Deer Hunting with Rossi 357 Magnum Factory loads ??

[bcraig]

I have a Rossi 357 magnum 16 inch barrel ordered and Did so because I figured the rifle would be a decent Plinker with cheap factory 38 specials and also make a decent gun to keep around the house for self defense.And just to have fun with.

I have not hunted deer in 4 or 5 years .

IF I decide to go again which Factory Load ,grain weight would you use for 50 yard shots maybe 75 yards max.
I would be hunting from the ground,sitting, against a tree so no jumpshooting of deer no shots at a running deer at all.

Deer size of average buck size of 150 pounds although I have taken several throught the years of 250 pounds with my biggest of 260 pounds gutted.

I have experience using the 44 Magnum from Handgun hunting exclusively for the better part of 15 years but have no first hand experience using a 357 Magnum in either a Pistol or a a Carbine.

Prefer a shoulder shot as I hunt around a Bayou and it aint easy tracking a deer in water !
as you know a shoulder shot can ending up being in the lungs just as it is easy to mistake thinking a broadside shot is what your seeing when in reality the deer is standing at an angle .

For those who have experience in these matters I would appreciate your thoughts of using the 357 Magnum Rossi for deer hunting, is it enough for humane kills and which Factory Ammo (Brand )And which bullet type of Bullet(JSP or JHP) And which grain weight would you be most likely to choose.

Thanks

[GunnyMack]

I'd stick with 158( min) and go up. JSP or hard cast.
357 has taken many lives be it 2 or 4 legged over the years.
Would it be my first choice? No but it'll work just fine.
Moose have been killed with the lowly 22, just gotta put the bullet in the right spot.

[Ray]

The federal american eagle 158 gr. soft nose seems to be quite popular.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0dMXKHUxj ... BnciBqc3Ag

"it is easy to mistake thinking a broadside shot is what your seeing when in reality the deer is standing at an angle"

This is very important and seldom discussed.

[mickbr]

I have not shot a lot of deer, its mostly hogs where I am. I found the 357 worked well even on large hogs. I never bothered with hardcast in mine. The 158XTP hollowpoint pushed hard handled large hogs no problem. I also used lighter 38 special bullets such as the remington UMC 38+P 125SJHP. for small game. This runs about 970fps in a revolver and 1300fps in a 20" lever action. Only 6.5 grains of powder, low noise, almost non existant recoil. I assume Hornady still loads the 158XTP and it would be my factory choice for game that size. I probably disagree with some opinions regarding 357 carbines on this sort of game. I dont see it as some sort of bare minimum, I see it as a quite a good option.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I could easily live with Federal American Eagle 158 gr soft point ammo and kill any deer in Texas within 100 yards or so.

I shot a few deer with a handloaded 180 gr XTP loaded long and pretty hot but I don’t know that it was worth the extra effort when the Federal soft point works so well.

[JimT]

I was with a good friend and watched him put down a large buck in Missouri with his Rossi .357. He used factor 140 gr. and it worked just fine.

[bcraig]

Thanks Guys I appreciate it

[JMick]

I've killed over 20 Missouri whitetails with the Federal 158 JSP and a Rossi .357, so I agree with Scott.

[AJMD429]

.
I had some Remington 180 grain factory loads that were semi jacketed flat points that I think would do really well. If I recall they shot fairly accurately out to 100 yards maybe 3 in group with a scope.

[Paladin]

I have killed many white-tails with a .357 MAG with everything from .38 wadcutters, Win 145-grain Silver Tips (very shallow wound in the chest of a human wearing a jacket), and 158-grain Semi Wads out of a 4-inch revolver at work. They are soft-skinned targets and easy to kill with just about anything you choose with the Rossi 92.

[wvfarrier]

I have killed deer, black bear and a wide assortment of smaller.game with a 357 rifle. The BEST factory loading I have found is the Underwood 158 grain Nosler JSP. It leaves my 16" Winchester at an average of 1995 fps. It expanded to .70 caliber on my black bear. I have not used any other caliber for hunting in over a decade.

I should mention I primarily neck shoot my targets.

[Blaine]

Federal 180 grain hard cast.

[Bullard4075]

All the above mentioned loads have worked for me, I would just advise against the real light weights of 110/125 grain.

[Marlin32]

My first (owned by me) deer rifle was a Marlin in 357. Shot quite a few nebraska white tails with it. Always used the Federal 180gr Hollow point.
No deer ever traveled more than 30 yards after being shot. About half dropped in their tracks, all were within 60 yards.

I wouldnt be afraid to use the 180gr Partition bullet either, I think Winchester loads it?

[wvfarrier]

Quite a few of the Lehigh Defense loads are awesome.out of a 357 as well

[bcraig]

I could easily live with Federal American Eagle 158 gr soft point ammo and kill any deer in Texas within 100 yards or so.

I shot a few deer with a handloaded 180 gr XTP loaded long and pretty hot but I don’t know that it was worth the extra effort when the Federal soft point works so well.

Do you typically get any expansion and exit on a broadside shot ?

[wvfarrier]

The problem I ran into with the federal 158s is that they are weak loaded. Whatever powder they used did not have enough "oomph" to keep the velocity increasing in a rifle barrel. I barely got a 250 fps increase in a 16" barrel and saw a decrease in a 20". My handloads will increase out to a 20" barrel, I use the same Lil Gun load that Buffalo Bore uses

[Scott Tschirhart]

Do you typically get any expansion and exit on a broadside shot ?

Yes and yes. They expand even from a revolver.

But I’ve never recovered one from a deer. They punch a pretty good wound channel and exit.

[Tycer]

Federal 180 grain hard cast.

This

[bcraig]

Do you typically get any expansion and exit on a broadside shot ?

Yes and yes. They expand even from a revolver.

But I’ve never recovered one from a deer. They punch a pretty good wound channel and exit.

Sounds pretty good to me, for point blank to 75 yards at the max.
I ordered 2 boxes of them Along with a box of Remington 38 Special 158 Grain Lead Hollow Point for use when I dont want a lot of muzzle flash and blast.


Thank's

[Sarge]

The federal american eagle 158 gr. soft nose seems to be quite popular.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0dMXKHUxj ... BnciBqc3Ag

"it is easy to mistake thinking a broadside shot is what your seeing when in reality the deer is standing at an angle"

This is very important and seldom discussed.

If I could only get one 357 load, that one would suit me fine.

[COSteve]

While I handload my own and I've got are great results, if the OP is only limiting his choices to factory loads, I would suggest that he take a look at Buffalo Bore .357 Mag Heavy loads.

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l ... tail&p=100

If one scrolls down to the last entry on the page above, they'll note that Buffalo Bore has velocities shown out of a Marlin levergun that are truly impressive.

For comparison, my full power Zero JSP, 158 grn load using a max load of 18.0 grns of Lil'Gun powder produces 1,952 fps from my 20" Rossi Carbine and 2,005 fps from my 24" Rossi rifle. That's at my range at 6,100ft asl and 84°.

Buffalo Bore lists that their 180grn Hard Cast load produces 1,851 fps from the Marlin Carbine and their 158 grn JHP produces a whopping 2,153 fps!! And both of those are from an 18.5" Carbine!