hi
i got my dads 357 mag in a smith 686-1 and want to use it to hunt. im looking for a factory load that can be used for whitetail and do an effective job. so if anybody knows of a load that is good for it then any advice would be greatly appreciated.
thanks

Federal 180 grain Castcore.

I'd take a strong look at either the Remington 165 gr Core-Lokt or the Winchester 180 gr Partition. Get close and put it in the lungs.

Almost any premium expanding bullet 158 gr. & up could work well. Untold scores of deer have been taken with even moderate cast bullet loads. One of my friends hunts with 140 gr. Silvertips, but a common favorite is the Hornady 158 gr XTP. 50 yard shots are probably going to be the outer limits for the .357 mag. What barrel length are you using?

im using the 6.5 inch barrel. i need to use the gun up close and personal where i hunt im getting shots that are too close for my rifle. these shots are from 20 feet and no im not exagerating and up to 20 yards is all im going to be using it for.

You should not have a problem. My personal .357 deer-eradicator load is a near-exact duplicate of the Federal CastCore load.

Good hunting.

Check Buffalo Bore For heavy loads. Good luck.
George

I'll be using Winchester 180 grain Partition Gold in my 357 this year. RD

I'll be using Winchester 180 grain Partition Gold in my 357 this year. RD


I'd second the federal castcore loads or the partition. Man, you sure are getting close to 'em.

Hopefully before too long I'll be able to post pics of my winter venison taken with the Speer 158-grain Gold Dot.

I took a doe last year with the Winchester 180 grain Partition Gold. It was a quartering shoot, the bullet entered on the right front chest, broke a rib, passed through the lungs and stopped in the left rear leg. It performed perfectly. The recovered bullet looked just like the expanded bullets in the Winchester catalog. Great bullet!

PistolDave, Now THAT's what I wanted to hear! :D
RD

Hopefully before too long I'll be able to post pics of my winter venison taken with the Speer 158-grain Gold Dot.

How'd that work, Bill? Inquiring minds want to know... give us the full autopsy report! Got some 158gr. XTPs loaded up, but haven't been able to use them, so far.

How'd that work, Bill? Inquiring minds want to know... give us the full autopsy report! Got some 158gr. XTPs loaded up, but haven't been able to use them, so far.

A bum back has sidelined me so far. Crossing my fingers that I'm feeling well enough starting Monday to go out the last hour and a half or so each day after work. Then there is Saturday. Will post as I can.

OK... I mis-read your post, thought you already had one! Good luck!

I shot one with the 170 gr gold dot soft pt at 25 yds. Didn't appear to expand very much at all going thru the chest(between ribs). It then hit the elbow on the far side there. At first I never even thought it exited, but I never did find the bullet when butchering her. If the hole I found was the exit it was barely any bigger than the starting diameter. Puzzling to me.

I did some testing with the Winchester 180 grain Partition Gold. I shot several rounds into wet phone books and after taking a deer with that ammo I compared the recovered bullets and they all looked the same. I always like to shoot into the wet phone books just to get some kind of idea as to what the ammo might do. I know that it’s not the same as shooting game animals, but does give me some insight.

Pistol Dave - What are you shooting those out of? What velocity are you getting? What range was the shot?

Thanks for any info. Have yet to try this load. Finally found some locally.

Pistol Dave - What are you shooting those out of? What velocity are you getting? What range was the shot?

Thanks for any info. Have yet to try this load. Finally found some locally.

It's a S&W 686, 8 3/8" barrel. I'm not sure of the velocity. The deer that I shot with the Winchester 180 grain Partition Gold, was at thirty paces.

I also load my .357 with Winchester 180 grain Black Talon's, but have not taken any deer with that round as of yet.

Hope this helps.

LV2HUNT, if your range is under 60 feet, I seriously doubt it matters much what load you use. Were it me I'd use a 158 SP or XTP, but the 145-grain Silvertip would also do nicely, it has a thick jacket and expands slowly, giving good penetration. Gunwriter Robert Shimek has said he prefers 125-grain hollowpoints for deer, but will only shoot if he gets a broadside shot into the chest. Good hunting, let us know how things turn out.

And oh yeah, welcome to the best forum there is! :cool:

Papajohn the Pistol-Packin Perforator

If you reload or know someone who would for you, I highly recommend the Remington 180gr. SJHP. It is not fancy or expensive but that bullet with an appropriate load of W296, A#9, or H110 has worked great for me.

i just purchased a win 94 .357 to compliment my GP100 i have been working up some loads with 180 gr.xtp. 14 grns H110 out of the 20" barrel crono'd right at 1500 fps. 15 grns bumped it up to 1575. 16.1grns of H110 is the max load but i havnt done those up yet. but i am very happy with my win94 so far. the 15 grn. loads grouped 2" @ 100Yds havnt shot them out of the GP100 yet

180gr Partitions w/ 14.0gr H4227... I think I recall this = about 1350fps from my 6" 686.

OK I plan on using my 686 this deer season but reload Anyone got a nice load I could use ?

the 357 Mag.two factory loads that have given me good results are the Federal Cast Core 180 grain and the Speer 170 grain Gold Dot Soft Point in my 6" Colt Python

Winchester Supreme 180 grain Partition Gold

I've harvested literally pickup truckloads of deer with a .357, both during regular deer season and doing extensive agricultural depredation work.

My favorite load for either handgun or carbine in .357 for shooting deer is this:

Beartooth Bullets .358"-185gFNGC (http://www.beartoothbullets.com/bulletselect/display.php?catagory=17)/16.0g H110/WSPP/Remington or Starline Brass

This load leaves full one inch exit wounds on game, and I've never recovered a bullet used in the field, in fact to date I can only remember two customers that recovered one of these used on game, and one was recovered in the sandbank behind the animal harvested, and the other from a log behind the animal taken with this load.

Hogs, deer, and average black bears are no match for this load, from any angle.

God bless

Good advice Marshall:

What do you think of the 180 grain Nosler Partition Gold bullets for hunting?

Actually I can't comment on the Nosler Partion Gold bullets from first hand experience. I've not used them other in testing for pressure comparisons with our bullets in load development. I've not seen them used on game, so I don't know how they perform. I'd suspect however that they'd do a fine job on critters the size of whitetail deer.

God bless,