PCC for small to medium game

I have taken a lot of pest gophers, coyotes, crows ect around my farm with my RUGER m77 357. With what ever cheap ammo I can feed it. I have the same rifle in 44 and I use it for deer hunting, I have yet to take any deer with it, seems like when ever I come across deer I am carrying a different rifle.
 
I have used 9mm, .38, .357, 10mm, .45C and .454 on different pests throughout the years. I plan to try hunting deer with my Rossi R92 in .357 this year. Most likely using a 158 FP-XTP over 17 grains of H110. Velocity is 1740fps from a 16" barrel, hits plenty hard enough for deer inside the ranges I will be working with.
 
I've taken a bunch of backyard/barnyard coyotes, skunks, raccoons, cats, possums, porkies, etc. using either a Ruger PCC 9mm or 77/357. I haven't worried much about wasting a handful of range ammo over the years, and the bigger bullets definitely work better than .22lr on critters that you aren't eating or skinning...plus they're more fun than .22 for this purpose. The PCC works just fine, but the 77/357 is much more accurate and I usually have more appropriate bullet choices for it so that's what I tend to use.

But for actual hunting, I have carried a Rossi Ranch Hand in .44mag for deer a few times without firing a shot. I swapped that for a Henry .44 Mare's Leg a few years back, installed the full-size stock and an aperture sight, and really hope to take a deer with it soon. It is plenty accurate, it's easy to find hunting-appropriate bullets for the .44, and I honestly can't imagine why I would want to use the .357 instead...and not even considering the 9mm.
 
9mm is iffy at 50yds. unless we're talking squirrels which are hard to hit at that distance anyways.
but 357mag works well up to 125yds
 
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