History Channel's modern marvels segment of the .357 Magnum claims that when the gun was invented in 1935, while it didn't find as much of a market among peace officers as hoped, it DID find acceptance among Big Game hunters in North America and even the wilds of Africa. One Alaskan Catholic priest even writes a letter to S&W noting to them that their (then) new .357 Magnum revolver took down a large walrus saving their village from starvation during that winter and the magnum was the eskimo's most prized weapon.

I know more powerful loads have been invented since, such as the .44 Magnum, the .454 Casull, S&W .500 etc.
But would you feel adequate carring a 6-8 inch .357 Magnum into the wilds?

Especially considering the powerhouse loads that Buffalo Bore offers such as their 180 gr load.

I don't consider any handgun sufficient for reliable clean one shot instant kills on big game . If I want to give the animal some handicap to prove my sportsmanship and skill , I will come up with a system that does not add to the games suffering . I suggest a long flyline with number 12 Royal Wulffs tied to each end . Hook one Royal Wulff through your own lip and cast for a moose , deer , oh heck , cast to a 1 lb brook trout and let those Discovery Channel cameras record some sport .

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Idaho , Elmer and Milt

Read about Col. Wesson taking big game cleanly with the .357 but he in no uncertain terms felt a bit uneasy going after the big bears with it. Hunting where you may or may not have the shot that will kill a dangerous animal quickly is quite different than one that is charging you. Having said that, I do not live in Grizzly country and for me a .44 special or .357 is what goes with me most of the time.

I'm in Ks as of right now and I have no issues at all using a 357 magnum with the proper loads for anything that I might run into here, or for most of this country for that matter. It's small for elk, moose and the big bears but anything elsee is fair game if you can shoot.

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Sie vis pacem parabellum

my minimum for larger game is 41 magnum

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SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

The 44 magnum in a revolver will take deer very cleanly. I have an 8-3/8 357 that I plan to try but it will be used for Whitetail deer from a
tree stand only. Close range, pick your shots, small big game. My
comfort zone for the 357 on big game.

Is the gun for hunting or for self defense against large carnivores? The .357 will put an able hole in an animal, deep enough and big enough to let in the cold winds of death. Putting the hole in the right place is up to you.

Well said, and I agree totally! Handguns offer marginal or totally inadequate power for big game and that combined with a need for good marksmanship makes them a poor choice in most situations. The truth is that the vast majority of handgunners do not shoot well enough to attempt big game hunting even with the most powerful handgun.

Is a long-barreled .357 sufficient for big game in the right hands? Yes. Is it an infallible death-ray? No -- but then, no handgun in any chambering is.

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Pisgah

Two answers; if you are referring to big game hunting, I would think you should be an excellent outdoorsman and get as close as possible with a .357, or any handgun short of one in a rifle caliber. If you are talking about close-range defense against something with big claws, teeth and attitude, personally I would want something more convincing, like a 12 gauge repeater with slugs or a big-bore rifle.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I suppose that would depend on what you call big game. As far as white tail deer and simular sized game the .357 Mag is going to do the job if you do. My last year's of hunting was done with a handgun and I harvested four deer with a .44 Mag and it performed well, and I beleave that the .357 Mag would have done just as well with proper shot placement as is true with any cartridge, rifle or handgun. As far as the truely big game go's I think that a proper rifle of adeqate caliber is called for.

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Stay safe people!

I think a four-inch .357 is fine as a big game SIDEARM. If it is the PRIMARY hunting weapon, I'd opt for a .44 Magnum with six-inch to 7.5-inch bbl. Learn to shoot it well and stay within reasonable range.

But I'm uncomfortable hunting anything bigger than deer or Grant's gazellle, maybe Lesser Kudu, with a handgun. It's been done, but I don't think the comfort zone is wide enough.

Too much chance for wounded game and/or a dead hunter.

If one needs more than a .44 Magnum, I think he should carry a rifle. And I think that using a bow on game larger than that mentioned is a bit of a stunt.

T-Star

A .357 is plenty big enough to take on anything down here I can think of.
Hell, I know some of the boys down here who do their best work with a .22 and a Q beam

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Forum consigliere

Having spent 8 years in the Alaskan bush with regular encounters with old Grizz, I do not believe that a .357 is what I would want to carry as a backup to my .375 H&H. I carried a Ruger Redhawk .44 mag with 5.5" barrel those 8 years. I did not hunt with it. It was the most powerful handgun caliber at the time. It was considered my last ditch weapon to make old grizz turn me loose if he got that close. The 5.5" barrel is faster to get out of the holster. A grizz can move at the speed of greased lighting. My 2 cents.

Not if I was given my choice. The pistol is a poor substitute for a rifle. Rifle are meant for killing animals and men at moderate to long distances, pistols are for killing men at short ranges, that's the bottom line. Pistols don't carry the freight when it comes to power or accuracy. If by wilds, you mean really out, day and night, no in town, the .30'06 is my minimum, unless its bear territory then it's a .375H&H.
The .357 would be ok for a sidearm.

Better than a stick.

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Misty

I've hunted with handguns and rifles for going on 30 years. Taking big game with a handgun in the 44 Magnum class borders on a stunt, but a master shot can do it if the range is reasonable. Doug Wesson to the contrary, using a 357 cuts the margin for error more than I like. People have done it, but lots more have screwed it up. I don't want any part of that.


Okie John

YouTube - Modern Marvels - The Magnum (3)
Fast forward to 2:15 for the full story of the .357 Mag

Nothing wrong with carrying a .357 while hunting big game. Just make sure you have a big game rifle of the apppropriate size. Some big game animals will kill and eat you.
What ever you want to defend your life with. The Model 53 S&W has a very sharp report, it might scare away a big bear even better than the report of a .357.
You might consider that it is really obvious when you have to much gun, but you will most likely live thru most big game encounters.
A fool and his life are soon parted.
Bill@Yuma

Why specify "6-8 inch"?

I guess a 4" would be just too short?

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You're shy a few manners.

I have lived, Hiked & Hunted, in the PNW for most of my life I DO NOT "Hunt" with a Handgun, but carry one all the time in the field as a SIDE ARM.

Note - Our "Big" game, ranges from deer, elk moose, cougars, Black bears etc. If in BC or Alaska then the "Grizz's" +

1. Carry my 4" .357 mag during " casual "jaunts" only. ( our gun range just outside Seattle has a couple "cats" that call it home, as well as a resident Black Bear Sow & cubs )

2. Carry a Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 mag, 7 1/2" bbl. ( glad I had it last year, when I "met" a cow Moose & her calf on my prp. in E WA. ( If She had taken "um-bridge" @ my presence" the even the .44 might not have been sufficient.In fact the 7.62 NATO SOCOME16 in my saddle scabbard. may not have been. LOL

IMHO, while you may not need it, if you DO, then having a gun that you can handle with "expertise" & has the max "take down" is BEST.

Also a side note on bbl. length = in order for the round to reach it's full potential it requires the proper length bbl. ( .357 mag = min 5", recommend 6" --- .44mag = min 5.5", recommend 7 1/2" )

The Proffesor

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RSO- Instr.

Absolutely NOT adequate for defense against a large carnivore in a charge !

"Hell, I know some of the boys down here who do their best work with a .22 and a Q beam "
Cajunlawyer

Now that's funny cuz we all know that it's true! Same up here. Ask any game warden. I was wondering if someone would post that little truth! Score one for Acadian Barrister!

The first 10 years of my career were spent patrolling an area that included the foothills and mouths of Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, and the canyons themselves after midnight. (The Utah ski resorts Alta, Snowbird, Brighton and Solitude are at the tops of the canyons, for those who may know the area.) I had to put down ann awful lot of deer hit by cars year round. I was carrying a Model 66 .357 Mag with a 6 inch barrel.

My shot of choice was a neck shot just behind the head, but often the deer wouldn't let you get very close, so you took the shot you could. Second choice was a side-to-side heart/lung shot.

These are mule deer and some of them were really big mule deer. I carried Federal 125 grain JHP, W-W 145 grain Silvertips or 158 grain Federal Hyra-Shoks.

I bet 95-98% of my rounds were through and through. The deer, already pumped full of adrenalin from being hit and then approached by people, were harder to kill than deer taken unaware. They still died pretty fast.

I would feel comfortable hunting big deer or similar sized game with, say, a Model 27 with an 8-3/8 inch barrel. I'd pick my shots and keep them as much under 100 yards as I could get.

Sure, a .30-30 may be a lot better, and I'd rather have a .44 Mag, but you can kill a lot of stuff with the right .357 bullet, going fast enough, from a good angle. And some folks shoot a heavy .357 revolver with really great precision under 75-100 yards.

I've seen deer shot through the heart and both lungs run 200 yards after being shot perfectly with a .300 Win Mag. I doubt anything is 100%.

I owe game animals the respect to use an adequate gun in every circumstance to make a clean and quick kill. A handgun does not come up to that standard.

I think you will find that there are so many variables involved other than barrel length that it is hard to generalize in this area. For the gun: exact chamber dimensions, barrel diameter, ... For the cartridge: bullet weight, bullet diameter, powder charge, case dimensions, ...) When talking about differences of only an inch or so in barrel length, these other factors could easily be more important.

What do you lose going from 5 to 4 inches, maybe 25 to 50 fps? My point was (other than trying to inject just a little humor into the topic) if things really go south, a shorter barrel may be handier, especially in tight quarters. Suppose someone is able to develop a supernova anti-bear .357 handload that reaches its peak velocity out of a custom made 12 inch barrel. The gun probably would be slow and awkward to get into action, which is not what you want when you're in crisis mode.

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You're shy a few manners.

As the years have passed, the idea Iggy talks of has pretty thoroughly set itself in my mind. The problem is not so much one of power, but one of "things that can go wrong."
But to answer the question, yes. I don't live in bear country ( ), but even if I did, I would feel OK with a .357, for the purposes I would use it for - i.e., "if all else fails." To me, that is what an outdoorsman's handgun is for.

I'd prefer a .41 or 44 Magnum, but wouldn't worry if a 357 was all I had. "Better than a stick!" Indeed.

Whitetail deer are medium game, not big game. Big feral hogs, mulies, elk and up are "big."

That said, if it can be done humanely with a bow and arrow (and I believe that it can), it can be done with a .357 in a sporting context. It takes a good, committed and ethical hunter to accomplish this cleanly.

For defense against an angry critter, nope.

My 460XVR develops near .308 energy. Scoped, I can shoot it better at 200yds than most can a rifle with open sights at the same distance, and I would guess more deer have fallen to the venerable .30-30 than just about anything else over the years...which stands well below the ability of the 460 to make a clean and quick kill.

I would say the .357 for big game is overkill and I've hunted all over the world with only a 4-inch barreled S&W Model 18 with .22LR ammunition.

In Africa I've taken lions, panthers, elephants, cape buffalo and hyenas.

In India I put down 4 tigers, two leopards and several cobras.

And in Alaska, I've taken Kodiaks and moose.

Sadly, while in the Himalayas, I had to put down a crazed yeti which was acting as my guide. Poor creature apparently went banana from oxygen deprivation.

Remember the dictum: "It ain't sport 'til you can smell their breath."

Many of us have bow hunted . I hung it up before video cameras became so available . Could someone please post a video of a medium or big game animal being taken from time of arrow impact until death ? I would like to know if that meets everyones standards of what is humane . I realize it might be hard to record as the arrow passes through and the animal runs until it is bled out .

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Idaho , Elmer and Milt

For most animals, it sure beats the alternative(s). Not many curl up for a night's rest and drift away due to old age. Perhaps starving to death during winter - or maybe being torn down by wolves or coyotes and being partially consumed before the lights go out -or have its spine broken by some distracted jerk in a vehicle and drag itself into the woods to die slowly. It ain't the world of Disney out there.

I have killed deer with a .25-06, .7mm Magnum, and a .30-06. Each one fell at its feet or within 5 yards from solid lung hits. I hit one in the rear, upper leg cutting the femoral artery with an explosive bullet, he fell instantly as if hit in the lungs. Explosive, rapidly expanding bullets "seemed" to kill quicker than lesser bullets. Quicker by only a few seconds and a couple of steps.

I have killed two elk, one with a .7mm Magnum and one with a .45-70 at factory velocities. Again both hit in the lungs once and fell where shot.

I do intend to hunt deer-sized game ONLY with the .357, .41, and .44 Magnums but will only shoot from about 50 yards out, less if possible. I know others will shoot from greater ranges with handguns and be successful, but I will not press my luck, if I cannot make a clean, one-shot kill I will not shoot. I know these cartridge are capable of killing deer sized game cleanly within 50 yards.

The .44-40 left the rifle barrel at velocities the .44 Magnum leaves a handgun. But I read a story long ago of Ned Roberts when he, as a young man, went black bear hunting in the North Woods with family members and friends. Everyone else was carrying tried and true .50 caliber or larger muzzle-loaders. He had a brand new Winchester 1873 carbine in .44-40. When his chance to kill a bear came [they were hunting with dogs] he emptied his carbine and did not completely kill the bear. An uncle finished it off and then admonished him to get a real "bear gun". Yet the .44-40 has been reported for eons as a good deer killer within its range limitations.

There are many reports of larger game than deer being killed with handguns in the calibers of .357, .41, and .44. Even the .45 Long Colt factory loaded.

But on game larger than deer I want a good, dependable rifle.

I do not live in Grizzly, Brown, or Polar bear country, if I did I would put up with the weight of a sawed off 12 gauge and slugs based on what I have heard.

In theory, poking a hole in the lungs, regardless of the size of the projectile or velocity, will kill quickly. As mentioned by borntoraisehogs, bow hunters have proven that such a method does not kill cleanly. I suspect bow hunters are responsible for killing a lot of game by wounding it, never finding it, and leaving it to die in the back country unclaimed.

I knew of man who hunted deer with a .218 Bee. He was a poacher, he dug a hole under a thick bush within 10 feet of the cross-trails of whitetail deer. He put out bait and climbed into his hole under the bush wrapped in a sleeping bag. He killed his deer with neck shots. He killed 4 or 5 a year.

And I too have known people who killed their deer with .22 Long Rifles and flashlights as well.

So, deer can be killed rather easily. But it appears that one must choose his/her caliber and distance carefully.

Dangerous charging game is another thing entirely [never done it, except when I made my Mother mad as a kid]. I would hope to have a tall tree that I could climb my fat butt into and then from up there use my handgun and 25 plus rounds in the cartridge belt to "defend" myself!

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Have guns...will shoot'em.

I've been fussed at before here on the Forum but I've cleanly taken two deer with a .38 Special here in Texas. Assuming reasonable ranges and well-placed shots, I'd be willing to go after deer sized game with a .357 Magnum and would consider it to be humane.

My first revolver was a 4" S&W M-19. It was powerful and accurate. I gave it to my father and bought a 6" M-28 so that I could use heavy loads. Since then I have owned I don't know how many .357 revolvers. Some have been babied... some have been used hard. All have been wonderful. To borrow a phrase from Skeeter Skelton, the .357 has been "my friend." Fired from a good strong accurate 6-8 revolver the S&W .357 Magnum w/ heavy bullets (158-180 gr.) is fine for hunting anything on four legs that I am ever likely to encounter. If I were going to Alaska, Africa, etc., I would use a S&W .44 Magnum. I am not a stranger to that round, but I prefer the S&W .357 Mag. for all round use. Circumstances have resulted in fewer of my favorites being in my gun cabinet. I still have my 6" M-28 (surprise!!!) along with a 5" M-625-2 (Model of 1988) and a M-18-3. Others will have different perspectives. This is just my own opinion. Sincerely. brucev.

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<><

No! Emphatically so.
Sonny

I have never needed a handgun of any caliber or barrel length to feel "adequate". That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

That said, all the comments about range limitations and prey selection make perfect sense. I intend to play around with the Buffalo Bore load in my 6" M28 just to get a feel for what the old school shooters experienced, but even now a good stout 158 gr. load is comforting when stomping around wooded areas frequented by black bears, cougars and the occasional wolf. I also feel well prepared for escaped cons and general ne'er-do-wells who might wish me harm.

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I need ammo, not a ride.

As an ex college football player and LEO I never felt the need for a back up locally. I carried my 629 as back up on several Elk hunts in the Rockies. I've deer hunted the National forests in Southern MO for 45 plus years. Things have changed, bear and cougar sightings are more common, 3 years ago some 2 legged vermin scared the heck out of my wife. She shot a deer and about 8 "deliverance" types showed up, with the long nasty beards and all. 4 surrounded her and the rest walked through the leaves scattering them to hide the blood trail. My daughter and I were over the ridge and I had just shot a buck when we heard my wife shoot. We went to see what she bagged and the boys were still surrounding her. I asked what was goin on, they gave some spiel about the little lady shot at a deer they were tracking but missed. My wife had bagged many before this, she is a good shot and said she hit it. I found enough blood and hair to show them they were mistaken. They left. I found the track about 40 yards into the brush and just as I was thinking I might find the doe the boys came back and said they saw it running a 1/4 mile down the ridge. The first four had grabbed the deer and left. I found where it had dropped and died. The deliverance boys had bought a shack with a shed across the road from the national forest. They tried to run off about 20 folks next to us by sitting outside their camp the first couple of nights talking loudly and stomping around where the campers were hunting. Right after deer season the deliverance boys meth lab burned and 4 of them got hard time. I now have a 19-3 in 4" for my wife and a big choice of S&W's for me, I'm thinking a 629 or an Elmer load in my 25-5. A back up makes a lot of sense in this day and age.

I know the 357 has killed very large game, but I personally wouldnt go after anything bigger than whitetail deer with it.

It's better than a can of bear spray, but I have read plenty of stories of Big Browns bring hit several times with belted magnum rifle loads and multiple 45-70's at close range before going down. Even that guy in the paper last year emptied his Ruger 454 Casull into one at close range before it lay down. They are tough critters, I hope I never see one up close. I will be going to Glacier NP sooner or later. probably get myself a 44 first. Good excuse!