Is the .357 Magnum a deer load in a rifle?

[BB57]

Provided you can reliably get good bullet placement, the .357 Magnum in a rifle will work fine on deer, out to the range where the muzzle energy and velocity are down to the same level you'd see in a 4" revolver at the muzzle.

For example, with my 20" Rossi 92 short rifle, I get a muzzle velocity of 1820 fps and 1170 ft pounds with Federal 158 gr JSP. The time of flight to 175 yards is .35 seconds and that load drops down to 1277 fps and 570 ft pounds - which is the same as 4" revolver performance at the muzzle. That also gets it momentum and Taylor KO scores of 28 and 20.

Trajectory wise, with a 150 yard zero, it will have a maximum mid range trajectory of 3 3/4" at 85 yards, and will be 4" low at 175 yards. Accuracy wise, with a Marbles tang sight and Lyman 17A front sight I get 2 MOA to 2.5 MOA accuracy at 100 yards with both my 20" short rifle and 24" rifle Rossi 92. That's 3" to 3 3/4" at 150 yards, which is as good as or better than most revolver hunters can shoot at 50 yards.

Practically speaking, that lets you hold on a deer sized target, without covering any of the vital zone with the front blade. If you're thinking 100 yards as your maximum, it gives you the ability to estimate the range wrong by a good 50 yards and not have it affect the shot. If you know your business, a 150 yard range is still very reasonable, still allowing for a 25 yard range error.

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The .243 Win with a 100 gr Sierra BTSP has a 5" point blank range of 345 yards with a 290 yard zero with a time of flight to 345 yards of .4 seconds where it has 2,250 fps and 1,124 ft pounds. That results in momentum and KO scores of 32 and 7 - a bit more momentum, but a significantly lower KO score than the 158 gr .357 Mag at 175 yards.

Since no one complains about .243 performance at 345 yards, there shouldn't be any complaints about the .357 Magnum fired from a rifle at 150 to 175 yards.

The average .243 Win rifle should be capable of 1 MOA accuracy, so it'll produce a similar 3.5" to 4" group at 345 yards.

Practically speaking then, the .243 has about twice the effective range of the .357 Magnum fired from a rifle, with perhaps a bit less effectiveness in the outer half of the 0-345 yard range compared to a .357 Magnum at 150-175 yards.

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I have a single .243 Win rifle and quite frankly it sees very little range time. Unless the maximum anticipated hunting range is going to be in excess of 150 yards, it'll get left home every time. I prefer to carry one of my Rossi rifles in .357 Magnum, or one of my pre-64 Model 94s in .30-30. (2 MOA accurate, 4" high at 100 yards with a 200 yard zero, 1,570 fps and 813 ft pounds at 200 yards, momentum and Taylor KO of 33 and 10).

 

[max]

I would keep them both

 

[Jessie]

This won't help if you MUST get rid of one of them, but back here in the States? Most of us would keep both.
Do you have to get rid of one?

 

[Goldstar225]

If you're only going to have one deer rifle. keep the .243. Or do as I do:

I have a Marlin .357 and a .308. The .308 gets the nod for when the area I'll hunt offers longer shots. The Marlin is my walking around gun or dense brush (i.e., close range) choice.

 

[Continental Op]

Think about it this way: which one could you replace easily if you regret getting rid of it? I have to believe you could pick up another Henry fairly easily if you wanted to, but the Parker Hale is probably hard to come by.

 

[hkcavalier]

The new Hornady Leverevolution .357s would be my choice for deer hunting. They scrape the low end of the .30-30, ballistically.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Keep them both, t would be a shame to get rid of either.

I did a bunch of loads and sent them over the chronograph for the .357 Magnum in a levergun. I settled on a Sierra 170gr JHC bullet over a full charge of Lil'Gun followed by their 150gr JHC bullet. I have not taken a deer with a .357 Magnum yet.

 

[double-dipper]

All good advise from other, But do you know what subspecies of Sika deer you will be hunting? If it's the smaller subspecies the 243 would be just fine (Large Stag/Buck about 150 lbs). If you are hunting the larger subspecies (250+ lbs) I would use the 357 and keep the shot at 100m or less. For the Fallow deer live weight can be 250-300lbs+ for a large Stag/Buck. I would not recommend either for a quick and humane kill. Borrow your brothers 270, 308, 30.06, or 7MM for that.

 

[loc n load]

Having taken deer with both the 357 and 243, if I had to take only one to hunt deer with, it would be the 243. If I could keep both rifles I would. The Henry is a great rifle shooting a revolver cartridge, the Parker Hale is a solid rifle with a very capable rifle cartridge. My experience with deer, is limited to the big bodied corn/bean fed white tails that abound here, like the ones I am watching in the field South of my house while I write this. I also agree with double-dipper, if you have a 270 or larger round available, better option.

 

[Ethang]

Here is my take, the 243 is without a doubt a better pure deer rifle.. that said, the 357 in a lever rifle makes a fine deer round that doubles as one heck of a fun shooter when you are not deer hunting. How much fun shooting might you do vs strictly deer hunting?

 

[ShivasIrons]

CAN you hunt deer with a 357 rifle? Absolutely!

Is the 243 a BETTER deer rifle? Absolutely!

Keep'em both!

 

[BAM-BAM]

I've taken Pa. deer whitetails with a 6" scoped 686 limiting my shots to 50yds or less.

I have two .357 carbines a Winchester Trapper and a Ruger 77/357 bolt action. I wouldn't hesitate to use either....... that said in Pa. I use my Ruger 77 International in .243.

 

[jwk]

I think a 357 carbine is an adequate short range deer rifle but I wouldn't take one deer hunting on purpose. I consider them plinkers, small game and personal defense carbines. I would use it if it is what I had for a deer or hogs under 100 yards.

For deer hunting I'd keep the 243. Actually I'd trade it for something bigger. I have a 243 but havent hunted with it. I recommend either a 7-08 if recoil is a factor or 308. Other good deer cartridges exist but that's what I like. 243 will certainly work but I like more bullet particularly since we also have feral hogs which can be tougher than deer. Others may have different opinions but I like being able to take any reasonable shot that presents at any reasonable range. While I don't advocate flinging bullets at extremely long ranges I want anything within 400 yards to be a doable shot.

 

[BB57]

Here is my take, the 243 is without a doubt a better pure deer rifle.. that said, the 357 in a lever rifle makes a fine deer round that doubles as one heck of a fun shooter when you are not deer hunting. How much fun shooting might you do vs strictly deer hunting?

If someone shoots their .357 Magnum rifle on a regular basis, the odds are also good that they'll shoot it better in the field. I don't know many folks who put 50 rounds through their .243 in a range session, but I know a lot of folks who'll do that with their .357 Magnum rifle.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

While I agree the .357 Magnum is capable as a deer gun I do not agree it's superior to the .243 by any means, even in larger deer. While a larger caliber is probably a good path to follow in very large bodies deer the .357 Magnum in not that caliber. Penetration might be a problem in the thick with mussel 250lb+ Mule deer.

 

[white cloud]

I have killed two deer with a .357 rifle using a hand loaded 158 grain Hornady XTP "hollow point" bullet. Ranges for both were about 50 yards. Neither deer ran more than 10 yards. Only one shot was required for each deer. Both shots were lung shots and the bullets passed through. I had good blood trails from both shots. Upon field dressing the deer I was impressed with the destruction. Is a .357 carbine as good as a .270 Winchester? Of course not but I think it is fine for deer up to 100 yards.

 

[Nevada Ed]

I have shot Large Nevada Mule deer in the 280 pound range with a old
M19 6" .357 Magnum revolver with Speer 160gr SJSP doing 1230fps with Unique powder.
I did not have 2400 or w291 back in those days but if you could get a shot
at around 75 yards, meat would be in a deer bag.
I like to have 1,000 ft/lbs of energy for large deer.

Heck, a rifle is even BETTER !!

I got a 158 XTP up to 1340fps in a 6" barrel...............

Pick your poison.

As a note;
my 22/250 with a 60gr Nosler is good to 200 yards per bullet energy.
Its all about penetration and energy.
Your 243 should be good out to 300 yards, in steady hands.

Good hunting and a tag.

 

[DWalt]

I don't have a .357 rifle but I do have a Winchester 94 Trapper in .44 Magnum. For the sake of discussion, I would have no difficulty in using that .44 Trapper for hunting anything deer sized or even larger inside of 100 yards. And it is so handy and light it also makes an excellent survival or home defense weapon. I used the Trapper for CAS, which I quit shooting nearly 20 years ago, and really don't have much use for it these days. But I just can't bring myself to sell it.

 

[stansdds]

The 44 Magnum has quite a bit more oomph and with its heavier bullet, retains that oomph over longer distances than the 357 Magnum. For handgun calibers and hunting, the 44 Magnum is superior to the 357 Magnum.

 

[Riccur]

The deer in the northern part of the USA would eat the deer from NZ. However the deer he is talking about are about the same size as yours. That being said Hornady makes a great deer round for your rifle the Leverevolution would make the 100 yard shot much easier and more deadly.

https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/handgun/357-mag-140-gr-ftx-leverevolution#!/#features

Do you have a pistol(s) in .38 or .357? If so, I'd keep the Henry and simplify my ammo stock.
.357 is a simpler reload too if you do that.
If a deer hunting is your prime and only consideration, I'd vote for the .243 if the deer in NZ are similar in size to USA white tail deer. If bigger... I'm not sure. You'd probably do better with the .357's heavier bullet and stick to closer range shots, say under 100 yds as you posted.