.357 deer hunting bullet?

What bullet would you use to deer hunt when using a .357? I have a Taurus revolver that I need to shoot a deer with.

If I were to use a 357 for deer I would run 180 Hardcast WFNs to insure penetration and keep the shots decent. Seen em work and they aren't a 30-06 but they get it done.

The 357 Mag is a great self defense round but is on the light side for deer. It will work but you have limited range and proper shot placement is critical for a clean kill.
I agree with Scotty, a hard cast bullet would be a good way to go for penetration.

JD338

The 180 gr Hornady XTP pushed to the max works well.

Haven't taken any game with them yet, but I loaded some SPEER 270grn , soft points for my .44mag.
I bought those several years ago. Now they are calling them "deep curl" and they offer both 158 and 170 grn in .357.
Seems like a good way to achieve deep penetration with an expanding bullet. I know some ( maybe most) states require an expanding type bullet for hunting.

I'd probably go with a 158gr xtp, but I think hardcast or 180gr xtp would also be good to look at. I shoot the 180gr xtp and a Lyman 358429 out of a 357 Herrett and 357 maximum and the xtp puts the hurt on deer. I agree with 1shot, if you go with the 180 you'll want a max load behind it.

TC260,

Welcome to the forum. Where are you hunting? Give us a little insight. I see you are carrying a 22lr with snake shot during archery season. Your Contender sounds as if it would provide a lot of fun for hunting. Have you taken anything with it yet?

1Shot":2jg8rfnf said:

The 180 gr Hornady XTP pushed to the max works well.

Click to expand...

I totally agree!

Hey DrMike, I don't get by this forum very often. I deer hunt down here in Louisiana almost exclusively with a handgun. Hunted with a number of different T/C configurations but I think a 10" Contender in 357 Herrett topped with a Leupold 2x is about perfect for where I like to hunt. Haven't gotten into wheelguns yet but I've been eyeballing a Super Redhawk in 480 Ruger.

TC260,

Man, if you have any pictures of the deer you've taken, we'd welcome you posting them so that we could see them. Handgun hunting would be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it is illegal here in Canada.

There is a lot written about the .357 Mag pistol being marginal for deer hunting. From what I have read, the recommendation is: that is you have to use a .357 for shooting deer, use 180 grain bullets loaded to max velocity and carefully pick your shots to at least puncture both lungs. I am convinced that a .357 will kill deer but the question is: how much time will elapse between shooting and death? I have seem deer run a long distance after being well hit with a .30-30 which has 3X the energy of any .357 Mag.

I have killed one (predation tag) mule deer spike with a 9mm High Power, 125 gr HP. The deer was shot by means of fast draw at about 20 feet, in the back of the head. This was a stunt when I was young and I would not repeat it.

I just picked up a new GP100 6" .357 and I am looking at either the Montana Bullet Works 160gr WFNGC or the Hunters Supply 190gr WFN. Either will probably be sitting on top of Alliant 2400.