357 mag hunting loads

[lscg]

I’d like to use one of my 357 magnums this year for deer and hogs and was hoping for some guidance on loads.  for bullets i’ve got the NOE 360-180, and the Lyman 358-156.

I was leaning towards the heavier NOE bullet, but i know Skeeter really favored the 358-156.

i’ll be using a Ruger security six, and possibly a S&W model 19.

thanks,
Zane. 

[silcott]

I've shot probably 20+ Ohio deer with a 158 gr bullet out of my 77/357 that haven't gone 10 feet after being shot. Including one at 173 yards that dropped where he was standing. I've pondered using a heavier bullet. But I haven't seen the need

[leftysixgun]

Jun 27, 2024 16:25:09 GMT -5 silcott said:

I've shot probably 20+ Ohio deer with a 158 gr bullet out of my 77/357 that haven't gone 10 feet after being shot. Including one at 173 yards that dropped where he was standing. I've pondered using a heavier bullet. But I haven't seen the need

What 357 bullet have you used?

[bearskinner]

I’ve used the Sierra FPJ 180 grainer on a lot of hog head shots. When your “up close and personal” you just want full pass thru’s to drop them as they stand. With a stout load of 2400, Sierras are extremely accurate.

[bigbore5]

Both work just fine.

[sixshot]

Zane, Skeeter loved the Ray Thompson 156 gr gas checked bullet & probably slept with that mould under his pillow because he used it for everything from deer & antelope down to Javelina. If you can pick your shot on hogs it will work just fine, if the hog has something to say about the angle you will want the 180 gr. Most likely a solid where you can break shoulders, but a small HP will probably be just fine unless it's a really big hog.
The 357 deserves more credit than it receives but the big guns get most of the credit. The 158 gr bullets are usually just fine on deer, especially if the hunter is shooting from a stand & can pick his shot angle. If you need some to try send me an address.
Silcott, that's an impressive number of deer & just goes to show what a 357 will do will good bullets. You don't say if they are cast or jacketed but it's still a fine report on the 357, good job! I'm headed out right now to shoot one of my OM's using some plain base 156 gr HP's in 38 special brass. I seldom use 357 brass unless I'm mad at something.

Dick

[bigbrowndog]

Zane, for deer and pigs here in our home state I go to two extremes, a lightweight 140gr. bullet doing an easy 1250ish FPS, this gets shot from my K frame guns. My OMBH gets a full length wadcutter of 220-230gr. moving at 1100fps from my 4 5/8s barrel. Surprisingly it flies true and hits hard out to 75, the farthest I’ve shot it from that gun. The same bullet from my 357max gets 1350-1400 and flies true out to 100.
The SW K frames are great guns but not really meant for a steady diet of heavy loads, using one of the lighter jacketed bullets and medium velocity you can get by without damaging your gun. Using one of Dicks or your softer and heavier bullets at moderate speed should do well also, the deer respond well to expansion and the pigs can be mitigated with accurate bullet placement, spine or brain.
I wound up taking three yesterday from 30-40 yards with a 22wmr Brno 611, all fell where hit from front shoulder spine hits…..accuracy is king when it comes to pigs, or most anything really.
Trapr

[freeze]

Not sure exactly which bullet mold you have but I have used the NOE 360-182-WFN-U2. I load these for a FA 353 to about 1400 fps.

The last deer I took was just over 80 yards and slightly quartering toward me.

The bullet entered just behind the point of the left shoulder and exited the far side rib cage.

Bullet did significant damage to both lungs and tearing through the top of the heart. Blood trail was easy to follow.


Hope that helps,
Freeze

[silcott]

Jun 27, 2024 16:44:04 GMT -5 leftysixgun said:

Jun 27, 2024 16:25:09 GMT -5 silcott said:

I've shot probably 20+ Ohio deer with a 158 gr bullet out of my 77/357 that haven't gone 10 feet after being shot. Including one at 173 yards that dropped where he was standing. I've pondered using a heavier bullet. But I haven't seen the need

What 357 bullet have you used?

Mostly a Hornaday 158 gr XTP FP. But I've also used 158 gr JSP from Magtech, and Everglades bullets. I've also used a Speer 158 gr bullet. All with almost exactly the same result.




This bullet is a 158 gr XTP FP. I pulled it from the buck that I shot at 173 yards. It stopped in the shoulder blade on the off side.




upload images online

[leftysixgun]

Does Hornady still make the XTP FP? I’ve never seen one.

[nicholst55]

Grafs has them in stock:


Hornady .357 158 XTP-HP 

[seminolewind]

This is a Swift 357 158 gr Aframe that performed great on a whitetail. I have no doubt a 158 gr XTP FP would perform well too.

imgur.com/a/vwdcn9X

[bigbrowndog]

Take note guys that what a 357 will do from a rifle or FA353 is not the same as a Security Six or model 19.

Trapr

[freeze]

Jun 28, 2024 13:37:01 GMT -5 bigbrowndog said:

Take note guys that what a 357 will do from a rifle or FA353 is not the same as a Security Six or model 19.

Trapr

I couldn't agree more, which is why I wanted to point it out in my post, also why I won't provide any of that load data in a public forum!

Thanks for the reminder to everyone.


-Freeze

[lscg]

Jun 27, 2024 18:13:18 GMT -5 bigbrowndog said:

Zane, for deer and pigs here in our home state I go to two extremes, a lightweight 140gr. bullet doing an easy 1250ish FPS, this gets shot from my K frame guns. My OMBH gets a full length wadcutter of 220-230gr. moving at 1100fps from my 4 5/8s barrel. Surprisingly it flies true and hits hard out to 75, the farthest I’ve shot it from that gun. The same bullet from my 357max gets 1350-1400 and flies true out to 100.
The SW K frames are great guns but not really meant for a steady diet of heavy loads, using one of the lighter jacketed bullets and medium velocity you can get by without damaging your gun. Using one of Dicks or your softer and heavier bullets at moderate speed should do well also, the deer respond well to expansion and the pigs can be mitigated with accurate bullet placement, spine or brain.
I wound up taking three yesterday from 30-40 yards with a 22wmr Brno 611, all fell where hit from front shoulder spine hits…..accuracy is king when it comes to pigs, or most anything really.
Trapr

trapr,

thanks for the reply!  i’ll probably try the 180 grainers in the Ruger, and use the lighter bullet in the Smith. I know the 19 is not as stout as other guns so I definitely don’t want to wear it out. and being a 2 1/2” gun I doubt it’ll be my first choice for game, but i will probably be carrying it a lot this summer so I’d like a good load that could handle whatever I need it to.