.38 for deer hunting
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David LaPell
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The one thing I noticed is that you didn't say what type of gun you were using. Is it something like a Model 10 or are we talking a J frame gun? While I think that it could be done if you whacked the deer in the head at a distance of 10 yards with a hardcast bullet, you really want something else. Like I said, my .38-44 is the smallest thing I would use only because it is right about at .357 levels, but I know what my bullet can do, it has a great history of killing game but the .38-44 is also much faster. I put your standard .38 at the same level of killing a deer as a .223.
Be an ethical hunter.
Don't hunt deer with a .38 Special.
It's simply sub-standard for the job.
Even a .357 magnum is borderline for deer.
Don't hunt deer with a .38 Special.
It's simply sub-standard for the job.
Even a .357 magnum is borderline for deer.
mstuhr
Member
What Gmac said
Howdy,
I have to go along with what G-mac says.
I killed my first Missouri deer with a .38 pistol. I was young, dumb and lucky.
Not long after that I shot one at about 15 yards with a model 27 with a handload of Bluedot that made the cases stick in the gun. Singed his hair!
I watched it dot him behind the shoulder and new he was hit hard. He ran off and after a short blood trail dried up I was unable to track him.
I looked for ever and never did locate it. I am certain it died
I switched to a .44 with cast bullets and never lost another.
When I did have to track one there was always a decent blood trail and a hole clean through them. What Iggy says about bleeding out of two holes is good advice.
I know a lot of folks will disagree, but I would not recommend .38 or .357.
If a person feels the need to use a .357 I'd advise a heavy, non hollow point, soft tip or cast bullet as fast as you can push it.
where we hunt it would be rare to get a shot over 50 yards and I would not recommend any shots over that with the exception of a scoped gun off a rest.
Good luck and I hope you get one.
Thanks
Mike
Howdy,
I have to go along with what G-mac says.
I killed my first Missouri deer with a .38 pistol. I was young, dumb and lucky.
Not long after that I shot one at about 15 yards with a model 27 with a handload of Bluedot that made the cases stick in the gun. Singed his hair!
I watched it dot him behind the shoulder and new he was hit hard. He ran off and after a short blood trail dried up I was unable to track him.
I looked for ever and never did locate it. I am certain it died
I switched to a .44 with cast bullets and never lost another.
When I did have to track one there was always a decent blood trail and a hole clean through them. What Iggy says about bleeding out of two holes is good advice.
I know a lot of folks will disagree, but I would not recommend .38 or .357.
If a person feels the need to use a .357 I'd advise a heavy, non hollow point, soft tip or cast bullet as fast as you can push it.
where we hunt it would be rare to get a shot over 50 yards and I would not recommend any shots over that with the exception of a scoped gun off a rest.
Good luck and I hope you get one.
Thanks
Mike
I've taken deer with rifles and bows over the years.With a 38 you have a good chance of wounding and losing a deer.It is amazing how a deer that runs less than 100 yards after being hit can take hours to find.Use a round with enough power to knock it down.
semperfi71
US Veteran
Deer are like people. Some have amazing vitality and some will fall over dead at the least likely wound.
I have killed a few deer with center-fire rifles and explosive bullets with lung shots and they all fell dead right there if hit properly.
Poking a hole in a deer, without some form of explosive damage to the internals will likely cause them to travel a ways, even a long ways before they die.
I suspect more game is wounded and left to die via bowhunting than killed outright.
You can kill a deer with a sharpened stick if you're close enough and strike the heart or lungs. But it will be a slow death.
But with today's technology there is no reason to take an animal with anything but a clean kill.
In the hands of a well trained hunter a bow, a handgun, a rifle, will kill quickly. As you deviate away from the rifle to the bow the level of skill, patience, and knowledge increases exponentially.
I do not consider a .38 Special load of any kind a proper device for taking a deer. It can be done but there are better weapons available and there is no excuse for using a marginal method of killing.
I have killed a few deer with center-fire rifles and explosive bullets with lung shots and they all fell dead right there if hit properly.
Poking a hole in a deer, without some form of explosive damage to the internals will likely cause them to travel a ways, even a long ways before they die.
I suspect more game is wounded and left to die via bowhunting than killed outright.
You can kill a deer with a sharpened stick if you're close enough and strike the heart or lungs. But it will be a slow death.
But with today's technology there is no reason to take an animal with anything but a clean kill.
In the hands of a well trained hunter a bow, a handgun, a rifle, will kill quickly. As you deviate away from the rifle to the bow the level of skill, patience, and knowledge increases exponentially.
I do not consider a .38 Special load of any kind a proper device for taking a deer. It can be done but there are better weapons available and there is no excuse for using a marginal method of killing.
BruceM
Member
"I have done a fair amount of deer hunting over the last twenty years and one thing I have learned is that deer move a lot. Often, they move just as you squeeze off a shot."
Roger that!
This has nothing to do with marksmanship or hunting ability. Why cut everything to the naked edge of utility by using a marginal round. I would also give the same response to those who take head shots to avoid meat damage and loss. I've seen more than a few deer at the processor with jaws shot off, etc. and you have to know that there some still walking around in the woods with parts of their faces missing because of this stupidity.
Out of respect for the animal and the sport of hunting, use enough gun. Whether it be handgun or rifle, it doesn't need to be the biggest & baddest boomer out there but use enough just in case everything doesn't happen exactly as planned.
Is .38 Special enough-IMO no.
Bruce
Roger that!
This has nothing to do with marksmanship or hunting ability. Why cut everything to the naked edge of utility by using a marginal round. I would also give the same response to those who take head shots to avoid meat damage and loss. I've seen more than a few deer at the processor with jaws shot off, etc. and you have to know that there some still walking around in the woods with parts of their faces missing because of this stupidity.
Out of respect for the animal and the sport of hunting, use enough gun. Whether it be handgun or rifle, it doesn't need to be the biggest & baddest boomer out there but use enough just in case everything doesn't happen exactly as planned.
Is .38 Special enough-IMO no.
Bruce
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Joe in SC
US Veteran
Use that 38 special only if you are going hungry and have no other options. The animal deserves more.
texagun
Member
Read Elmer Keith's experiences with the .38 Special (heavily loaded) and the .38-44 on deer sized game in SIXGUNS. He did NOT get good results. .357 Magnum loaded with good quality ammo would be the minimum caliber recommended. .38 Special may not even be legal for deer in some states. Why shoot an animal with a .38 Special only to watch him run off and die a painful death several days later?
MakeMyNight
Member
My 38 Special Story
Back in Nov 1981, I watched a 6 point white tail buck wander along a creek bed, while I "watered a tree".
Since My 12 gauge Ithaca "Buck-Buster" (single-shot) was leaning against a near-by tree, I reached for My S&W model 67 (loaded with very warm hand-loads), and shot that buck twice in his neck.....yes, he was very close to me.
The buck bleated, while looking for the source of the noise, and his dis-comfort.
Not wanting to lose My deer, I dove for the Ithaca, and placed the sights onto the now trotting buck deer.
Seconds later, My Brenneke slug admirably performed it's job, and profoundly dropped that animal.
After that day, I never again carried any .38 special as a hunting companion; instead, I carried either My Colt Trooper Mark-III (.357 mag), or any of My bigger bore magnum handguns.
Back in Nov 1981, I watched a 6 point white tail buck wander along a creek bed, while I "watered a tree".
Since My 12 gauge Ithaca "Buck-Buster" (single-shot) was leaning against a near-by tree, I reached for My S&W model 67 (loaded with very warm hand-loads), and shot that buck twice in his neck.....yes, he was very close to me.
The buck bleated, while looking for the source of the noise, and his dis-comfort.
Not wanting to lose My deer, I dove for the Ithaca, and placed the sights onto the now trotting buck deer.
Seconds later, My Brenneke slug admirably performed it's job, and profoundly dropped that animal.
After that day, I never again carried any .38 special as a hunting companion; instead, I carried either My Colt Trooper Mark-III (.357 mag), or any of My bigger bore magnum handguns.
I agree with you
David LaPell
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Elmer Keith developed the #358429 bullet specifically for the old .38-44 and it did do the job on deer and other animals. Brian Pearce in his article a few years back on the .38-44 described how he killed a mule deer with one, but he even said he prefers bigger. I have alot of respect for the .38-44 because it will kill deer, WITH the right bullets and at a reasonable distance, but the standard .38 Special even with a decent bullet isn't moving fast enough to get the job done. I have heard of it being done, and I equate those stories to more luck than anything else. My .38-44 is the smallest caliber I am going to try deer with if I can ever get out there but that was after years of load experimentation and alot of practice.
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38 for deer...no way!i use no less than a 41 mag.
tom turner
US Veteran
Hi, the good ol' Keith #358429 bullet shape is a great one for penetration. Just as great, this bullet has incredible accuracy too!!! Going prone, I can typically impress friends by nailing a milk jug virtually every time (unless the wind is up) . . . at a carefully paced 200 yards (just put the red dot on the holosight 34" high and the bullet will "rainbow" right in)!
In a hot loaded .38 Special . . . it will eventually kill 'em so the coyotes can get a free meal so I'd up the caliber to either .41 Magnum or .44 Magnum and they'll thump the deer humanely. My only problem has been several instances of drilling the deer through the heart and have it take off. A deer with no "pump" won't leave much, if any, blood trail and they can cover a lot of territory in that few seconds when they are dead but don't know it yet . . . sometimes 40-50 yards or more!
Yep, hit 'em right with a big ol' hardcast lead, flatnose bullet like this in a magnum caliber starting with the number four, and you'll stop losing animals. That's been my long-term with this type bullet in my .44 Magnum, and it has taken a LOT of deer through the years . . . including this once-in-a-lifetime piebald whitetail buck.
In a hot loaded .38 Special . . . it will eventually kill 'em so the coyotes can get a free meal so I'd up the caliber to either .41 Magnum or .44 Magnum and they'll thump the deer humanely. My only problem has been several instances of drilling the deer through the heart and have it take off. A deer with no "pump" won't leave much, if any, blood trail and they can cover a lot of territory in that few seconds when they are dead but don't know it yet . . . sometimes 40-50 yards or more!
Yep, hit 'em right with a big ol' hardcast lead, flatnose bullet like this in a magnum caliber starting with the number four, and you'll stop losing animals. That's been my long-term with this type bullet in my .44 Magnum, and it has taken a LOT of deer through the years . . . including this once-in-a-lifetime piebald whitetail buck.
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C.S.63
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Buckman,
Ill probably get flamed here but I can take it?
.38 well in real close a hot load and a head shot? If you are good with your chosen pistol? OK?
I hunt on occasion with a handgun and if the shot is not perfect, I let em walk!!! (Hand Gun caliber .357) with your .38 hot 158 solid 10 to 15 yds
and only if you are good with it (head Shots)
Do ya have the patience to let em walk no matter what rack etc, close enough clear shot? That is what it is all about with a handgun.
(can you see the deers chin whiskers?)
food for the table cause you are Hungry get a bigger gun!!!!
Ill probably get flamed here but I can take it?
.38 well in real close a hot load and a head shot? If you are good with your chosen pistol? OK?
I hunt on occasion with a handgun and if the shot is not perfect, I let em walk!!! (Hand Gun caliber .357) with your .38 hot 158 solid 10 to 15 yds
and only if you are good with it (head Shots)
Do ya have the patience to let em walk no matter what rack etc, close enough clear shot? That is what it is all about with a handgun.
(can you see the deers chin whiskers?)
food for the table cause you are Hungry get a bigger gun!!!!
BruceM
Member
".38 well in real close a hot load and a head shot? If you are good with your chosen pistol? OK?"
See response #27. It was inevitable
Bruce
See response #27. It was inevitable
Bruce
Black_Sheep
Member
.38 Special is not legal for deer in Minnesota...
David LaPell
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One little thing about some head shots on deer. Several times a year I talk to one of our road patrol deputies who has had to dispatch a deer hit by a car. I know of several times where these guys have had to whack a deer in the head with a .45 ACP and the deer ends up bleating and bleeding all over the side of the road until they get a close range shot with a .223 (not pretty salvaged one 2 years ago). I am really against head shots with whitetails with anything since it is a fairly small target at distance. Have I shot deer in the neck? Yes and they dropped like a stone. I would sooner try to put one through the backbone then the head.
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Are .38 Specials even legal???????
In my state the smallest is .357 Magnum with at least 4" barrel.
In my state the smallest is .357 Magnum with at least 4" barrel.
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