HuntingNet.com Forums - Hand Gun Questions

Quote:

ORIGINAL: stalkingbear

While a .357 will take down a hog,the ONLY bullet you should use is a very hard cast(non expanding) bullet in a full power load. This to insure that any good spinal/head shot will drop it reliably with a .357. That's why I suggested a .41 magnum-it'll drop any hog ever to walk planet with a well placed shot. A .41 will recoil more than a .357 but is noticeably less than a .44 magnum,and completely controllable and pleasent to shoot.

Well, now! Stalkingbear is right again! In a .357, I would use a HEAVY,hard-cast semiwadcutter like the Lyman/Keith 357429 173-grainerloaded up to as high a velocity as my pistol would permit. I have used this very bullet since about 1959 in my Colt .357 with 14 grains of 2400 powder. In the 4" barrel, I get 1200 FPS.I have seen an 8-foot Alaskan brown bear that was killed at a range of 3 feet with a similar load-up his nose!!

Avoid using expanding jacketed bullets on armor-plated varmints like hogs & bears.....