Current "Best" .357 Hunting Load

[tom2]

In India they are worried about being stalked by big cats. They wear hats with eyes and face on the back because the cat tries to get into your blind spot to attack. I wonder how that Hornady 140 Leverevolution would perform from a 6" barrel. Bet it would take a regular eastern doe at bow ranges.

 

[Greyman50]

Forget the load but used Sierra 140grn half jacket HP in my 6” Mdl. 19 to down Eastern white tails back in late 70’s. Usually neck shots at less than 75 yards. By chance I hunted again would go with 158 grn Keith Type cast over 13 grns of 2400 in my Mdl 28 6”. Sorry but down here its just way to hot for me to go in the woods. Have to carry 2 Thermoshields for the millions of mosquitos.

 

[pharmer]

These look pretty stout. Joe
Buy 357 Magnum Ammo - Hammerdown | Federal Premium for USD 33.99 | Federal Ammunition

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

WOW........25 opinions/responses........Has anybody here shot a charging bear to back up their response? Or is it conjecture?

 

[Darkenfast]

Bear hunting is not the same as bear defense. There has been a good study done that showed that many good centerfire handguns have been quite successful in defending against bear attacks. Worth reading.

Update of Pistol Defenses Against Bears 123 Cases, 98% Effective - AmmoLand Shooting Sports News

 

[K Harris]

One of, if not the best bear guides in Alaska is Tia Shoemaker. Daughter of well known guide and writer Phil Shoemaker. Her father gave her a Smith & Wesson Model 65 for protection from Brown Bears. Her round of choice is the Buffalo Bore 180 grain hard-cast.

As an aside, Phil Shoemaker had a defense of life incident with clients several years back and he ended up emptying the magazine of his Smith & Wesson 3906 loaded with Buffalo Bore 9mm+P 147 grain hard-cast while the bear was standing over his clients. He got full penetration and the bear died quickly. Personally, I would rather have the 357 than a 9mm, but hard cast bullets driven fast work well.

 

[Bald1]

Dunno about bear, but mulies, whitetails, and treed mountain lions fall nicely to any 158 grain bullet - I've used both JSP and JHP without concern and with good results. American Eagle 158s are just fine, although you can spend as much as you want for designer ammo.

This exactly ^^^^^^ I’ve killed many deer with a 6” 686. My son killed a 225lb Colorado black bear with same gun. They all fell to 158gr American Eagle. We used JHP but some will claim JSP gives more penetration. I never needed it as the HPs were complete pass throughs. When Winchester made the 180gr Partition Gold I tried them and saw ZERO difference in performance.

 

[nra jim]

I love hunting with the 357 magnum, for deer and hog any decent 158gr jhp or jsp works great, when going after bear or bigger boar hogs I tend to use either Federal 180gr jhp or 158gr Fusion. I hunt with both a 6 1/2" Ruger Blackhawk and a Henry big boy and have had great success with both staying under 100 yards.

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[Autonomous]

Now that I am older and walk with a limp, I am aware that I may be stalked by a cat type predator. I question if .357 magnum velocity might be an advantage over Shield 45 ACP river barge speed.

It potentially could be, potentially.
A real advantage is the ability of most shooters to deliver faster, more accurate follow-up shots with a semi-auto.
That is the reason so many knowledgeable folks in brown bear country have made the change from revolvers.

My wife and I had a very close, in person encounter with a cougar. Thankfully we had our big Great Danes with us.
When we got home, she told me to go buy that .44 Mag I had been wanting.
If I knew then what I know now I'd have bought a .45 ACP pistol. For a thin-skinned cat, they are adequate IMO.

Look at bear spray with a good, rigid holster. I carry UDAP brand. Some Pro hunters in Africa carry a fixed blade belt knife at the small of their back where either hand can access it. Storm brand whistles are incredibly loud, louder than you can imagine and can buy distance and time.

 

[Autonomous]

Mountain lions want nothing to do with people. Unless you hunt them with dogs, you're really unlikely to see one in the wild, and then you'll likely see them running away.

Tell that to the folks out here that have been injured and killed by them.
I suggest you stop repeating nonsense that some poor fool may want to believe.

 

[biku324]

Tell that to the folks out here that have been injured and killed by them.
I suggest you stop repeating nonsense that some poor fool may want to believe.

Nonsense seems prevalent with some postings here. Is it okay if I believe my experience of 44 years in lion country and that of lion hunting guides here rather than social media and any freak occurrence? I'd really appreciate permission.

 

[Autonomous]

Again, tell that to the victims of cougar attacks.
Also, do you have a clue how pompous you sound when your alleged experience is presented as important, but others are written off as freak occurrences?

BTW, 45 years ago I saw many, many more bear than big cats. The last 15 years it has been close to 50/50.

 

[biku324]

If I ever meet a victim of a cougar attack (I never have) I'll be glad to.

My experience is pompous, but yours is clearly bedrock.

 

[squid8286]

Bear hunting is not the same as bear defense. There has been a good study done that showed that many good centerfire handguns have been quite successful in defending against bear attacks. Worth reading.

Update of Pistol Defenses Against Bears 123 Cases, 98% Effective - AmmoLand Shooting Sports News

I am not concerned about Black Bears. I have seen them in the woods in years past, and never had a problem with them. A Black Bear is nothing like a Grizzly. If those were the question, I wouldn't even be discussing Grizzly and .357 Magnum in the same thread. They are another completely different ball of wax, and there aren't any in the Southeastern US.

 

[Doug M.]

The likelihood of a cougar attack (except the fun kind) is so small as to be a non-issue expect in really odd circumstances. I would be exponentially more concerned about human attackers.

 

[nra jim]

I agree there is a huge difference in hunting bears and being surprised and defending yourself from one on a walk/hike or other hunt. Non hunting in bear woods usually carry Buffalo Bore 180 hardcase flatnose. When hunting a good bonded jhp or heavy jsp does the trick every time, but black bears aren't bullet proof and when treed I've seen some of the good ole boys use .22mag to put the lights out and it works great.

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[DGNY]

Lots of good suggestions in prior posts. I would suggest you hunt up a 20 round box of Buffalo bore 357 180 gr outdoorsman and sight in for that.

Some years ago when the market was not stretched, Winchester white box or federal American Eagle 158 gr for general use. With shortages now, PMC bronze 158JSP by online order (if OK with local rules), good for general use. Have shot quite a bit of that and it seems powerful and accurate.

Good luck - and as someone else mentioned a 44 would be an even better choice.

 

[Skeet 028]

Heck ,Let's be honest for the avg person in non grizzly country a 357 with any good 158 gr bullet will do all you need to protect yourself. In grizzly country...my personal opinion is an extended mag 12 ga with slugs is best. But not very convenient to carry. I carry my M-57 with 240 gr WFNGC bullets at about 1050. They will go completely through a grizz front to back. 2 grizzlies both down at the shot one finished with 2 270 gr 375 s when he got back up... There is not much time with a charging grizzly even though they quite often drop when hit...bouncing back up. If I go up on the mountain...I do take the M1 Super 90 with ext mag