I was pretty torn on the cartridge choice. In the end I choose 357 Maximum, but every day or so my mind would swing in a different direction.
One factor which I didn't bring up was Ohio and legal cartridges there. of my choices the 357Max was the only one that was Ohio legal.
I bought a couple of boxes of the Hornady 180 XTP to get started. I think the Hornday bullet is only rated to 1700 or 1800 fps, and I hope to see 2000fps or so in my 21" tube so I may give the 180 Swift a look as things develop. If I am lucky I can practice with the Hornady and hunt the swift. I also have some of the 180 speer FN, but they might be a little tough for the Maximum.
I am curious as to what the 140 XPB would do in the Max.
FWIW when I started out with a 357 Max I was shooting 180 gr XTP's at 2000 fps. I butcher my own deer so I get a chance to see what the bullet did inside. Deer died so ya can't really say the bullet failed, but at 2000 fps what I found was no exit hole, bullet nearly flattened out and jacket and core seperated. I backed the velocity down to 1700 and they work perfect at that velocity, usually exit or against the hide on the far side and still together. Accurate and mild shooting to boot. The Speer's have to jump pretty far in my rifle and are not accurate so I never shot a deer with one. Partition HG were awesome but no longer available. I think the Swift's would be great if you can find some, but expensive.
