Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Pistol calibers for deer?

I have several hunting rifles, but also have a Beretta CX4 carbine in .40 S&W. Anyone used this cartridge from a carbine for deer? Seems like it should do the job at arrow ranges....

S

I'd have to check ballistics, but if the 40 in a carbine, approaches/exceeds a 10mm in a 5" handgun, then yes it will do fine, as the 10mm has made many deer hunters happy!

Proper bullet, and steer it properly should work at close ranges, I'd aim just behind shoulder on broadside shots to get lungs, should not be far to track....

Load Barnes Xs or Speer GoldDots (or, if you can find them, the Winchester 175 gr. SilverTip JHPs), and slay deer. You should be pushing about the same velocity as my Glock 20, and with those bullets deer don't go much of anywhere but down.

6.8, 35Rem, 7mmTcu, and 308 are my pistol calibers. They all work just fine for deer.

Mike

if this is waht you have, load it with the Barnes X's and go hunting. Shoot at the crease behind the front leg halfway between top and bottom, practice at different distances and then don't shoot furhter than you can hit a coffee can bottom at. If you find out you like deer hunting, save your money and buy a little bigger gun like a marlin 30-30 or 44mag.

It should work with careful shot placement. I'd be concerned about bullet selection. Most (if not all) bullets for the 40 S&W are meant for shooting people. I doubt a deer is any tougher than a man, but in a rifle the bullet will be going 250-300 fps faster than in a handgun. It's already soft to expand at low velocity, and the added speed could turn it into a bomb.

I shot a deer with a 44 Marlin and American Eagle factory loads a few years ago. In a rifle it chronographed a solid 300 fps more than in a handgun. One shot killed the deer quickly but wasted more meat than any other caliber I've ever used, including the 223 and the 270.


I doubt any factory 40 S&W bullet is really ideal for deer. I'd use the heaviest, toughest slug meant for the 10mm that I could find. If you can handload a fairly heavy cast bullet, even better.


Okie John

I have taken two with a 357 using 180 grain, both one shot dead.
Kept range to 25 yards.
See no reason that a 40 using a good bullet and short range will not work as well.

I've never taken a deer with a .40 S&W round, but it should certainly be "do-able" out to maybe 75 yards or so... maybe even 100 yards with a scope-sighted pistol.

However, if you limit yourself to 50 yards or less, it's a "sure bet". Aim for the "boiler room" and start thinking "venison steaks & roasts"...!!!


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

I carried my Browning .40 S&W when I was guiding and have used it to administer killing shots to wounded deer and pronghorns. IMO, it kills just as well as a .357 Mag. I have also used it to put down pronghorns and a mule deer that had been hit by vehicles. Most of these were still somewhat ambulatory and the ranges varied from about 20 yds up to 45 yds for one pronghorn.

Since I have other pistols that are more suited to hunting, it would not be my first choice, but if it was all that I had, I would not hesitate to use it. Just don't try to stretch it too far...

Don't forget to check your regs.

I am able to keep these in stock for the wife's Glock 22 and my Glock 24 for just that purpose when we hunt Georgia,SC and NC.

40 Smith and Wesson
165 gr. Ranger Partition Gold�
Product Symbol: RA401P


Mike

It'll do the job with proper shot placement.

The next pistol cal I buy for deer will probably be a 44mag. I shot a few hogs and one buck with my 357 mag and it did the job, but blood was little if any. The buck I shot weighed around 180 and I had a tiny entrance and exit hole with no blood trail at all from a 158 grn JHP at 60 yards.

Good Luck

Reloader7RM

Well, you got about as much from your 357 as can be expected from any straight-walled revolver cartridge. The 44 mag will give you about the same thing but with slightly larger holes. None of them will do the amount of internal damage that a high-velocity rifle will do and leave a large, ragged, bloody exit hole. If you're getting an exit hole, you might wanna just keep using what you have, carefully place your shots, and count your blessings. I'm not saying a 44 mag won't be better, just that it won't do what a rifle will do.

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I'm not saying a 44 mag won't be better, just that it won't do what a rifle will do.

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No substitute for cubic inches.

You can make handguns tear stuff up too, it just isn't necessary.

Most JHP 357's aren't going to expand at 60 yards, nor will 44's.

Really wide and flat or a softer nose is the route to go.

I am sticking with the Speer 270 grain GDSP in .44 Mag.

True.

The version I've always heard says "There's no replacement for displacement."

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Not in my limited experiences. Have killed deer with a 6" M629 shooting 200gr JHPs and used the same bullets to kill several deer with a 24" barreled 444 Marlin.

All one shot kills. With the 444 Marlin, some at 75 yards or a bit more. A 200gr Speer JHP or 200gr XTP, will pretty much de-lung a whitetail at that distance, on a broadside shot. The 200gr bullets were also very accurate in the Marlin. Three shot "cloverleafs" @ 100 yds were the norm, not the exception.

Note the speeds; I should have said from a handgun. At handgun speed it can be an iffy proposition, dependent on impact speed.

I can tell you an XTP started at 1,000 fps won't at fifty.

Iv'e shot deer with my grandfathers 38WCF which is the ballistic twin of the 40 and they died quickly. The only issue has stated before is bullet construction.If there is a partition it would be a good load.
Ed