I'm looking into getting into handgun hunting and i can't decide betweet the 357 or 44 mag. I will be hunting whitetail most of the time and an occassional black bear. What do you guys think?

Well, you can kill deer with a 22. However, bear can hunt back. Thus, I would leave the .357 to anti-personnel and go to the .44. Also, former USMC here, too. By the way, for sporting arms I am very partial to single actions. I find that they handle recoil differently and are a joy to shoot.

when bears are part of the hunt there should be no question. go with the 44mag. i re-load for mine with 300 grain hornady xtp bullets and im loving them. i would go with a heavy bullet and skip the 240gr-s

I would also recommend a 44. I owned a .357 and found it to be very easy to shoot and control. I later became concerned about it's effectiveness beyond 50 yards. I tried firing a buddy's .44 and thought (incorrectly) that it was too much gun for me. It was a short barreled and lightwieght model. I was wrong when I figured that I couldn't handle the .44. It was the small lightweight gun in .44 that was hard to handle. I settled on a .41 magnum and although I'm not sorry I bought it I will step up to a .44 magnum or larger in the future. A properly balanced single action quality hunting pistol with a barrel length to maximize your ammo's potential should not pose any handling problem. With a little pratice mostshooters can learn to control the .44.

.44 mag or take a look at the .454 Casull (a cartridge for big game hunting).

Yeah, for hunting purposes - I agree with the rest..........go with the bigger caliber. .357 is marginal on hogs - and I would imagine pretty much worthless on bear. An 8" (or longer) barrelled .44Mag would make a nice hunter.

I agree with the rest, .44magnum. Ruger in either Super Redhawk or Blackhawk with a 7 1/2" barrel would be nice, as would a T/C Contender or Encore. Good luck!

Another vote for the 44 mag or 454 Casull.Leave the 357 for a two legged human creatures.. I would recommend going with something with at least a 6 1/2"bbl.I like the Ruger Redhawks or the SRH's. For a back up Iwould suggest looking for one of the new Ruger Alaskan's in 454 Casull or the 480 Ruger.

Ruger Redhawk

Hey how bout a 380!

I like a 357mag and have taken a few deer with them. but for bear i would go with a 44 mag if you have decided on the two calibers. i will second ruger with the 454 . i would go with it if i were gonna get a traditional handgun caliber for hunting.
Personally i would take a look at T/C encores.you have a large selection of powerful calibers and the ability to change without a big cost.

357 or 44 mag.?
Go with the 44 Magnum! Check out the Ruger Redhawk for a double action revolver, the Ruger Blackhawk for single action, and the TC for single-shot. All are excellent firearms, and will give you years of good service.
Leave the 357mags. at home - good for pers. defense, but on the
small side for big game hunting, and definitely underpowered for
bear.
Another option however, you might want to look into the 45Colt.
Most factory loadings are mild, but there are some that will keep right up with the 44mag., and a few that will surpass it in power.
Can really be awesome if you handload it.
Again, the Ruger Redhawk, Blackhawk or a TC will do.