357 for Deer Hunting

Why would you choose to use a pistol bullet in a rifle when there are so many better choices?
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There really are very few choices when using "pistol caliber" carbines, since most pointed heavy bullets would be too long to fit the actions

You can sometimes get by with them in single shots where COAL doesn't matter as much
 
Get a good stout 158gr bullet, put it inside the ribcage, go home and eat your deer.

I've seen it work too many times to be told it won't!

If these animals keep getting tougher you'll need a 50 bmg for whitetails before too long.

My grandpa killed a lot of deer with a 32-20, kept his family fed for a long time with one, your 357 in a carbine is much more powerful than that old cartridge.
 
My Dad and Uncle used to shoot deer off of horse back with 22WRF. Times, circumstance and hunting pressures have changed, do whats right for your own situation.
 
.357 has its limitations

Understand what they are and you will do quite well with the .357 out to about 150 yards or so.
 
Originally posted by Water-Man: buck,

I have no idea what you're talking about in reference to a deer running.

You have your posts screwed-up.

That FP bullet is a .38spl., not a .357Mag.
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The deer running "close to a mile" was in reference to a post earlier in this thread. You really should read all the posts made in a thread before responding. It's not my post that is screwed up.

As for being screwed up, I believe you are, as the .38 caliber, 158gr XTP-FP bullet is designed for velocities 1200 to 1800 fps. Far, far and away from .38 special velocities.:rolleyes:
 
heart shot deer can run an amazing distance. If the last thought in the deer's mind is "run" then run it will, unless you have physically broken the nerve path to the legs. 1/4 mile, easy, a full mile before piling up? Unusual, but terrain makes a difference too. I've see deer dropped DRT roll a half mile down a steep mountain! (Weel, maybe not quite that far, but it seemed like 4 miles back up!;))

Sometimes heart shot deer just collapse. Sometimes they run. THAT has very little to do with the caliber they get shot with, within limits.

Lung shot deer run too, but seem to travel less, on the average. And some just sink to the ground. You can get either or something inbetween, with exactly the same hit, on different deer. Can't tell you why, I think only deer know, if they even do...

Essentially, if the flight reflex is kicked in, deer can run until the brain runs out of blood (oxygen), then the deer stops, dead. sometimes its only a few yards, other times it's an amazing distance. This does NOT constitute any kind of failure on the part of the bullet, or cartridge that I can see.
 
And they can make their way through some very heavy brush after a very well placed shot. They have no book of rules on how to react after being shot.
 
And they can make their way through some very heavy brush after a very well placed shot. They have no book of rules on how to react after being shot.
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That's why an exit wound is so important, since that is where most of the bleeding occurs
 
My last deer was shot with a Ruger 77/357.

I used a Hornady 125 gr XTP with a max charge of H110. I clocked this load at 2300fps.

I hit my doe square in the liver at about 100 yards. Bullet did a full pass through. She ran for about 3 seconds then dropped dead.

I can post a picture of the internal destruction that bullet did but it's quite gory.

XTP's are very robust bullets and are ideal for hunting. Judging from the destruction I saw first hand I'd say this combination is far from marginal.
 
That's why an exit wound is so important, since that is where most of the bleeding occurs
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Sure would be nice if some of the people who insist on expansion and the bullet staying in the body cavity would understand this.
:D
 
Sure would be nice if some of the people who insist on expansion and the bullet staying in the body cavity would understand this.
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They would if they shot enough deer to see the difference

I'm lucky enough to live in a state with long seasons and high limits, and I can look out my window and see some of the fields I hunt
 
Keep your distances reasonable (under 100 yds), choose some good bullets, and you're good to go. The XTP's are what I'd choose or basic semi-jacketed soft points. Good luck hunting. Better late than never. Just another part of life to experience.
 
Most detractor are probably those who use a 300 Win Mag on deer. A 357 will work fine with the right bullet and kept to the acceptable parameters.
 
.357 Rifle

I use the .357 in a rifle for deer a lot. It is extremely effective at ranges less than 125 yards. It's main virtue is very mild recoil and report along with very little wasted or bloodshot meat. This cartridge is very different in a rifle than it is in a handgun because of the additional 400 fps velocity. I have had somewhat better results than the .30/30 cartridge, which I respect and use. It does not have the range or penetration potential on game larger than deer but for game under 300# and under 125 yards, I'll take the .357 rifle. It's a very pleasant and mild round for the shooter and very tough at the target.
 
I've read this ENTIRE thread and I want to throw my .002 in here. For some unknown reason a lot of folks think you need a 300RUM to kill a thin skinned and in most cases a sub 200lb animal at short distances (I live in SC so deer around here are taken mostly 150yards and less). :rolleyes: If a deer can be taken ETHICALLY with a 177grain lead round ball traveling at LESS than 1000fps at 100 yards, then there is no reason a .357mag cannot do the job Ethically. I have seen many deer taken with a .357mag at <100 yards with full pass through. The downed animals I've seen were taken with the Hornady Leverevolution ammo fired out of a lever action rifle. Which I think that round is still moving at around 1500fps and and has somewhere around 700ft lbs of energy at 100 yards. I have been hunting deer all of my life and I would not hesitate to take a 357 carbine in the woods and feel confident doing so within the limitations of the round.
 
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