.357 magnum rifle for deer?
- Thread starter Medinac
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MCgunner
Member
Nope......
MCgunner
Member
Yes.
zxcvbob
Member
Diesel, You can update your subscription to the thread to have an email sent to you when somebody replies.
2'Bucks'11
Member
ty MCGunner, Then why does the carbine penetrate deeper? (I mean by a lot.) or if you could suggest a different type of pen. test? I'm always looking for new trials and test for firearms.
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Kachok
Member
Unless you are shooting non-expanding bullets they will penatrate LESS at carbine speeds then handgun speeds. This is normal of cup and core construction, the excess speed makes for larger expansion and more fragmentation reducing penatration and making a wider rather then deeper wound canal. The only exceptions to this are bullets with a very robust construction such as the Nosler Partition, Barns TSX, and Swift A-Frame. That has been tested many times before. If your carbine was punching deeper I would doubt the accuracy of your test media, HPs respond very differently to fliud based media then sand or phonebooks.
wyohome
Member
You have a 6.5x55? First I have heard about it.
Kachok
Member
Yeah I really like my Sweed, as far as ultra light recoil hunting calibers go it is without equal, other then it's ballistic twins of course (260Rem, 6.5x47, 6.5 Creedmore) A couple years ago I did a detailed comparison of light kicking hunting calibers and the remarkable ballistics of the 6.5s put them well ahead of the pack. They also have the advantage of the highest SD bullets of the small caliber world giving them killing power far beyond what their recoil would tell tell you. Pistol cartrages can also posess that high level penatration with Keith style hardcast, not expending any energy on expansion means more energy on target, shame they are not legal to hunt with here. I would not hesetate for a second to use a Keith style 44 mag on any deer or hog we have around here, only issue is to make sure you hit both lungs directly since hardcast don't make a wide wound canal so little to no remote damage unlike my ballistic tips that send fragments through the entire chest cavity.
R.W.Dale
Member
You have a 6.5x55? First I have heard about it.
Gawd! Why did you have to get him started
posted via mobile device.
2'Bucks'11
Member
Yeah when I was testing, I was using semi-jacketed wad cutters. I was going to use them for hunting deer because I was worried of HP fragmentation in the meat... I just had to switch to the hp at the last min availability thing. Bullets on Back order don't kill deer. I'm still tiring to rap my head around the physics of the carbine as it is new (less than a year) and unfamiliar (don't have drop, pen, ect... memorized yet) firearm to me. As I am up in a heavy rifle area of the state (ie anything non-rim fire and bigger than .22).
MCgunner
Member
Uh? Momentum. A bullet traveling 400 fps faster not only has more energy, it has more momentum, too. I use a good flat point Keith style 165 grain SWC, non expanding. Hornady XTP is a good JHP design to use, especially in 180 grain, but I prefer my own cast SWCs. They penetrated a doe all they way through at 80 yards and left a 3" diameter path of tissue destruction through the lungs. She went about 20 yards and keeled over. There was a huge blood pool on the ground behind where she stood when she was hit.
I've shot a couple of hogs with my Blackhawk and this same load, 14.5 grains 2400 under that Lee mold cast bullet. I got complete penetration from a HANDGUN on a 200 lb hog, so at rifle velocities, I don't see a penetration problem.
Don't bother with hollow points, not necessary. I prefer Keith style SWC bullets from handgun OR rifle for hunting. Buffalo Bore has a selection if you don't handload.
Kachok
Member
Nice thing about heavy hardcast at pistol cartrage speeds is that meat damage is not an issue at all unless you strike a heavy bone directly and make a fragmentation gernade out of it. Genral rule is that under 1800fps you can eat right up to the hole. Penatration is the strongsuit of hardcast, I HIGHLY doubt you will have any issue with that unless you are trying to shoot through three deer lengthwise, 147gr Keith style hardcast out of my 9mm pistol are rated at 40" of BG penatration, a 180gr (or 215gr) bullet of nearly identical caliber with twice the energy would pass through anything shy of a trophy brown bear no doubt about it. Just remember as I said before, while very deep and streight the would tract from a SWC tends to be rather narrow, so the pie plate theory does not apply, gatta hit vitals directly for lightning quick kills. Thats OK though, lungs are a nice sized target.
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2'Bucks'11
Member
TY all
Magwa45
Member
There is no doubt that a .357 Magnum carbine such as the Marlin 1894C is a good deer cartridge out to 100 yds. This is often discussed in depth on the Marlin Owners site, complete with recommendations for the best boolits and powders. It is often said to rival the 30-30 at such short ranges. But that does not matter here in the People's Republic of Maryland, where a deer hunting cartridge has to develop "muzzle energy of at least 1200 foot pounds." So you can also forget about those big bore air rifles as well.
MCgunner
Member
Actually, the .357 in a rifle DOES run over 1200 ft lbs from a 20" barrel. I get near 1300 ft lbs from my 165 grain cast SWC. Check energies for the buffalo bore loads.
tacdad
Member
When I was a kid we lived in New York when it was shotgun or pistol only. My Dad hunted with a TC Contender chambered in 35 Rem. and also one in 30-30. He hand loaded for the 30-30 nosler ballistic tips and killed deer out to 150 yards. He never lost one either. I would recomend a TC Encore pistol or an older contender chambered in a rifle caliber. You can get them in 308 with a long barrel and recoil wouldn't be to bad.
MrDig
Member
It is not so much the Rifle and the round, as it is the Shooter. How confident are you in your shot placement? How well do you know the limitations of the rifle and the rounds?
I would say your 1894c is quite capable of taking deer, specifically in the ranges under 100 yards. Make certain you shoot it consistently at 100 yards so you can take that shot confidently.
I would say your 1894c is quite capable of taking deer, specifically in the ranges under 100 yards. Make certain you shoot it consistently at 100 yards so you can take that shot confidently.
MCgunner
Member
And, this relates to the .357 Magnum in a rifle...HOW? I have a .30-30 Contender that's taken 5 deer, but this thread is about the .357 in a RIFLE...or at least i thought it was.
nyresq
Member
Some one has a little touch of A.D.D.! Try to focus here the OP was asking about the 357 mag used in a rifle. Yes, there are a ton of different calibers in TC contenders and lots of rifles chambered in 30-30. But the OP wanted info about using 357s in rifles on deer, which it does great inside of 100 yards.
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