357 mag vs 44 mag for hunting

B

bucksnort13

New member
I Want to get a single action revolver for deer hunting I know I want a Ruger now I am trying to decide caliber. My long time hunting buddy says to get a 44 mag but I have always like the 357 mag because I can put 38s through it and practice for cheaper. I am wondering will the 357 be the better choice because I can practice more or should I get the 44 for the extra power.
 
I will go against the grain,and say 357.
Even though the 44 is a better hunting round power wise,the 357 will get the job done,if you pick your shots,and use the heavier bullets.
Plus,I think most folks will shoot the 38/357 more than they will the 44,and get more proficient with it.My opinion,bet you get many more:)
 
with the 44 mag you will have the better hunting round, and you can always download it to 44 special to practice with for less money than the 44 mag
 
Both are pretty good white tail rounds. My nod goes to the .44 as it simply opens up a larger wound channel.

Further, if distance becomes a factor, the .44 retains more ooomph! down range. And the cost factor is not that much different for components.

Bob Wright
 
Both will work, but the 44 will work better.

You can download the 44 Mag to comfortable levels, or shoot 44 SPL. The only thing that the .357 has going for it is cheaper ammo/cheaper to reload.
 
not too much difference

Hunting with a handgun will limit your range to 50-75 yards(unless you use scope). At that range a .357 or .44 bullet won't make much difference if you put it in the right place.
With the .357 you really need to select a proper bullet. The .44 won't be so picky.
 
The 44 is the better round for deer, but the 357 is easyer to practice with. I've taken two deer with 357s and both were dead when I got to them. Here's one I shot in '75 with a 2nd gen. Colt in 357. I stopped hunting when I realized you didn't get much shooting and dragging deer corpses out of the mountains wasn't all that much fun.



 
44mag is better. Much better.
I seen a deer in early spring limping around that I was sure I'd got a perfect hit with a m28...
 
Well I am biased of sorts, I have both of them and a 41, and a couple a little bigger than the 44.

For starters though do you load your own??

If so then I would say pick up something you like in the 44 and go merrily along your way. There are loads from mild to wild for it and bullet weights, and styles, enough to make you sick of looking through them. Go with the 44 and pick out something in the 240-260 grain range, along with a powder that will give you a wide range of loads like 2400 or similar. Or if your the experimental type pick up some Unique, some 2400 and some 296 and you will be set for any occasion.

I'm not saying that the .357 isn't capable of hunting with, but with the heaviest bullet weights your simply just getting started into the light weights for the 44. Trust me when I say, pushing a 180gr .357 to top end, you will still not be getting much, if any more performance than with a .240gr 44 running right around 1000 fps. Then figure you can bump that 240 on up into the 1500fps range and you can start to see where it might be a bit more flexible.

The added weight, and diameter, coupled with being able to push them faster gives you more energy to use on the intended game. Add that to being able to load from light target loads up into full blown magnums, and there really isn't a downside.

Like I mentioned above though, I have them both and several others as well so I am somewhat biased. Even so I enjoy shooting them all, and quite a bit at that.
 
The simple fact is that a .357 is capable of killing average sized deer. It is probably pushing your luck to try a big mule or elk. If you cannot bring yourself to use a .44, or even a .45 colt, go ahead and use the .357 and make sure that you don't make any mistakes.

A .357, IMO, had better get a solid hit through heart or lungs. A .44 magnum isn't much larger in diameter, but there is a huge difference in both weight and energy, and hence, bleedout capacity.
 
i am going after white tail with my 357 Blackhawk this year. I have 180 grain rim rock hard cast gas check bullets (buffalo bore uses these bullets) loaded over 13.5 grains of 2400 and shot over the chronograph - low 1290 to mid1300 fps. this is more than enough for deer at 75 yards and down... if you don't reload look up the 180 grain 357 buffalo bore ammo, tons of positive reviews on it for deer...
 
.44 will do it better and is not unpleasant to shoot in the big Rugers. You won't save much money shooting .44 Specials however.
 
Buy the 44 mag! Both the 357 mag and the 44 mag has a pronounced percussion when fired. The 44 mag will retain its engery over a greater distance and create a larger wound channel and if you purchase a heavy revolver the recoil will be very manageable. I own one of each and I will pick up the 44 mag every time (for hunting that is).
 
I had bad results with high speed middle weight JHP 357 magnum rounds on deer. I switched to 170-180 grain JHP and never got a shot before moving up to 44mag. With the 44 mag I've had good results with even cheap WWB 44 mag ammo. If was going to use the 357 again it would be a tough choice between heavy jhp or hardcast. Probably be ok with a perfect shot but when hunting you can't always get a perfect shot. The 44 mag is much more forgiving, never had to do a finish up shot with the 44.
 
.357 vs .44

I like the .357 (and have four) but I prefer the .44 Magnum for hunting whitetail. I use two Ruger Super Blackhawks, one scoped, one not. I have had the most success with the scoped one; usually with 300gr Hornady XTPs.

With good shot placement, the .357 is adequate but the .44 is excellent.

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I say go with what you shoot the best. In my case it's a .357 using either a 180 JHP or Hardcast. .357 is less expensive to buy factory or to reload and as already stated shoots the cheaper .38 Special.
 
A .357 is plenty for deer as it doesn't lack in penetration with the right loads. A 158gr JHP will dig in deep and a 180gr hardcast even deeper. The 357 will be easier to shoot too and while the 44 is probably better as an all-around hunting cartridge, with proper shot placement the .357 won't let you down.

That said, I love the .41 Magnum and .45 Colt Ruger single actions. You can get a .45 Colt Blackhawk convertible that shoots .45 Colt and .45 ACP that way you can have mild recoil with the ACP or cowboy level .45 Colt or if you want something more stout buy higher end .45 Colt ammo that can shoot a 325gr bullet over 1300 fps.

The truth is they'll all work very well with proper shot placement, deer aren't armor clad tanks and they're not hard at all to kill.
 
Not hard to kill, sometimes, tell that though to the ones that ran off after a 270 blew out their lungs. Their toughness and ability to absorb punishment needs to be respected.
 
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