Posted: 8/22/2002 7:03:33 PM EDT
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I'm not really interested in going after a deer with just a handgun this year, but I have thought about picking up one for some limited circumstances, main for doing drives in very thick brush where even carrying a carbine is a pain, but where I still could get off a safe shot without endangering the guys standing watch. What do you think is a realistic round to humanely put down deer at short ranges-assuming a regular chest shot, not shooting it in the neck or head etc.? Is a 357 in a 4" good? Is 44 really the minimum? I've heard of people using 45 on deer, but don't personally know anyone who has done it, is it feasible? |
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My buddy hunts deer with a revolver. Good rule of thumb he always told me was to get the biggest caliber you could handle and shoot accurately but that is the answer with everything. Personally, I would use a taurus raging bull in a meaty magnum with a scope. Short answer, if you can shot the 357 magnum accurately enough to hit a deer 50 yards away lets say, then I would check the ft lbs and compare them to a caliber you know can do the job. Keving67 |
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The 357Mag was originally developed back in the 1930's as a Big Game Hunting round and just about every species of game out there has been taken with a 357Mag. But I'd much rather have a 5" or longer barrel. Much the same can be said for the 45acp, the 41, 44spl or 44mag. As hunting rounds, they can be, and have been, successful. The secret is, of course, shot placement. So of the available calibers the best choice will be the largest that you can control adequately. Before you decide, you need to try as many of them as you can and as many handguns as well. |
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The .357 mag has a long enough case to be used legally on deer,the .45acp I belive has too short a case to be used as a back-up on deer(check your states laws on such) I think the 10mm is the only short cased round that can be legally carried here to take deer. Of coarse the forty-one,44,45 long colt,and many other big bore handguns could easily take a big buck as well. Edited to say the .357 and many rounds are designed to get max Vel out of say a five or six inch barrel. Bob 
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BAkc when I used to hunt deer here in PA I only handgun hunted. I used a 6" 357 loaded witha hard cast SWC at 1300 fps. No optics since the whole point of the exercise was hunting in heavy brush and shots were always undedr 50 yards (longest measured was 47, shortest 22, usually around 35 yards). At those ranges, and with PA's small-bodied deer, I could count on the load to break both shoulders of the deer. |
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my story: .45 acp federal 230g hydro shock. range 15 yds. the deer is struck broad sides 3/4 of the way up the rib cage and exits just below the offside armpit (elevated position). i swear it looked like it was pinned to the ground with a spear! quivered for a moment and lay motionless. if you have shot a lot of deer you know when the animal has no hope of regaining it's feet and running off. the .45 hit as hard as any .44 magnum and i have shot many deer with my .44 S&W. |
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I hunted for years here in Ohio with a 8 3/8" barrelled S&W model 686. Most (8-10, forget the actual number) deer exhibited the "100 yard dash" when hit through the chest before retiring. Then there was the buck of a lifetime I had a clear broadside shot at from about 35 yards. I hit him perfectly - high behind the shoulder, and never found him. Not nearly enough gun for huge deer. Now I hunt with a S&W model 57, 8 3/8" barrel - Magna-ported, Hornandy 210gr XTP's, 20.4gr WW296. It's a sledgehammer on deer. Haven't had one run more than 20 yards after being hit. More than half have dropped in their tracks. The .357 will work on most deer - but I can't recommend it any longer. Learn from my mistakes! Good luck & be safe. |
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I hunted with a 6" Ruger KGP100 .357. It had a 2x Tasco on top and I used Federal HP (can't remeber the grain). I took a total of three deer with it. All does. The longest was 80 yards. No kidding, I paced it off. That pistol would routinely group three shots in a 6" circle at 75 yards. So I felt comfortable taking the shot. She dropped like a rock. The bullet hit just above the shoulder and angled up to take out her spine in a broadside shot. The shot was taken from a treestand with a solid limb acting as a sturdy rest. Due to some unsavory friends of my sister, that pistol is no longer in my possesion...heck, I have no idea where it is, which is another story in itself. I got some money from the insurance company and used it to buy a Magnum Research Lone Eagle chambered in .30-06. This hand cannon is amazing. 14" bbl, single shot pistol can hold them under 2" at 100 yards. Still, after 6 years, I have yet to take a deer with it, every chance I had, I was not comfortable taking the shot due to knowing either a fellow hunter or home was downrange within 1000 yards. I could have easily taken a deer this year with it, but the small buck was standing broadside a few seconds allowing me to draw a bead on his vitals, but not more than 50 yards right behind him was the neighboring farms breeding bull. If I were to injure that animal, there would have been hell to pay. He was tops for the previous four years in the county fair, and worth a lot of money. |
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357 mag with 4" barrel is the legal minimum here in Iowa. I've carred such a creature while hunting but mostly for driving thru the brush. I've seen deer taken with 45 Long Colt. Personally I think 357 is a bit weak but for a close shot I would try it. I loaded up some fairly stout 158 grain JHP's. |
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| I've used a Tarus 6in. with 180gn. Hornady XTP and a Ruger Super Redhawk with 300gn. Hornady XTP. Both were handloads at max for each gun. No optics, close shots,less than 50yds. Of the 5 deer taken none went more than 40 or 50 yrds. Ohio is funny about what you can use, a 38special is leagle but a 45acp isn't. Has to do with case lenth, nothing at all to do with ballistics. Go figure. |
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Now if you we talking 10mm or 40Super as a pistol round, that would take deer just fine. But 45 ACP is just too slow and most loads lack the penetration to humanely drop a deer. Lots of good advice. The most popular hunting handgun cartridge is probably the 44 mag. You can develop target loads or Hammer of Thor loads with 240 and 300 grain hollowpoints. While I love my 6.5" Redhawk in 44 mag, I'm often tempted to bust out the Glock 20 in 10mm for some close in shots. |
| I have taken several deer with my 8" python using 180gr. loads but they were always close shots (25 yds) Now I use a 629 44mag ,a friend of mine shot a doe with his 45 auto once it went down but I wouldnt recommend it. I do not like using optics, red dots are alright but you have to worry about batteries,scopes are to slow particularly for big bucks in close quarters |
