686 for hunting?

[badland56]

Have been kicking around the idea of getting a 686 6", after getting a good feel for it may use it for hunting. Would like to possibly mount a red dot/scope, do the new ones come drillled and tapped? Does anyone here hunt with theres or maybe this isn't the best choice. Open to all ideas! Thanks

 

[skeeterbait]

I have a 6" 686 no dash that I purchased new back in the 80's. It has been my companion on many trips to the forest over the years. At one time I had a 2.5x scope on it but wasn't pleased with the field of view and slow target acquisition of a scope. Later I put an open lens reflex Ultradot L/T on it and a simple rubber Hogue Monogrip. I really like this setup, can shoot it with both eyes open and the dot is easy to get on target with the 1x magnification. With propping on something I can shoot 4" groups at 50 yards.

My early 686 was not drilled and tapped and I tried two different "clamp on" style bases first. They were bulky and I never really trusted them. I had a gunsmith drill and tap the gun and found that to be the better solution. All the new 686's come drilled and tapped. I am unsure what dash version they started though. The holes are under the rear sight but you can quickly tell if a given gun is by looking at the underside of the top strap of the frame.

Holsters are few for optics equipped guns. I tried the big bandoleer style and found it too bulky. I tried a Safariland open top speed holster and found the retention insufficient for "woods" carry. Finally I took a Bianchi Accumold holster, cut and resewed the top to make a slot for the optics to hang out, and sewed a drop extension and elastic leg strap. That has been the best solution I have found.

While I have never considered it a primary hunting weapon, I have taken two doe whitetails with it using 158 grain semi jacketed solid soft points. In both cases they were double lung broadside hits. The bullets stopped under the hide on the off side. Both animals traveled about 80 yards and went down. Blood trail was sparse. So with that limited experience, and information from others I believe the 357 to be a marginal hunting round at best requiring a well placed optimal shot. I would not want to risk losing a large bodied buck to it. 44 or 41 if you reload is a more effective round per others I have talked with.

------

Wow, I was up early headed turkey hunting when I posted this. I type like a drunk when I am still half asleep.

 

[Mule88]

I agree with Skeeterbait, the 357 has accounted for numerous whitetails but definitly falls short to the .41 and .44 in performance. Using the .357 limit it to nothing bigger than medium whitetails and smaller and id keep my shots uder 50yds with your set up. Also use a good heavyweight bullet.

 

[JamesArthur60]

I've got a 6" 686PP and a box of 357 Winchester Partition Gold 180 gr. ready for whitetail hunting myself. I also have a nice flap leather holster for rough woods carry. I've read many + and - stories regarding the 357 round for hunting. I haven't tried it, but when I get tired of lugging around my shotgun, I believe I will switch to the 357. However, as of now I have not used it for hunting.

 

[David LaPell]

I had a nice 686 with the 8 3/8 inch barrel that I kind of wished I held on to. With the .357 Magnum you definitely want to limit your shots to 50 yards. Handloading is where you really want to go since most .357 loads are for personal defense and with all the tiny snub guns out there most factory ammo is not up to what it used to be. Just remember that even though back in the 1930's and 1940's the .357 was used to hunt everything under the sun, it was because there was nothing bigger that had the title of "magnum". I agree that the .44 or .41 Magnum is much better for deer than the .357. You get a bigger wound track, more blood loss and while you have to load up the .357 Magnum with the heavier bullets (I would use the 170 grain cast #358429) you don't need to load the .44 Magnum to the gills.

 

[Truckin]

I too have 686 with the 8 3/8" barrel. I have gotten two medium size bucks both shot at 30+ yards. Double lung shots, same load and same situation as Skeeterbait. I was reading an old article in one of the gun magazines about going squirrel hunting with a long barreled 357 revolver using 38 special loads that I plan on trying this fall. Got to be careful with the back stop but it sounds challenging. One of my favorite revolvers.

 

[DeadAye]

Mine has a 4" barrel - Kills deer dead right there...
Think bow hunting with a light draw bow while hunting with a 357.
As usual --- It's ALL about shot placement. Study the deer circulatory system.
You can shoot a deer with a 357 @ 100+ yards with practice. BUT - The object IS NOT to shoot a deer - The object is to kill a deer humanely --- Big Difference!
It takes a lot of patience to kill deer quickly with a small bore pistol. If you and yours NEED the meat, use an appropriate rifle. For sport a pistol is a lot of fun and quite a challenge. I keep shots to 30, or less, yards. I set up on the ground - Even with orange on I've had people walk up within feet of me and never see me - and several deer have walked up and sniffed me.
I set up on a log with the stump or a tree to my back that I can lean back on. Last year a raccoon walked right up *my* log at me. I started to wonder if maybe it was sick or rabid (?) so I decided to shoot it when it was about 6 feet from me and still coming. As soon as I raised the pistol the poor critter's eyes got as big a saucers and it turned around and just walked off. A bit later a guy came down the trail ---- I swear he was looking right at me for the 30 yards that we could clearly see each other ---- He stopped right beside me, so I said "Hi" --- The dude liked to have had a heart attack! He never saw me and I had on an orange vest and cap. Makes me wonder what else is out there watching that I never see..........

 

[badland56]

Some good info here and things to ponder on. Looks like I'll be looking around for a deal on one, from what I have read about this gun its definately my next gun purchase. As far as hunting with this cal. I'll be leaving that idea open for now. It was just a thought, may look at a bigger cal. when that time comes if ever. Thanks guys

 

[bglaze]

If you and yours NEED the meat, use an appropriate rifle.

I say, if you and yours NEED the meat, use anything you've got! A .30-06, a .22, a sling-shot, a swiss-army knife, a bear hug to strangle it to death, anything! Take care of your starving family...

However, I agree with everything else =)

Shot placement is everything, and for the sportsman, we must try to be as humane as possible.

 

[noah.c.hardy]

i have a 686 with the power port and a mossberg 20ga... which would you recommend for deer in woods in the midwest?

 

[celticfisherman]

The 357 is a fine deer round. Problem is placement. If you don't break bones on a deer they run. You want a deer laying DRT then break it's neck or collapse the front shoulders. I've done both with a 357 and a lot smaller calibers.

Most deer hunters don't practice near enough. And the behind the shoulder shot is not nearly as high percentage a shot as people believe.

 

[4inch357]

i have a 686 with the power port and a mossberg 20ga... which would you recommend for deer in woods in the midwest?

Although Mossbergs don't fit me well, a rifled barreled 20GA and a round it shoots well is go to give you more range for sure - it actually is a pretty good set up if you can't use a rifle. Actually if had both I'd carry both.

 

[buck460XVR]

The .357 with proper ammo has no problem killing deer. It's generally the guy pullin' the trigger that has the problem. I've killed half a dozen deer with my 6'' 686 and none went farther than 50 yards. Longest shot I have taken at deer with it has been less than 40 yards.......because I know my limitations with it. A double lung or heart shot with a .357 will kill a deer just as fast as a 30-06, only difference is it probably won't drop in it's tracts. For those who can't follow a blood trail for a short distance, this becomes a problem. Those that don't practice regularly with a their revolver will also have problems, because as any decent handgunner knows, becoming proficient with a handgun takes practice. Shooting a paper plate @ 50 yards off sandbags with a .357 is easy, but take away the solid rest and add the excitement of the hunt and suddenly hitting that same paper plate @ 25 yards is tough.

 

[Gauntlet]

I carried a 4" 686 on duty and killed countless deer with head shots. But that was the coup de gras shot after being struck by an automobile. With that being said, when my department upgraded to automatics. I had my gunsmith build me a hunter out of it. It had a 6" Douglass bull barrel, a full length rib mount, trigger/action job, trigger set screw and an Aimpoint. The trigger broke clean at 2lb. in single action. At 50 yards on a sandbag rest, if I did my part, I could keep the group at about 1 inch with my best group of 6 rounds of 158gr. jsp's at a 1/2 inch. Now lets go hunting. First deer was at 25 yards and a vital hit. Damn thing ran over 100 yards and gets hit by a car. Back to the coup de gras shot. Next season, second deer at 45 yards, bullet got deflected by a branch at about 30 yards and it breaks the deer's spine. It drags itself while "screaming" for another 35 yards with me making another shot at 20 yards through the neck to put it down. Sold the gun and bought a new 6.5" M629 with factory power port and put a Bushnell Halosight on it. Another trip to the gunsmith to get the trigger/action job and sighted it in using 240gr. jsp's 44 Magnums and alot of practice with the increased recoil. First deer at 35 yards DRT, second deer at over 50 yards while moving DRT. Then it finally happened, my first Adirondack black bear walked into view. At about 30 yards, I aimed at the left shoulder and it went 6 yards, DRT. It then took 11 back breaking hours to get the damn thing down the mountain and loaded in my truck. My advice, go bigger than a .357 for hunting and skip the damn bears.

 

[caribouhunter]

Having hunter deer for 30+ years with handgun, shotgun, muzzle loader, archery, rifle, I would say go bigger.
Yes, the 357 will kill a deer - but - for all the one shot wonders people have done there are probably 25 times as many really long track jobs or lost deer when using the 357 mag.
Treat it like an arrow and do the double lung shot, it will take it down, however there will be a track job.
Even with my 44 mag I have lost deer over the years in trying to get to fancy with the shot and ended up hitting the shoulder area and just missing the heart/lung.
Spend the time and get really good at shooting consistently, know your distance limitations.