Backwoods Power & Effectiveness Comparison: .357 Magnum vs. .40 S&W
- Thread starter Jelly
- Start date
I can't help but shake my head when people insist that a high capcity handgun is better than a clearly more powerful revolver for defense against wild creatures.
They must see themselves emptying their auto at a bear and then coolly inserting a fresh mag. Do these people have any idea of how fast most animals move
They must see themselves emptying their auto at a bear and then coolly inserting a fresh mag. Do these people have any idea of how fast most animals move
Well no, the .40 S&W can't do that.
Guess I'll have to eat Ramen noodles for a month and get a 10mm
Seriously... I don't have a thing against the .357, revolvers in general or 'hitting as hard as you can' in any scrap. I've got a Ruger .45 Colt that'll stand the big stuff and that's what I'd grab if I needed a handgun where 'big stuff' might bother me.
For general woods bumming where the biggest thing I might run across was a puma or small blackie? I'd feel entirely comfortable with the .40 loaded with 200 grain Double Taps, or something similar.
cougar gt-e
New member
A modern high capacity .40 will be a great noise maker to scare off the bear!
I bow hunt where there have been several black bears in the 500+ pound class. Been bluff charged in the dark walking back to camp while carrying a climbing stand, full day pack and bow. Both the .40 or the 357 start to look like cannons compared to the bow with arrows still in the quiver!
By the way, getting bluff charged is not a lot of fun...
I bow hunt where there have been several black bears in the 500+ pound class. Been bluff charged in the dark walking back to camp while carrying a climbing stand, full day pack and bow. Both the .40 or the 357 start to look like cannons compared to the bow with arrows still in the quiver!
By the way, getting bluff charged is not a lot of fun...
Sheikyourbootie said:
You cannot compare a "factory" forty to a hot hand load. If that were the case, I could make it look like the .40 smokes the .357 Magnum. Granted, that 185gr load is stout, but taking the size of the handgun into play, as well as hand loaded ammo for each, you could rather easily be shooting a 180gr hard cast .40 around 1300 fps (5.5-6" barrel), plus have lots more ammo on hand in the magazine. My simply point, never compare "factory" ammo to hand loaded ammo when making comparisons.
With that said, if I think I'm going to need more power than my .40, the hog leg .45 Colt comes out, it'll eat a .357 Mag for breakfast
You cannot compare a "factory" forty to a hot hand load. If that were the case, I could make it look like the .40 smokes the .357 Magnum. Granted, that 185gr load is stout, but taking the size of the handgun into play, as well as hand loaded ammo for each, you could rather easily be shooting a 180gr hard cast .40 around 1300 fps (5.5-6" barrel), plus have lots more ammo on hand in the magazine. My simply point, never compare "factory" ammo to hand loaded ammo when making comparisons.
With that said, if I think I'm going to need more power than my .40, the hog leg .45 Colt comes out, it'll eat a .357 Mag for breakfast