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Best .357 ammo for deer?

Discussion about what manufactured ammunition feeds your Henry or other firearms
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Redthies
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Best .357 ammo for deer?

Post by Redthies » Wed Sep 12, 2018 10:54 am

For any of you guys that hunt with your .357s, which is your ammo of choice? My research so far says 158 grain SJSP, and of that, the Winchester Super X variety seems to be the hottest load. Anything else that isn’t too obscure that you’d recommend in factory ammo?

Thanks!
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JEBar
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Re: Best .357 ammo for deer?

Post by JEBar » Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:00 pm

we prefer 158 gr JHP bullets for NC deer, most of which can't be considered to have large, heavy bodies .... for bigger bodied deer we prefer 158 gr JSP bullets .... we load our own so, I can't provide any recommendations on the performance of factory ammo .... my best recommendation would be to find a brand your Henry really likes
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PT7
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Re: Best .357 ammo for deer?

Post by PT7 » Wed Sep 12, 2018 12:55 pm

Redthies,

There are quite a number of threads on .357 ammo preferences/suggestions for hunting whitetail deer. I'd search through the ammunition sub-forum for them. (There are chats on this ammo in other forum areas, too). Here is one from mid-July for you to look at: http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... +hunt+deer
PT7
Redthies wrote:For any of you guys that hunt with your .357s, which is your ammo of choice? My research so far says 158 grain SJSP, and of that, the Winchester Super X variety seems to be the hottest load. Anything else that isn’t too obscure that you’d recommend in factory ammo?

Thanks!
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~Пока~

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ESquared
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Re: Best .357 ammo for deer?

Post by ESquared » Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:26 pm

Based on recommendations here, I ended up going with Hornady 158 gr XTP (I believe; will double check the suffix part).
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Redthies
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Re: Best .357 ammo for deer?

Post by Redthies » Wed Sep 12, 2018 8:47 pm

PT7 wrote:Redthies,

There are quite a number of threads on .357 ammo preferences/suggestions for hunting whitetail deer. I'd search through the ammunition sub-forum for them.

That’s where I started, but there are exactly 11 threads in the ammo section, and none other than mine pertain to .357

I should have been smart enough to search big game hunting section too. I only had 2 espresso shots in me this morning;)
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SGC .22 LR Stripped and oiled up
BBSC .357 w Skinner Express & Patridge
BBSC .44 Magnum with Skinners
Marlin 1895GS .45-70 w RPP Cloverleaf
Marlin 336BL .30-30 w Skinner LoPro 2 and Sig 2-7x
1912 Winchester 1894 .30 WCF

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Redthies
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Re: Best .357 ammo for deer?

Post by Redthies » Wed Sep 12, 2018 8:49 pm

JEBar wrote:we prefer 158 gr JHP bullets for NC deer, most of which can't be considered to have large, heavy bodies .... for bigger bodied deer we prefer 158 gr JSP bullets .... we load our own so, I can't provide any recommendations on the performance of factory ammo .... my best recommendation would be to find a brand your Henry really likes
We have mule deer and white tail,and I’d bet our white tail are probably on the larger than average size, so I guess I’ll look to jsp for the hunting round. I did some reading on 180 grain Buffalo Bore cast rounds, but I think that’s “overkill”.
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SGC .22 LR Stripped and oiled up
BBSC .357 w Skinner Express & Patridge
BBSC .44 Magnum with Skinners
Marlin 1895GS .45-70 w RPP Cloverleaf
Marlin 336BL .30-30 w Skinner LoPro 2 and Sig 2-7x
1912 Winchester 1894 .30 WCF

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roddy
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Re: Best .357 ammo for deer?

Post by roddy » Thu Sep 13, 2018 7:34 pm

Factory ammunition?
fp-p357sa-357magswiftaframe-rpsd-1331820[1].jpg
fp-p357sa-357magswiftaframe-rpsd-1331820[1].jpg (88.81 KiB) Viewed 3932 times
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Redthies
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Re: Best .357 ammo for deer?

Post by Redthies » Sat Sep 15, 2018 10:28 pm

Factory, yes. I sold my reloading gear years ago. I barely have time to shoot, let alone load!
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SGC .22 LR Stripped and oiled up
BBSC .357 w Skinner Express & Patridge
BBSC .44 Magnum with Skinners
Marlin 1895GS .45-70 w RPP Cloverleaf
Marlin 336BL .30-30 w Skinner LoPro 2 and Sig 2-7x
1912 Winchester 1894 .30 WCF

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North Country Gal
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Re: Best .357 ammo for deer?

Post by North Country Gal » Sun Sep 16, 2018 10:26 am

Back in my hunting days, I always had good luck with the Hornady XTPs. I agree about not going to the 180 grain hardcast loads. Those are deep penetration loads designed for self-defense against bears. I'd rather have an expanding bullet load for deer.
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Vaquero
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Re: Best .357 ammo for deer?

Post by Vaquero » Mon Sep 17, 2018 11:37 pm

No factory data here. But,
the one and only time I hunted with my 357 rifle.
I used a hand loaded 158 gr swc,
and at 90+ yds a nice 8 point only made a couple steps after it made contact.

Sorry, I weren't of no help.
Pretty much all of my deer huntin these days is with cast bullets.
357, 35 Rem., 41 Mag., 44 Mag., 444 Marlin, and 45 colt.
the 30-30's, & 308 MX both get 170 gr sp.

RP
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