RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

there is no doubt in my mind that the 44mag is a better deer cartridge than the 357mag. i just people to quit calling it bad or terrible or it will bounce of the deer. it just gets no respect. i bought my 357 because i wanted a gun to shoot a lot and a hunt a little. my shots are 25 yards if i stretch it. it was my first non-22 handgun. and if you are a college student with little to no money then its a good choice because i can practice enough to become profecient enough to take the shots.
the 357 is not the ultimate deer cartridge, but it works great if one takes into account it limitations or if the hunter has greater limits than the cartridge. i soon hope to get a 45colt and load for deer. though the 357 may still go to the deer fields in the future, its proven its worth to me. still waiting on the deer stats from other 357 hunters

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

how can you knock the .44 mag. It' s been around awhile and is hands down the best.

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

propmahn,

This is just a guess because I' ve never shot a 357 mag without hearing protection, but wouldn' t the 357 be less damaging to the shooter' s ears (equal barrel lenghts considered, of course).

Damage to hearing becomes a real issue when you talk about the 454 Casull. I' m scared to shoot mine without hearing protection.[:o] I haven' t bought a Game Ear yet so I have to hunt with hearing protection when I use the big 454. BIG disadvantage [:@].

I don' t really like shooting my 44 mag without hearing protection, but I' ll do it when hunting. Depending on the situation a 44 mag can ring your ears with one shot. Ringing ears = hearing loss.

It may sound silly to some, but less noise would be a good arguement for the 357 mag if it' s true.

O.K. 357 Shooters, does one shot out of your pistol ring your ears? Do you wear hearing protection when you hunt with your 357?

WARNING: Anyone making light of this consideration will be called a youngster, greeny, newbie, etc... By the ripe old (;)) age of thirty, every man should realize how fragile hearing is.

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

Could you say that again, I couldn' t hear you.

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

propmahn, On the 2 deer i shot with my 357 magnum I used hornady' s 140 gr XTP hp with H110 powder. One deer was shot at 40 yds and the other at 55 yds.The deer shot at 40 yds fell down when shot then got up and staggered for about 20 yds before dropping.the one shot at 55 yds took off running full speed for about 30 yds then ran into a tree and dropped.Both deer were shot behind the front shoulder.

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

Recoiljunky;
Seriously, does the .357 mag ring your ears? YES very much so. Alot may have to do with if your in thick cover or open areas. One time I couldn' t hear out of my ears for about 20 minutes after tacking a shot. One year I tried using ear plugs but that lasted only about 5 minutes.

Soonershooter;
I can' t argue with what you have said, it sounds like your a responsible hunter and hunt within the limitations of your gun and your own abilities. When I was a small kid my dad would take us shooting and we never used any hearing protection. This caused me to develope a bad flinch. I think this is why I enjoy hunting with the .357 mag over the .44 mag. I have to say that I did try a Thompson Center Contender in .44 mag that had a 10" barrel and a scope. That was the nicest and smoothest gun I ever fired. Maybe if I had to do it all over again I' d go for that set up.

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

I' m kinda suprised that nobody has put their vote in for the 10mm. Hunting with an autoloader would put an interesting spin on things. The Glock is pretty affordable. I' m keeping my eye out for a Delta Elite at the right price but it' s more like wishful thinking. Maybe I can find that Delta Elite with a poor finish but otherwise good condition.

All this talk of hunting whitetail with a 357 has got me looking at my 45ACP a little different. In a treestand, less than 35 yards, hummmm.

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

the 357 is probably less than the 454 casull in terms of noise but it is still a loud one. a 180gr bullet at 1300 fps out of a 6" tube left my ears ringing for about 10hours, though it was worse and first and became less and less noticable as the day wore on. though it was still detectable. though i have to say that was the first shot id taken without hearing protection in years so it was startling. hope its doesnt cause me to flinch because it did hurt the ears some.
so it turns out the 357 may have an advantage here, well it may mean more to some than others but hey we can count everything

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

i think the 44.

RE: Best Handgun hunting caliber
 

the .357 has a sharp crack and the .44 has a load boom. I haven' t shot anything as big as the .454 but I' d suspect an even loader boom. I personally would rather shoot one shot with the .44 over one with the .357 due to the sharness of the crack. Just my opinion here.