The (Mighty?) .357 Magnum!
Hi, guys!
I'm a new member that's been in lurk mode for the past while just waiting for my opportunity to join in this great forum, and the question re. the .357 Mag just jumped out at me.
I've had extensive experience with the .357 Mag out of the Winchester model 94 Lever gun. It is my absolute favourite all-around open sighted do anything rifle that I've used on everything from rabbits and groundhogs on up to deer. It is the gun I most often use for woods walking and for keeping in the gun scabbard of my ATV. The trick, of course, is to use the right bullet and proper shot placement, just like every other gun but most importantly to this caliber.
The most important thing to remember is that many of the bullets used in this caliber are designed for HANDGUN velocities. For example, one hot handload I've used pushed a 125gr JHP at just a shade under 1500 feet per second out of a six inch barreled revolver. That same load out of my Winchester 94 Legacy clocked almost 2300 feet per second. On small game, this is like a flying hand grenade and has devastating results. Use the same bullet on larger game like deer, and you are asking for trouble.
I've used 158gr JHP on deer and have had mixed results; it certainly kills them with a textbook chest area shot, but I once hit one a bit far back (in the liver) and had a long and arduous tracking job. Jacketed soft points tend to hold together a bit better in my experience for the larger stuff, and I would lean more towards a heavier bullet in the 180 grain class than the lighter ones.
If you handload, this is where this gun really shines; cast lead bullets at .38 Special +P levels (that's out of a handgun; out of a rifle they are doing well over 1100 fps) is my load for small edible game such as rabbits; no expansion or excessive meat damage, but hits like a freight train. Jacketed hollowpoints in the 125-158grain range are my varmint and medium game loads (fox, groundhog, coyote) where meat damage is not an issue, and the heavier bullets of 180 grains for deer. The XTP hollowpoint is an excellent bullet for this application, as even though it is a hollow point it is built a bit tougher than other HP bullets and is not as explosive as other bullets.
As for the rifle itself, I can count on exactly one finger the number of times it has jammed, and that was with bad handloads. These rifles seem to prefer
.357 length cases, but .38 Special feed fine as long as your bullets and subsequent OAL are not too short. My Legacy is set up with a 24 inch barrel, Tru-glo front sight and Williams receiver peep sight with a medium size aperature.
As for range, treat the gun as you would a .22 or .22 Magnum; very similar trajectory (depending on power level of cartridge) and great for shots under 75-85 yards for the lighter powered loads to about 100-125 yards for the heavier power fodder. I try to keep all shots on deer to about 75 yards max.
Plinking/informal target shooting loads using self-cast bullets cost me less than a box of .22LR, and a pound of powder lasts forever.
In a nutshell - accurate, hard hitting, low recoil, low noise, cheap to shoot and versatile as hell! You will NOT be disappointed with this gun, as long as you respect it's limitations (it is NOT a .300 Mag!) and use it for what it is intended for - a light, handy short range, open sighted critter getter and fun gun!
Sorry for the long-winded response, but hope this helps!
