Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 357 Mag on Whitetails

For the 357 Magnum what bullet would you choose for whitetail? Hornady XTP 158-180 gr or a 180 WFNGC Cast Performance ? Does the XTP get any expansion ? Other choices welcome. Haven't decided to reload or stick the factory heavy hitters, Underwood, Buffalo Bore...

What length barrel does your revolver have? It can make a big difference in the performance. Make sure you use stout loads. If its under 6" forget the 180 XTP you won't get the speed you need for expansion. The 158 XTP if you go jacketed should work with really good placement and warm loads. The 180 WFN can work with good placement it is deadly, but expect them to run as a rule. You will get complete penetration and a blood trail though.

Personally, if you have a larger caliber I would use it. The 357 can work but it isn't a death ray. My experience has been that a medium loaded 41, 44, or 45 is far and away more effective without the annoying blast of the loud/hot 357. I tend to use a 44 loaded with 255 WFN cast bullets at a very modest 1050 or so from a 4" barrel and it just flat out works without all the noise and blast of a hot loaded 357.

Mark in GA

Ive killed tons with the 158 g xtp

It's a 6" 686 and it would be way cool to slay a whitetail with it this year, that's my goal anyway. I Know it's on the lowend for deer and shot placement is important but I think I can get it with the right load.




I also have a 4" Redhawk as backup, 335 grain boolits are nasty at 1200+ fps




Good info Mark.

Reloads or factory ?

Factory,
i also ran some reloads using 158 g winchester hp's in front of '296 (iirc) went back to those factorys as they performed better

158 gr SWC with 2400 or 158 gr Gold Dot HP with Win 296 or H110

Gold Dots, interesting, i know they didn't hold up well at close range out of my Glock 20 10mm.

I have had pretty good success with a 6" GP-100 shooting 158gr XTPs over a healty charge of 296 and a magnum primer.

Longest shots have been at 50 yards and I have yet to recover a bullet. Judging by the exit holes though, the bullet is expanding well at that distance.

I've found Gold Dots to be inconsistent from caliber to caliber as well. I have a recover 158 Gold Dot that shows no expansion at all, the only way to tell it was fired is the rifling.

Jacketed I'd go with the 158 and if going to 180's I'd go with the WFNGC.

Anyone know where I can find some 296, LIL GUN or 110 powder? N105 or N320???

If you're worried about expansion try the Nosler JHP. They use a pure lead core and expand better at lower velocity but I've found them to still be fairly tough.

Disclaimer: I've never shot game with the 357 version but the 44s work well and Nosler claims they are constructed the same. XTPs can be a little hard in my experience as velocity falls off.

Hunting partner who is a .41 shooter wanted to take a deer with a 6.5" Model 27 that was left to him by another one of our group who passed away two years ago.

Last year he used the gun with 160 XTPs and H110. Had a good clear shot at a 105# doe broadside at 35 yards. Bullet passed right through both lungs. Deer ran under his tree stand and my friend hit it again going away in the front right leg breaking the lower bone, causing the deer to fall. He put another round in between the shoulder blades before it could get up which ended the flight....

Back in 1972 I was on my first deer hunt with friends in Texas and double lunged a 10 point at about 15 yards. Load was a hardcast Lyman/Thompson 357156 155 grain gaschecked bullet at 1200 fps from a 4" Model 19...deer was last seen going over a neighbors fence about 400 yards from me with blood going down its sides...

.357s will kill deer...it is where they fall down that may be a problem.

Bob

I've only killed one deer with the .357 cartridge and while it serves as just a sample of one, I wasn't impressed.

The distance was close - a running shot at 15 yards maybe. The deer showed no reaction to the first shot and ran about 40 yards before it stopped behind some trees, totally obstructed except for the head and upper neck. A 50+ yard headshot is a low percentage opportunity with a S&W Model 13, but I had to try and finish the deer. Shot #2 was a complete miss and the deer didn't even flinch. Shot #3 immediately followed and took him just behind the right eye.

My cylinder was staggered with three different loads: Shot #1 was an old 158 gr Federal Nyclad LSWC-HP, Shot #2 (the miss) was a Winchester 145 gr Silvertip, and Shot #3 (terminal head shot) was a 1st Gen 158 gr Federal Hydra-Shok.

The Nyclad was a complete pass-through with no evidence of significant expansion. It struck a lung and nicked the liver. The Hydra-Shok showed considerable fragmentation and was recovered at the base of the skull. It weighs about 114 gr.

There was not one drop of blood between shot #1 and the final shot.




I enjoy the challenge of taking deer with the guns I routinely carry, so that's the impetus for using a fixed sight service revolver on this occasion. I've taken 6 deer with the old .45 ACP from service style pistols and the performance was MUCH better in comparison. I haven't given up on taking a few more with some other .357 revolvers but I'll be very deliberate in choosing the shots I take based on this one experience.

I can definitely appreciate your experience, but I wonder if you feel that things would have been different if the deer had not been running when the first shot was taken.

It seems that it is a little tough to blame that performance on the cartridge when the shot placement could have been better.

Not picking on you, just discussing.

CT

That Redhawk looks good. Who did your work? Not trying to sidetrack your thread, just always interested in RedHawks.

One thought is the .357 mag isn't what it used to be in terms of loadings. In its early years the pressure limit was 46,000 cup, and now it's been throttled back to around 35,000 psi, in deference to small framed revolvers.

If the OP does not handload, then I'd suggest he round up some DoubleTap or Buffalo Bore ammo, to get the hottest stuff available. His 686 is decently strong, and should tolerate them at least occasionally. On small southern deer, I'd stick to reliably expanding hollow points, over hardcast.

If I was determined to take a deer with a .357 Revolver it would be either a six shot N frame or a revo of similar strength. And I'd load it as heavy as I could get away with loading.

No problem, as I mentioned - it's just a sample of one.

I think my next attempt with the .357 will involve some stoutly loaded 158 gr loads from one of the boutique makers like Buffalo Bore or Underwood.

Most standard 158 gr loads usually chrono at about 1200 fps so an extra 200 to 300 fps should be something of a game changer.

Thanks, that would be David Clements, he does excellent work.