357. mag question

broadhead67

broadhead67

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Ok i'm a bit confused (nothing new ) but i read how a 357.mag 6" barrel -pistol rig can crack an engine block , but when it comes to dropping DEER with a 16"-20" barrel- rifle rig its only barely considered acceptable.I am asking as i want to pick one up for my son , he hasn't hit his growth spurt yet so the 16" barrel in a puma looks pretty handy. we normaly can't see more than 100 yards max here & a black bear / cougar would be the nastiest thing we could walk into ( he will be with me @ all times anyway & i carry 45/70 marlin guide).so am i to believe that 357.mag is only good for knockin over coffee cans? seems rediculous.
 
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What did you say was the objective of your son's gun? Not sure I'm following you here, other than as usual a cartridges capability is an interesting point of discussion.
 
If he wants a light, compact little lever action, why not 30-30? It will be so much easier to find proper ammunition for deer hunting. Only drawback will be more recoil, but he can learn to handle it. Get him good hearing protection and a slip on recoil pad and give him practice.
 
30/30 - 357.

Excellent call & its waiting in the safe as we speak ( win. 30/30 oct. 20" barrel) but i find with a full mag. & the xtra 4" barrel its just at the edge of his comfort range (lenght,weight,recoil). never a good starting point in ethicaly taking game.also i figure with the cheap (38 spec.) rounds it would be a great starting / learning platform .
 
I think the 357 would be deadly on those little black tails. I would go along with your original idea. The most important consideration is to get him a rifle he enjoys shooting, that he won't be afraid of and he will learn to be a good shot with it. Your idea of 38 Special ammo for practice is great.
I went through this bit of teaching two sons and two grandsons to shoot. Started them all at 9 or 10 on centrefire, but loaded very light. With the grandsons I used a 44 magnum Marlin rifle. To start with I loaded it so light that it scarcely recoiled, at all. But it still made quite a bang and a big hole! The kids loved it.
Also, of course, use eye and ear protection, even with light loads.
 
One of my favorite Calibers is the .357 I own 3 rifles in this caliber and have found it very effective. I have taken my share of jumpers and even a few yogis. My Marlin spends more time with me in the field than any other.:)
Pete......
 
Thx for the input

I had to mentioned this to some friends " who know a thing er to bout rifles" & was told forget it , go minimum 44mag.But i can't help thinking there not looking @ it from a 12 year olds point of view.I do NOT want him to start out with a flinch , and I just can't believe a 357.won't do a clean job on deer. With proper shot placement & a heavy load I don't think there's many black bears around here that would take to many steps after.
 
I consider the .357mag. as a bottom line acceptable deer/bear cal. with heavy/hard cast bullet loads, as mentioned above the 30/30 or .44 is preferable, the latter two can even be loaded down for game. I prefer this over the 7.62x39 that some others use on deer.
 
well i can tell you that the 357 is used quite regularly south of the border for deer and pigs. About the only limiting factor i would think is range, however as you stated in your original post most shots will be less then 100 yards. i would think that if you could sight the rifle in for a 100 yards and know where it hits at 25, 50 and 75 and teach him good shot placement he will not have a problem.
 
In Gibsons you may be able to keep the shots within 30 yards. :) It would be OK for that. My kids love shooting the .44 mag carbine. I would be more comfortable shooting a deer with that and handload light for practice. Get them to draw a bead on deer without shooting as often as possible before the big moment and the shot placement can be better. As you alluded to, I think fit/size of the gun is more of an issue than calibre as you can load to compensate for that.
 
I intend to find out this season how well my .357 puma carbine works for deer. Can't see why a good 158 gr. bullet flying at 1800 fps wouldn't be effective and humane within 100 yds max. It seems like very simiar load to my .50 cal muzzleloader shooting round balls, 180 gr. at about 1600 fps. Killed lots of deer very well with that.
 
Yes

The .357 can kill a deer, absolutely!

And it won't have a problem doing it. A lot of people think that some handgun cartridges are unnacceptable for use on deer because they have a mental image of the cartidge as being ONLY a handgun cartridge. Fact is a medium or heavy weight bullet from a .357 mag, fired from a 16" barrel has more than enough energy to humanely kill a deer. The only limiting factor for the round is that it is relatively slow, so you & your son will have to make sure it's sighted in for a specifc distance, and like "Walter Hornby" said, know where the round will hit at other ranges.

If you had any doubts about the round's lethality, think about it this way. The average adult male blacktail weighs about the same or less than the average adult male human. How do you think said human would react if you hit him in the chest with a .357 mag, even from 100 yards?
 
...or look back a hundred year's at the winchester 38-55... 1200 to 1300 fps with bullet's weighing from 250 to 300gr... these type of cartridges brought home the venison/elk/sheep/pork etc for alot of family's... i dont see haveing an issue with a .357 other then getting it outta the kid's hand's at the end of the day :)
 
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