bdosas

Alright I am going to start this thread by proclaiming that I have the best wife in the world. I could not decide which rifle to get my son, a 357 or a 45 colt. My wife came up with the idea of getting them both and I could use the other one. This has opened up a new problem. Which rifle would be better for my son? He is 6 going on 7 and he is bigger for his age. The rifles are identical, Rossi 92s w/ stainless 16" barrels. Any opinions would be appreciated.

Nomercy448

Personally, I'd be leaning toward a hot loaded .45 Colt over the .357mag. In the leverguns, you can push a great deal beyond what a revolver can handle, so you'll see that factory loads are left wanting.

The .357mag will do the job, and will have less recoil, call it a 75yrd-ish rifle if he can shoot it well enough. The .45colt will anchor them better, about the same range, 100-125yrds if you find some hotter loads for it, and it still won't have any real appreciable recoil.

You'll probably want to cut the buttstock to shorten the pull down for him, and cut it short enough to account for a buttpad to take the hard edge off of the kick. Neither will kick hard, but a pad won't hurt.

bronko22000

If I were going to get these 2 rifles I would have gotten the .357 and the .44.
I believe the .357 will work for deer if shots do not hit the shoulder and ranges are less than the prementioned 75 yds. As for ammo I would recommend using the 158 gr SP not the HP.
Personally I've been looking for the same rifle for my grandson for a couple months now and can't seem to find one.

rogerstv

What a weird choice of calibers.

It may be too late, but I suggest getting a 20 gauge shotgun with a fully rifled barrel. You have large game and upland hunting covered as well as clays. Get a semi-auto action to reduce recoil.

Murdy

I was curious about the choice of calibers too. Are you in an area where pistol-caliber rifles give you some greater flexibility in terms of where or when you can hunt? There was some talk a year or so ago about allowing them in Illinios (currently shotgun/muzzleloader/revolver only).

Bullcamp82834

Are we talking rifles for hunting or for getting a young shooter some experience with something bigger than a 22 ?

Nimrodder

Indiana allows the use of cartridges (357 cal or larger) with a minimum case length of 1.16" and a max of 1.8". Alot of Indiana hunters choose to use .357, 44 mag and .45 Colt cartridges because of less recoil (than shotguns) and the ammo is cheaper than slugs.

I would choose the the 45 Colt over the 357 mag though with the right ammo either will kill deer at 100 yards. With ammo like Buffalo Bore you can extend your range a bit with the 45 Colt.

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.ph...t_detail&p=102

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.ph...t_detail&p=335

Or better yet you could hand load

Nimrodder

If anybody is curious here's Indiana's firearm regs for deer hunting.......


Legal Firearms
Shotguns, handguns, rifles with legal cartridges, muzzleloading long guns and muzzleloading handguns are legal during the firearms and special antlerless seasons. Only muzzleloading firearms are legal during the muzzleloader season.
Hunters may carry more than one type of legal firearm when hunting during the firearms and special antlerless seasons only. Shotguns must be 10-, 12-, 16- or 20-gauge or .410 bore loaded with slugs or saboted bullets. Rifled slug barrels are permitted. Combination rifle-shotguns are not allowed.
Muzzleloading firearms must be .44 caliber or larger, loaded with a single bullet of at least .357 caliber. Saboted bullets are allowed, provided the bullet is .357 caliber or larger. A muzzleloading firearm must be capable of being loaded from only the muzzle. Multiple-barrel muzzleloading long guns are allowed.
Rifles with cartridges that fire a bullet of .357-inch diameter or larger; have a minimum case length of 1.16 inches; and have a maximum case length of 1.8 inches are legal to use only during the deer firearms and special antlerless seasons. Some cartridges legal for deer hunting include the .357 Magnum, .38-.40 Winchester, .41 Magnum, .41 Special, .44 Magnum, .44 Special, .44-.40 Winchester, .45 Colt, .454 Casull, .458 SOCOM, .475 Linebaugh, .480 Ruger, .50 Action Express, .500 S&W, .460 Smith & Wesson, .450 Bushmaster, and .50 Beowulf.
Handguns, other than muzzleloading, must have a barrel at least 4 inches long and must fire a bullet of .243-inch diameter or larger. The handgun cartridge case, without the bullet, must be at least 1.16 inches long. Full metal-jacketed bullets are not permitted.
Handguns are not permitted on any military areas.
Some handgun cartridges that are legal for deer hunting include .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .44 Special, .45 Colt, .45 Long Colt, .45 Winchester Magnum, .35 Remington and .357 Herrett.
Some handgun cartridges that are illegal for deer hunting are .38 Special, .38 Smith and Wesson, .38 Colt New Police, .38/200,
.38 Long Colt, .38 Super, .38 ACP, .38 Colt Auto, .45 ACP, .45 Automatic and .45 Auto Rim. All .25/.20, .32/.20 and .30 carbine ammunition is prohibited.
Muzzleloading handguns are allowed. The muzzleloading handgun must be single shot, .50 caliber or larger, loaded with bullets at least .44 caliber and have a barrel at least 12 inches long, measured from the base of the breech plug excluding tangs and other projections to the end of the barrel, including the muzzle crown.

UncleNorby

The 357 can be upgraded to the 357 Maximum pretty cheaply. The 357 Max is a decent deer cartridge. Before buying the Rossi, I would make sure it is stout enough to handle the conversion.