357 magnum for deer?
#21
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Allegan, MI
Posts: 8,019
Thank you for your posts JMM and DocD! The ballistics in the above posts show exactly what I stated! 1064 ft./lbs. is the energy at the muzzle and normally in a discussion with anybody that knows ballistics thinks it's handy to know what a particular round starts out at to begin a conversation. Thus, my reason for stating what I did. The long C/P post above sure doesn't put the 357 up there with even the 44 mag that I mentioned or the 30-30! If none of you have read the book "Hell, I Was There" that Elmer Keith wrote, he mentioned shooting at animals with a 44 magnum that, in his own words, were 400 yards away and it was with a handgun! He was a cocky little proponent of big, heavy bullets and I guess his theory in that case was to aim for the moon and hope that heavy bullet would hit them in the noggin and kill them, LOL! It's sort of similar to one's statement on here about killing a deer with a 22. Sure you can if you shoot him in the eyeball! In his book, Keith comes across as a pompous little ahole and he was constantly arguing with the guy that really knew ballistics and that was the great Jack O Connor. Anyway, look at the ballistics that are in the snapper post and they are exactly what I mentioned. 1064 ft/lb at the muzzle with the best factory produced cartridge out there right now and it only has 828 left at 50 yards and 642 at 100 yards. Using the 1000 ft/lb figure that is generally accepted by knowledgable experts in the field, that 357 figure is barely enough to properly kill a deer at the muzzle!!! As far as the comments in the last post, I also just hate people telling people someone is wrong and not basing it on facts!!! If you are reading all these figures that contradict what I've stated, then post them on this thread, rather than just telling everyone I'm wrong! Do you honestly think a hollowpoint in that caliber is a good bullet for hunting when you want maximum penetration along with proper expansion from a hunting round, especially in a marginal one like we're talking about? I'd take that HP against an intruder in my living room though, LOL! Incidentally, the 140 grain Hornady FTX for a 357 magnum is actually a flex tip, jacketed bullet designed for tube fed rifles for controlled expansion and here are some stats from Hornady. In a handload the best they could come up with was 1650 fps with AA#9 or ENFORCER powder and the OP uses only factory loads.
Last edited by Topgun 3006; 03-11-2012 at 07:46 PM.
#22
This topic has been discussed enough.
It’s starting to look like beating a dead horse.
So it is closed.
Thank You.
jrbsr
It’s starting to look like beating a dead horse.
So it is closed.
Thank You.
jrbsr