 165 Keith style hardcast lead bullet from LEADHEADS, https://www.proshootpro.com/ I will post results in about 2 weeks.

As far as powders, I cannot disagree with the other posts on powders. I can suggest one    that has outperformed the others IN MY FIREARM. I had ben hearing a lot about Vihtavouri powders in the past years, so I decided to try some N110. It is a very small grain extruded powder which gives excellent ignition in cold weather. Well, to my suprise it worked better than I had expected, and I have found none more consistant. I have also used thier rifle powder. This powder works so well for me that I will eventually be using this brand for all my reloading needs. It is more expensive than the others averageing 22.50 a pound, and it comes in 2 lb canisters so it will set you back about 45.00 for a canister??? .

 This is the best I can help you at this time, my shooting was done with a S & W 686, the barrel was 6.5 inches. Due to different tolerences in firearms , and different loading techniques, results do vary.

 The Best of Regards, Todd