RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

I have got to agree with warren. I have killed deer with both the 44 magnum and the 357 magnum And for my style of hunting the 357 magnum works well. I hunt from a treestand or ground blind and seldom shoot over 50 yds.

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

Around here, the 357 is recommended by many hunters and gun stores for deer hunting. The corbon 180 gr. SP, when fired from a 8 3/8" barrel has about 600 lbs. of energy at 75 yds, and that is more than enough to kill a whitetail if you can hit him in the heart or lungs.

Whoever decided that 1000 lbs. of energy is needed to shoot a deer? I think they just liked the convenience of such a round number. Energy really doesn' t matter nearly as much as shot placement, bullet type and weight, and calliber.

A deer shot at 50 yds. with a 357 will die just as quickly as a deer shot with a 44 Mag or 454 casull if they are all hit in the same place. Those calibers are definitely better for larger game, but dump no more energy on a deer than a 357 does.

1000 lbs is " BS" :) b/c no deer' s body is going to absorb that much energy on a broadside shot. Once the bullet passes through, why does it matter how much energy is left, it won' t do the hunter any good at that point.

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

ths78,

I wouldn' t go quite that far. The 454 uses a .452 inch bullet compaired to the 357' s .357 inch bullet. With that difference you should get a big difference in energy transfer.

Do y' all (who hunt with 357s) get exit wounds most of the time? And do you use expanding bullets or hard cast?

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

Ok, before I answer just know that I didn' t read all the replies, but the ones I did there has been no mention of the .480 Ruger! That' s crazy, the round is a third bigger than the .44 Mag, and just as unpleasant to shoot with hot loads [>:]. i am guessing that the thing would do bad things to deer, but as far as elk go, and other big game, that has to be one of the new favorites. Now, we have got to get a full season with the .500 S&W Magnum........

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

recoiljunky;
I use factory loaded 158 gr. JHP' s with my .357 mag.
None of my shots exited. All fully expanded and stopped on the far side under the hide.

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

I use 180 gr. soft points, and they always exit.

I' ve used 200 gr. cast, and they exited too.

The 180 gr. has just as much impact effect as a 180 gr. 44 mag, and more than the 240 gr cast 44 mag.

The 200 gr. has very little impact effect, it just sails through.

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

a lot of people smack the 357mag around. a 35cal entrance and about a 50cal exit with a hole all the way through the deer' s lungs will work just as well as a 50cal through the same lungs. my 357 deer ran 25yards and piled up mid stride. now i reccomend heavier bullets and i wouldnt reccomend a 158 (i just like holes thru both sides). use a good sixgun or single shot and venison arrives.
for those who have used the 357 lets see how far your deer ran and the shot placement. just type it out so we can see how it performs. bullet weight and deer' s fireld dressed weight too
180gr XTP over 15gr lil' gun shot at 25yards, straight broadside double lung, on a 163lb buck

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

propmahn,
Lots of calibers perform ok on deer at only 25 yards. I have both a 357 6" python and a 44 12" encore. Performance out to 100 yards and trajectory issues with high mass bullets tip the odds to the 44. No one' s dissing the 357 but close range isn' t always a guarantee. Why not just be prepared for both close or long range?

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

Maybe someone needs to define " handgun" . To me that means a firearm with a 4" to 8" barrell that can be carried in a belt holster. Thompson Center and Encore are more like rifles with no stock.
Handgun hunting is supposed to make hunting more of a challenged. Just like using a bow or a muzzleloader(not those in-line scoped ones), you need to get close. If your shots are over 50 yards then use a rifle.
Like I said before using these mini-rifles is stretching the use of the word handgun. Just my opinion. I feel the same way about muzzleloaders. It use to be called primitive weapon now they are just too high tech for them to in the same catagory.[:-]

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

Warren I' ll give a stab at defining handgun for you. Any gun where the primary hold is on a pistol grip with both hands regardless of barrel length or caliber. A 12" Encore is not large by any means since there' s no action to enlarge the weapon. It' s overall length is 16 1/2 inches and the Ruger SuperRedhawk with the 9" barrel is nearly the same overall length at 15 inches. When loaded with 6 rounds it weighs almost the same as the Encore. Since it' s a true handgun I have a hard time keeping it zeroed on target with an offhand hold. This is the handicap for handgun hunters and the appeal to lots of men. You mentioned anything over 50 yards would be a rifle shot anyway but you' re not considering some guys hunt solely with a handgun for the added challenge and they' re good at it. Now if some fellas opt for a 7/08 cartridge out of a 15" barrel they' re not going to improve their hold on target and accuracy one bit without practice. For finer accuracy and also for the sake of a humane kill I use shooting sticks. If you never have hunted solely with a handgun you will appreciate the shooting sticks unless you' re trying to hit a bayed hog 10 yards away. I hunt with it out to 100 yards.

My personal limit to handguns being no longer true handguns are the bolt action repeaters like the Savage Striker and the similar piece Weatherby puts out.