Help, deer and black bear hunting .357 mag

[Dman23]

I have no experience killing bear with a .357. But i do have plenty of experience killing game animals, and although a 44 or higher may not be a bad idea, i know from a fact with all my other experiences and my experiences with my .357s a well placed shot i would not be worried about killing a black bear. I also dont have any hesitation in using it for bear protection.

For hunting, practice, practice, practice. Like you would for any game animal. Also, at least in MN the ONLY sucessful way to hunt them is baiting, so you get to control the exact shot distance and plan angles. A .357 broadside at a 15 yard bait pile should lead you to place an accurately placed shot.

.357 for defense on paper from bears may look marginal. But the fact that i can swing my 3 inch sp101 around and out of holster quick, get on target quick and have many shoots of a more than deadly load going into them makes me feel as safe as i could being self defense with little warning. For me, a big 44 or 454 would lot allow me to do that.

If 44 or 454 or 480 makes you feel more comforabe quick and shots go off just As you plan great. But i feell my 357s have what the need to get it done and back to safty regaress of shot angles. In A much faster period of time

 

[wet]

I have been hunting bear and deer my whole life. My choice of weapons are 357 blackhawk with 158gr. jhp and 30 30 win. mod.94 sadle gun for bear. When I was a teenager in the 50s my grandfather shot a black bear that had climbed a tree and would keep the tree between himself and grandad. When grandad got a shot with his 45 colt he hit it between the eyes, you could see white bone for just a minute before it covered with blood. It took another shot through the lungs to bring it down.
I have shot well over 40 black bears and two griz. Almost always one shot kills. I can't imanage needing more than six 357 rounds to stop anything in north america.
I have never used anything but a rifel for deer.

 

[22-rimfire]

Wet, I'm impressed. Did you choose your TFL handle due to your bear hunting experiences?

My take is very simple. I read. The difference beween a 41 or 44 mag in a revolver is substantial as compared to 357 mag. Unless you already own the 357 mag, I do't know why someone would choose that caliber over a 41 or 44 for hunting.

As a young hunter, I always supported theory that shot placement was everything and I chose my rifle calibers accordingly in the Eastern woods. I scoffed at the need for a 30-06 (or larger) for deer hunting and the 30-30 ballistics were boring. I moved to a 270 win for my deer hunting over a 243 because having a little more power is helpful in putting the animal down quickly and humanely. But that 270 choice still leaned toward the shot placement over bullet mass approach. Been comfortable with the choice over the years but really don't use a rifle much anymore for deer hunting.

I take this experience to handgun hunting and a 30-30 is a great choice with a Contender. Does that make any sense at all? But I feel if you have the choice available to you, you should choose something a little larger than 357 mag for deer and black bear hunting.

The availability of the hard cast bullets/loads in 357 mag has changed the game somewhat just like pretty good bullets for the 223 has changed the rifle hunting game with deer. But I would still choose something a little larger.