.357 or .44 magnum for deer?

As stated above, 357 is enough for deer. Hell, my dad has taken deer with 22 long rifle. 357 is way cheaper than 44 if you don't reload and a little cheaper if you do. I've got a Henry Big Boy 357 and with 38s in it it pops like a 22 and only costs pennies more to shoot with my hand loads. On the topic of the Henry, have you considered one? They're beautifully made, well priced (check Cabelas) and have a lifetime warranty. The only levers I found that compare quality wise cost twice as much.
 
Better get the girlfriend the one she likes - 44 magnum. Even if it is 100% psychological, she thinks it is cooler and so do lots of other folks.

You can pick up a 357 rifle some day if either of you are still interested, and expanding your collection.
 
My son's girlfriend is new to hunting and wanted to go with my Marlin 94 in .357mag, I can't let it go. So we took her to the range and 7mm-08 was her pain threshold. She was comfortable with my 30-30 and quite accurate to boot. come hunting season if you do not reload,try Leverevolution ammo, it really stretches out your range. I won't sell that one either so she bought a new Marlin 336. It is a very good choice for a recoil-shy person who doesn't want to spend half the night on a blood trail.
 
.357 isn't that cheap either so even if you go that route you'd want to reload. And once reloading you may as well go with the .44Mag. Load up some softer rounds for the range if wanted but a lever '92 clone shooting .44Mag isn't all that hard on the shoulder at all. In fact it's a fun round to shoot.

And once you've held a 16" barreled '92 and a regular .30-30 lever gun side by side the shorter length and lighter weight of the little .44Mag trapper for tight woods use where you're going to be making these 50 to 100 yard shots will be seen as very delightful.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys, all very helpful!

Im going to have her shoot my 30-30 next time we are at the range and see how she likes it. I think the apppeal of the .44 magnum for her is the fact that its easily availble in a trapper length barrel, so I think in the end, thats what shes going to opt for. That being said, the Marlin .357s Ive been looking at have an 18.5 inch barrel, which isnt too bad. The only downside to the .357s is that weve only been able to track down new ones, which are going to cost her like 200-250$ more than a the really nice used .44 mags weve been finding. 250$ could buy alot of reloading supplies for .44!

Plus, If she goes wiith the .44 magnum, Ive been actually liking the idea of a .357 one myself, so we could always bring both out to the range!

Thanks again guys!
 
I love my Trapper in 357 took several deers with it ,if you limits yourself a 90 metres or less this pill will do the job but if i have to choose a favorite, have to go with Ruger 77 44 carbine with Fiocchi Extrema 200 gr HP a real stopper... JP.
 
cote_b said:
Thanks for all the replies guys, all very helpful!

Im going to have her shoot my 30-30 next time we are at the range and see how she likes it. I think the apppeal of the .44 magnum for her is the fact that its easily availble in a trapper length barrel, so I think in the end, thats what shes going to opt for. That being said, the Marlin .357s Ive been looking at have an 18.5 inch barrel, which isnt too bad. The only downside to the .357s is that weve only been able to track down new ones, which are going to cost her like 200-250$ more than a the really nice used .44 mags weve been finding. 250$ could buy alot of reloading supplies for .44!

Plus, If she goes wiith the .44 magnum, Ive been actually liking the idea of a .357 one myself, so we could always bring both out to the range!

Thanks again guys!
Click to expand...

The Rossi trapper's in .357 and .44 usually sell for around $500 in the EE and Winchester Trapper's in 30-30 pop up once in a while for around the same maybe a bit more....
You could try a wanted to buy once you narrow down the caliber. I bought a nice late model Winchester 30-30 trapper and while it is nice I think I'd like an older one without the rebounding hammer.
 
I have a marlin 336 in 30-30 and love it.

I bought a .243 recently for a deer gun, but can't bring myself to get rid of the damn lever.

I load some light loads with 10 grains of unique behind some cast bullets and they are great for plinkers with hardly any recoil, and really cheap to shoot.

It is pretty much my go to rifle unless I am in a tree stand, then I choose the .243. Thank god I use the .243 for coyotes otherwise it would get jealous. LOL
 
If you get a 357 or a 44 mag consider that if you want to get into
SASS /Cowboy shoots the 20 inch or longer is the way to go
(as you can load 10 rounds)
 
The smaller action of a Marlin or Win model 92 are so nice to use/carry/hold compared to the larger 30-30 length 336 or M94 actions.

I went thru this for a while looking for a rifle for my wife ended up with a synthetic stocked Ruger 77/44 unfortunately I had not listened to exactly what she was saying ended up selling it one of the main reasons was she didn't like the look feel of it.

Of the lever action rifles available I would go with the Marlin 1894SS in 44 mag but remember the more ammo you stuff in the mag tube the more front heavy less levers get and you may find she doesn't like the weight.

I would also get her to look at the 16.5" barreled Ruger s/s laminate stock short action/compact in 7mm-08/308 Win if they had been out when I started looking this is what I would have bought my wife.

Here is the link to the rifle @ Ruger http://www.ruger.com/products/m77HawkeyeLaminateCompact/models.html

There may be one for sale in the EE right now and also look up Browning M92 44mag I remember seeing one of those available recently as well now that was a beautiful rifle. I looked it up here is the Browning http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=600027&highlight=308 the Ruger has a deal pending.

My wife when she comes along uses either a T/C Contender carbine in 45 Colt or 45-70 or my LSI Puma M92 in 454 Casull loaded with my 45 Colt loads.

I'm also putting together a Rem 700 LSS in 30-06 for her but just recently found out she doesn't like it either so that one if I am not going to use it will be going up for sale soon.

CC
 
I used a .357 timberwolf for a couple seasons. I loaded 180 gr. nosler partitions with 13.5 gr. of h-110. Shot a nice doe with it at about 80 yards. It went about 25-30 yards before piling up. So many people think you need a cannon to hunt. The .357 will do fine. If I was going to get another pistol calibre rifle, it would be a .44 mag lever though. No reason, other than I have never owned one.

Dave.
 
While believing the .357Magnum would be enough to kill the deer, I would choose the .44Magnum for more margin. Getting into reloading answers the concern about ammo cost and tailoring your loads to the specific gun optimises performance and gets you more involved with another aspect of shooting.
 
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