44 Magnum vs 357 Magnum

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I found myself having to purchase a rifle in either of these calibers for deer season in Ohio, both will have around a 20 inch barrel.
I will also use this rifle around home for deer and black bear aswell, 99% of my shots will be taken under 50 Yards.
I know that 44 magnum has more energy but it also cost twice as much and from what i can tell has a considerable amount of recoil for a pistol caliber rifle.
 
If you are asking if .357 Magnum is good for deer out to 100 yards according to what I have read and according to a couple of my brother’s friends that hunt in Pennsylvania, it is.
I have no experience hunting deer with .357 but I wouldn’t feel under gunned if using a rifle. I would not use a bullet under 158 grains.
If you calculate the energy of a 158 grain bullet traveling at 1700 FPS you have over 1000 ft/lbs of energy. Definitely an adequate number for deer.
 
your going to need a 44 mag for
black bear


about 20 cents more a round if you use 44 mag for target shooting yes its 20 cents more a round can add up, but how often would you do that? now for just hunting your not going to use more the 10 rounds per year so that$ not a big money deal..
https://www.laxammo.com/fiocchi-44-mag-200-gr-sjhp-50-rds-44b500-1-detail
https://www.outdoorlimited.com/hand...ge204340050-158-grain-hollow-point-50-rounds/
GECO 357 Magnum Ammunition GE204340050 158 Grain Hollow Point 50 Rounds

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I know that 44 magnum has more energy but it also cost twice as much
What - the rifle or the ammo "cost twice as much?" I'm guessing you mean the ammo, and I'm also guessing you don't handload. As a avid handloader, I consider the cost difference between 357 ammo and 44 ammo negligible. And I really don't know how much factory ammo costs for either one of them because it's been so long since I bought any.
from what i can tell has a considerable amount of recoil for a pistol caliber rifle
Maybe. Years ago my dad had a Ruger 44 mag carbine. He sold it because he thought it kicked too hard. But dad always did have a tender shoulder. He also thought Model 94 30-30s were hard kickers, while I don't think they kick hard at all.
What I'm trying to say is, some people can tolerate more recoil than other people. I personally think my 308 Norma Magnum is just about right as far as recoil goes. I don't like a gun that kicks so hard it makes me dizzy when I shoot it (and I have shot a few of those) but I like to know that the gun went off.:)
 
I found myself having to purchase a rifle in either of these calibers for deer season in Ohio, both will have around a 20 inch barrel.
I will also use this rifle around home for deer and black bear aswell, 99% of my shots will be taken under 50 Yards.
I know that 44 magnum has more energy but it also cost twice as much and from what i can tell has a considerable amount of recoil for a pistol caliber rifle.

A 20" barrel isn't optimum for the .357 using factory ammo. 18" barrels will provide better velocities. I think even 16" barrels will provide higher velocities than 18" ones, but double check as I'm not sure. Maybe someone else will comment on that.
 
Hunting medium game? .44 mag all the way. All around fun? .357 mag.

I have Henry Single Shots in both cartridges. While the recoil from the .44 mag is definitely stronger than the .357, it is not uncomfortable. And while I wouldn't hesitate to use a .357 at limited range on medium game if that's all I had, I would opt for the .44 without question if given that choice for hunting.
 
Just because the range is close don't assume that it doesn't call for skill. In the brush you'll often be making a snap decision whether to shoot at an alerted moving animal. Can you put a bullet through a tiny hole in the brush at an awkward angle shooting offhand in bad light at fifty yards and always under time pressure?

This kind of work requires a bit more of the hunter than the typical mid-range stuff with the telescopically sighted bolt-gun.

Buy the one you'll shoot the most. And it should be the .44. Yes, the three five seven will work. I've killed deer with the 38 WCF, an older cartridge of similar power, but only on picked shots.

Clost work is different. It requires something special of the rifleman.
 
I have both and hunt with both. This weekend I hunted Arkansas with my brother. I brought my 450BM AR but decided to take “Ole Faithful” out instead. A 60’s model 1894 in 44 Mag. I shot 2 big bodied deer and a big coyote with it. My load was 240 Sierra hollow core over 23gr H110. Shots were 23 and 40 yards. Got clean pass throughs with every animal. The deer I broke their front “shoulder” on, blew the tops of their hearts off and it kept going.

My nephew took my brothers Henry in 357 with Hornady XTP’s. His shot was 38 yards. He center punched the heart but did not get a pass through. The deer barely bled at all. In fact, they couldn’t find blood initially and gave up looking for it until it was almost time to go home. My nephew was so confident he hit it he went walking. Found 2 drops of blood and the deer was 15 yards from the drops. However, I can chalk that up to bullet performance more than chambering.

Being a handloader, I save a TON of money reloading the 44 (and others cartridges as well). And like @.308 Norma said, I haven’t bought factory ammo in those calibers in awhile. With proper loads, both will work just fine. But I’d prefer the extra momentum the 44 offers me over the 357.
 
Just because the range is close don't assume that it doesn't call for skill. In the brush you'll often be making a snap decision whether to shoot at an alerted moving animal. Can you put a bullet through a tiny hole in the brush at an awkward angle shooting offhand in bad light at fifty yards and always under time pressure?
Sounds like you hunt like I do. My shooting lanes often require me to move a few inches side to side to get even a 30 yard shot. 100 yards where I hunt would require det-cord to achieve. The dark tree in the center of the picture is 21 yards away.
 

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My nephew took my brothers Henry in 357 with Hornady XTP’s. His shot was 38 yards. He center punched the heart but did not get a pass through. The deer barely bled at all. In fact, they couldn’t find blood initially and gave up looking for it until it was almost time to go home. My nephew was so confident he hit it he went walking. Found 2 drops of blood and the deer was 15 yards from the drops. However, I can chalk that up to bullet performance more than chambering.

Yep, that's why I will not be shooting any more deer with a 357 pistol. I have a few bullets I've tested that I would have a lot more confidence in with the extra 500 fps you can get from a 357 rifle, but I see no reason to choose it over a 44.
 
Sounds like you hunt like I do. My shooting lanes often require me to move a few inches side to side to get even a 30 yard shot. 100 yards where I hunt would require det-cord to achieve. The dark tree in the center of the picture is 21 yards away.

There's something exciting about putting a game animal you need inside of an aperture. Or even better a set of old fashioned open sights. I love looking at the old catalogs, the range and availability of irons in the old days was amazing.

They're not even to be despised utterly for long range shooting. On a day of good contrast, and no wind, I can put the old Winchester sporting sight on my old 40-82 on the top notch of the elevator, and clean a bank of eight-inch gongs at four hundred and fifty yards--but that's for entertainment. I'd never dream of shooting at a big game animal that far with something that slow. He could take a step forward after I pulled the trigger, and I'd end up with a hit too far back.

Did I hit? After I pull the trigger, I set the rifle down, start making a sandwich, and either I'll hear the gong clang, or I won't.
 
In the real world both are equal on deer or black bear size game. But you have to use HUNTING ammo, not personal defense ammo. The better 180-200 gr loads for a 357 mag fired from a rifle simply aren't that far behind 200 gr 35 Remington. And many consider the 35 Rem better than 30-30. The 158 and lighter bullets are designed for personal defense, not big game.

180 gr 357 mag load. 1840 fps from a rifle.
https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=541

200 gr 357 load, 1300 fps from a 6" revolver. Add at least 200, maybe 400 fps from a rifle. In the real world 35 Rem won't break 2000 fps with 200 gr bullets from a 20" barrel.
http://www.doubletapammo.net/index.php?route=product/product&path=303_331&product_id=337

Penetration is the key and a .357 mag 180 or 200 gr hardcast bullet fired at rifle velocities will shoot all the way through any animal in North America at limited ranges of course. Energy numbers don't tell the story.

On the other hand there are few downsides to 44 mag. Yea, you can get plinking ammo a LITTLE cheaper for 357, but once you start buying good hunting loads the prices are about the same.

I buy a lot of my ammo from these guys, 357 mag plinking loads are about $3.50 less/50 rounds.

http://www.georgia-arms.com/357-magnum-158gr-rd-nose-flat-pt/
http://www.georgia-arms.com/new-44-rem-mag-240gr-lead-semi-wadcutter/

My Marlin 44 mag does have a bit more recoil than my 30-30's but not much and the 44 is a LOT lighter too. Right at a full pound. I prefer the 44, but my decision is based on liking 44 mag better in a handgun and matching the rifle to the same cartridge as the handgun. From a rifle, with the right ammo I'd not feel handicapped either way.
 
A few years ago I picked up a Rossi '92 .44 mag, 20" barrel because I thought it would be "fun". It was not. After reshaping the stock to a '94 style and adding a Kick Eez pad it was tolerable. But shooting .44 specials through it made me giggle like a little girl. IMHO, if you go with a .44, practice with the specials and hunt with the mags.

I've taken 3 blacktails and two hogs with a .357 revolver, so I have no doubt that with the right load in a rifle it would be more than adequate for deer at 50 yds. Throw a bear into the mix and I'd feel much more comfortable with the .44.
 
Sounds like you hunt like I do. My shooting lanes often require me to move a few inches side to side to get even a 30 yard shot. 100 yards where I hunt would require det-cord to achieve. The dark tree in the center of the picture is 21 yards away.

Man, that looks familiar.

index.php

I feel that with the right bullet, something like the Buffalo Bore 180gr FP or a Swift A-frame, the 357mag carbine will work with good shots and well selected bullets.

The 44mag, a pretty sedate 240gr SWC pushed to around ~1000fps should work adequately. Launching bullets at higher velocities just buys you more range IMHO.

I picked the 44mag, I load a 240gr XTP warm, but under max as its an extremely accurate load out of my carbine and I have zero complaints about its performance on whitetail. It does thump the shoulder a little however. 25 rounds of my hunting load is about my max for a range trip. Load development was a bit of punishment.

Most of my 44mag shooting is a 240gr SWC somewhere between 44special and full power 44mag power levels and I could shoot that all day.

If I was going for heavier game, I be a little pickier about my bullet selection. Either a bonded or copper solid.
 
.357 from 16 - 18" of carbine barrel is a "whole different animal", and while I have only punched paper and clay birds with it, a 158 grain .357 Mag from my Marlin 1894 hits with authority. I am always surprised.

That said, I handload for both .44 Special and Magnum and am working on a load for the 270 gr Speer Deep Curl in Magnum brass from 16" of 1894 SBL to the tune of 1500 - 1600 fps.
 
The 357mag carries the baggage of considerable restrictions and concessions which simply don’t apply for the 44mag. In almost all loads, the 44mag is punching harder at 100 yards than a .357mag at the muzzle - and in many loads, doing so at 200yards.

I’ve taken several deer with .357mag rifles and revolvers each - my wife even dropped a meat doe with her snubnosed SP101 - but the round ties your hands far too much. The 44mag and I have been together most winters for 28 years, and the difference in efficacy in the field is substantial. Not a game of comparing 44mag and 45colt, or 308win and 270win, but a clear, black and white step change.

If I were to only have one, it would NOT be a 357mag, and it WOULD be 44mag, 45 colt, 454 casull, 450 bushmaster, 350 Legend, .45-70, 444 Marlin, 450 Marlin, 38-55, or maybe one of half a dozen others I’m forgetting right now before the .357mag...
 
Random thoughts.

I bought a 44 Mag carbine, a Rossi M92 16-inch, to hunt in Ohio but moved out the year they changed the law and never got the chance to try it.

44 Mag is substantially more cartridge than 357 Magnum from a Revolver of similar barrel length. In a carbine 44 Mag is still more cartridge than 357 Mag but the performance gap narrows. 357 Mag benefits more for similar barrel length gains going from pistol to carbine due to smaller bore area. Because of this a 357 Mag carbine will often shoot flatter than a 44 Mag carbine.

Either cartridge fired from a carbine with bullets appropriate for the game and impact velocity is more than adequate for taking deer assuming bullet placement is good.
 
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