I have a S&W .357 mag with 8 3/8 in barrel and I want to know if any one who has hunted with pistols or know of any articles can inform me better.

I wouldn' t use it for elk hunting, but i' m sure that under the right(perfect) conditions it would work.

As far as deer hunting goes.....
you have a long barrel, so you' ll have more velocity that standard ballistics advertise. I' ve used a 357 before for deer, and you should be fine out to 100 yds on broadside shots. 158 gr. bullets work well on deer, but don' t always exit. I prefer 180 gr. CorBon offers a really hot 180 gr. SP that is outstanding on deer. It kills them very quickly out to that range (despite low energy). With this load, I try to avoid shoulders, but in a pinch, it will blast right through a shoulder and into the heart/lungs. Federal offers a 180 gr. Cast, and CorBon a 200 gr Cast that penetrate very well, but I prefer an expanding bullet on deer.

You would also be able to use your 357 on hogs and black bear inside of about 75 yds. For this, use the 200 gr. Corbon load that I mentioned above, and put a broadside shot into the lungs. It' ll ususally won' t exit on larger animals (400 lb+ bear), but will take out both lungs/heart, depending on where you hit, for a fairly quick and humand kill.


Often the 357 is frowned upon by hunters because of it' s relatively low energy. The key is to practice a lot. If you can put your shots where you aim, the 357 is a very capable hunting cartridge. A 35+ caliber hole leaves good blood trails, especially when there are exit wounds. And for larger game where it doesn' t exit, they will still die quickly if the lungs and heart are devistated.

http://www.corbon.com

Only if you hit him in the gizzard.

I don' t think it' s legal here in Colorado. The regulations say it must produce a min. energy of 550 ft. lbs. at 50 yards. The Federal catalog says it 158 grain Premium handgun hunting bullets has 535 ft. lbs at 50 yards.

I know some one will talk about handloads but try & convince the Game Warden that as he' s riding up the ticket.

If you want to hunt elk, get a 30/06.

NO! It does not have enough energy. The min. would be a .44 Cal. Rem. Mag. Good luck.

i use it on deer but it is not a first choice type weapon. it will work but it must be under some very perect conditions and i reccomend against it.

Ok, you asked if it would kill an elk, the answer is yes, but a .22lr will kill a mule deer too.

I' m also unsure of whether or not it would be legal at all, with proper handloads, if the rule is 550ft.lbs. @ 50yrds, a stong gun could stretch some power out to be JUST legal, but I don' t know how well your S&W will handle that? You might try loading up some that would be above regulation, but they' re going to be very hot, so BE CAREFULL!!! Plus, they' re going to buck like a son-of-a-gun, so you might consider that when you' re thinking about your hunt.

As far as .357 handguns go, the only thing better for elk than a 8 3/8" bbl is the 12" bbl, but that isn' t saying much, since neither is very good for it. Even if you were sure to be rather close, that' s still a lot of HARD muscle to go through for such a weak round (funny to say that about a .357). I' d say do yourself a favor and bump up to a .44mag at least, if not a Cassul (.454).

Here i thought it was, it had to retain 1,000 foot pounds of energy at 100 yards ( but i could be wrong lol , bad memory)
for big game/ elks is pretty big.

If so that leaves out most 44 mag loads etc& for sure 357. even in a rifle.

A 30/30 is lot more then most of those? dont know about the cassuall tho offhand.

A 45. colt ( or acp)be a big hole to but i wouldnt hunt with it... but a 45.70 etc wuld work much better.
or other rifle calibiur
...Ok looked it up...lol its 500 ft lbs , at 100 yards. seemed like a 1,000 was high

This is sure to rile some handgun fans, but here goes.

Will a 357mag kill an elk? Yep.

Should you use one on elk? Nope! A 357, even loaded hot, is NOT a good whitetail load, let alone elk.

BC,
I think you are right " on target."
EKM