I have hunted with a 357. Magnum, what do you use or suggest for deer or elk? I have heard of so many different caliber's, what say you?
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I have hunted with a 357. Magnum, what do you use or suggest for deer or elk? I have heard of so many different caliber's, what say you?
454 casull should work wonders on elk. Id not be afraid to use 44 mag with a good full house load. I have no doubt that 357 mag would do it using a double tap or buffalo bore heavy load but it wouldnt be my first or second choice. I want a quick clean kill
That being said.....i killed a 1800# short horn bull who went nuts with a ranch dog 190 grain hard cast pushed by H110 (max load) in 357 mag, using a S&W 627-5 at 20 yards (ish) head on. Round passed clean through the front of his skull and was lodged again his first rib on the left side. DRT
My friend has a 460. Cant comment on 357, but if i was buying a pistol for elk, id probably end up with 460. Solid ballistics and not a bad shooter with an 8” (i think) ported barrel.
My preference for deer- Mulie/Whitetail is a 4” S&W N frame in cal. .4X.
I run FO FS.
Heavy for cal. cast lead, either Keith type SWC or WFNGC.
Range is realistic; 50 yds. and in, shot placement is key (duh).
Old school, yes- but easy to carry all day.
Todd Orr is a elk assassin with a .44 mag.
I had a S&W 460. On paper the ballistics are amazing for a handgun. But the muzzle blast and recoil were rediculous. It had a 7" or 8" barrel and when I fired it rested in a bench, the muzzle blast would shred the sand bags. It shots flat like a rifle, so when it was introduced, their selling point was being able to shoot deer at 200 yards with a handgun. It works on paper but hitting a deer with a handgun at 200 yards, in the field, is very much impossible, for me anyways. The 460 would be amazing in a lever action rifle. Seems like a 44mag would be a better handgun for elk. That's just my opinion though.
I'm shooting a Ruger Super Blackhawk 454 Casull and love it. I'm able to shoot both 45LC and 454 out of it. I have the same gun in 45LC but with a 5.5" barrel instead of the 6" one for the 454. With Buffalo Bore ammo you can come close to duplicating the power levels of a 454. The main reason I got the 454 is my Son love my 45LC so I figured why not have the best of both worlds. Last December my son shot a 350lb black bear with the 45LC and Buffalo Bore 325gr +P ammo and the bullet hit him behind the right rib's and exited out of the front left shoulder. Bear was dead before he hit the ground. So I would think that either of those rounds would be fine for Elk
Don't forget the 41 mag. Ammo is more expensive, but if someone is looking for a round that bridges the gap between .357 and .44 mag, it maybe perfect.
I have taken two bull elk, two black bear, one mule deer buck and a mountain lion with my 41 mags. I would say that is a good proven starting point.