357 on deer at 100 yards?

[army_eod]

Yeah I’m sure there are people that will tell you they killed deer with a 22 Cal too

 

[mcb]

Yeah I’m sure there are people that will tell you they killed deer with a 22 Cal too

Look at most states game laws, especially handgun regulations, and a ton of cartridges well below 1000 ft-lbs of muzzle energy are legal for deer.

 

[army_eod]

I guess that 1000 ft lb rule is wrong.
So an arrow generates 65 ft lbs.

That means I am good to go with my 1873 rifle in 45 Colt.

 

[mcb]

I guess that 1000 ft lb rule is wrong.
So an arrow generates 65 ft lbs.

That means I am good to go with my 1873 rifle in 45 Colt.

Arrows wounding mechanism is very different and much more energy efficient.

I would use tradition 45 Colt ammo from a revolver without hesitation it would get that much more effective from a carbine.

 

[Demi-human]

Yeah I’m sure there are people that will tell you they killed deer with a 22 Cal too

You need to get out more.
A 22-250 is a legal, and venerable, deer cartridge in Michigan. It also happen to be .22 caliber.

ARs are legal as well, even the .223 kind.

 

[Goosey]

With the right ammo, say some hot Buffalo Bore, you’re pretty close to .30-30 ballistics out of a rifle.

At the muzzle... downrange not too bad either though.

 

[Varminterror]

I guess that 1000 ft lb rule is wrong.
So an arrow generates 65 ft lbs.

That means I am good to go with my 1873 rifle in 45 Colt.

Tens if not hundreds of thousands, possibly MILLIONS of deer have been taken with 45colts. Undoubtedly, thousands with 1873’s even.

 

[Eddietruett]

I've killed Deer and Hogs with a 357 Magnum Revolver. I limit myself to 50-60 yards. With a red dot on my 8 3/8" Model 686 I can shoot plenty accurate enough at 100 yards to hit a deer in the vitals, but I don't trust the performance of the bullet that far out of a revolver. Not worth the risk for me. As for Hogs, you want penetration and the ability to possibly break a shoulder and out of a revolver, I am not sure you can get the penetration you need at 100 yards on a large hog. With a lever action and the right load, I'd feel very confident at 100 yards.

 

[mcb]

You need to get out more.
A 22-250 is a legal, and venerable, deer cartridge in Michigan. It also happen to be .22 caliber.

ARs are legal as well, even the .223 kind.

Tennessee use to have a 25 cal min, but when I just looked in the 2019-2020 regs it's absent, unless I missed it, just any center-fire rifle, no FMJ. They also added 35 cal or larger air-rifle this year for deer hunting.

 

[d2wing]

It is possible but I think it is a poor idea. Now I shoot pretty big deer. I think the odds against accuracy and bullet performance are against it on anything that I would shoot. I have used a .357 at cvery close range.on small deer.

 

[Trey Veston]

I love the debates on appropriate calibers for hunting deer. Especially when energy levels at various distances are discussed. Some people will say a .357 Magnum is inadequate to reliably kill a 150lb. deer, but then in another thread will argue that .380 is just fine for defense against a 300lb human.

Of course the goal in one scenario is to kill an animal with one shot and not have it run very far and die a slow and painful death, and the other involves getting an animal to stop attacking you and it doesn't matter if he lives or dies.

But, I think most will get my point.

I killed my first elk that was 800lbs with one shot at 250 yards using a .257 Roberts and 120gr bullets. Some consider that cartridge minimal for deer. I was 13 and did what my dad told me to do; shoot 6" high and right behind the shoulder. It took one more step before it keeled over and died.

I've shot a few deer with that same rifle and ammo and some ran 50 yards and others dropped. You just never know with wild game.

As long as the bullet penetrates enough to reach vital organs, then you are good.

 

[WisBorn]

As I follow this thread and as mentioned in other posts it's a question about ethically killing a deer. I think the 357 mag is deer capable and more so from a rifle. A 100 yards would be the maximum distance with a good broadside shot. From a handgun a 50 yard shot would be a maximum. I would limit myself to 25 yards this gives me some room for misjudging the distance.

I firmly believe we should not look at minimum caliber/cartridge for killing an animal, but rounds that we can ethically do the job with. A 223 rem will kill a deer, a 243 reduces the risk of wounding an animal so a 243 is a better choice with similar recoil.

 

[Speedo66]

But, even if they use a special commercial powder not available to hand loaders it seems to me that a steady diet of such loads would be hard on some carbines.

Those .357 loads would seem light in comparison to the .44 magnum or the super .45 cartridges some of those same carbines are chambered in.

 

[Speedo66]

Historically, .38-40 and .44-40 were considered adequate deer or even bear loads out of a long gun, again, point of impact is paramount.

I would say a hot loaded .357 out of a long gun would be a better choice.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

I love the debates on appropriate calibers for hunting deer. Especially when energy levels at various distances are discussed. Some people will say a .357 Magnum is inadequate to reliably kill a 150lb. deer, but then in another thread will argue that .380 is just fine for defense against a 300lb human.

Of course the goal in one scenario is to kill an animal with one shot and not have it run very far and die a slow and painful death, and the other involves getting an animal to stop attacking you and it doesn't matter if he lives or dies.

But, I think most will get my point.

I killed my first elk that was 800lbs with one shot at 250 yards using a .257 Roberts and 120gr bullets. Some consider that cartridge minimal for deer. I was 13 and did what my dad told me to do; shoot 6" high and right behind the shoulder. It took one more step before it keeled over and died.

I've shot a few deer with that same rifle and ammo and some ran 50 yards and others dropped. You just never know with wild game.

As long as the bullet penetrates enough to reach vital organs, then you are good.

What lead to my confidence to take a whitetail at about 85 meters was that I learned to handgun hunt and reload on a .41 magnum.

As my confidence in that grew and then my acquisition of a superlative Dan Wesson came along, it seemed a natural step.

I think one of the great unspoken issues here - and especially with the ethicalecturers - is load selection and competency as a marksman AND hunter more than a blanket-interpretation of the caliber.

To put that to direct point, if I had my way, I know two people who should be ashamed and banned due to how they hunt and the decisions they make with a 7mm Mag & a 6.5 where all the wonky ballisticrazies have no *ethical* input.

Laying a broad blanket of utopian negativity over the .357 is just like the .380 noted above, which is the same argument used against 9mm as well as the argument against.....

Too, it is worth noting that my experience tells me that the average fellas "100 yards" is most decidedly shorter, as is the case in most things.

Todd.

 

[jmorris]

I’d rather have a 357 Magnum from a rifle than a subsonic 300 blackout, everyday of the week and there are people that will tell you they are great.

I have uses a 6” 357 at that distance and slightly further but it’s not at the top of my list in choices. The extra barrel length of a rifle and the right powder can make a pretty big difference, 2000+ FPS with 125’s, 1700+ FPS with 158’s.

The #7 load here is still over 1300 FPS at 100 yards with a 180 grain, that would do a number on any deer I have seen.

https://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/.357+Magnum.html

 

[Robbins290]

Yes, If i was accurate with the rifle with a good load. I would have no problems doing it. I have used less and still harvest deer.

 

[Old Stumpy]

Those .357 loads would seem light in comparison to the .44 magnum or the super .45 cartridges some of those same carbines are chambered in.

In terms of chamber pressure?

 

[cougar1717]

I always like to reference BBTI's testing when considering these questions for reference.
http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/357mag.html

Using those for generic velocities, you can figure out the BC of you your exact bullet to figure out trajectory and if there is a chance for expansion at whatever the distance is.

Typically, after you do those calcs, a person realizes....

This question is exactly why this guy has been in business for many years: https://357maximum.net/
(at least if you're thinking about a single shot)

 

[d2wing]

I’d rather have a 357 Magnum from a rifle than a subsonic 300 blackout, everyday of the week and there are people that will tell you they are great.

I have uses a 6” 357 at that distance and slightly further but it’s not at the top of my list in choices. The extra barrel length of a rifle and the right powder can make a pretty big difference, 2000+ FPS with 125’s, 1700+ FPS with 158’s.

The #7 load here is still over 1300 FPS at 100 yards with a 180 grain, that would do a number on any deer I have seen.

https://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/.357+Magnum.html

I pretty much agree with this guy. I used to experiment with casting and loading Elmer Keith bullets. He determined that the best range for a .357 out of a rifle is under 75 yards. Due to the rapid loss of velocity, energy, stability and bullet performance. I agree. My question is why would you use a pistol bullet when you can just as easy use a real rifle bullet that is way better? Never a fan of using a pistol or pistol cartridge to do a rifles job hunting.