357 vs 41 vs 454

[Bezoar]

357 magnum is still a great cartridge for most things in north america. And if you dont want to use heavy recoil/powered cartridges you can use the respected 38 special.

The 41 magnum is a so-so round technically, you can either get high powered self defense rounds that are hard to control for most people, or low powered easier to control target loads that some writers have made seem to be suicide if you used for self defense.
Everyone says handloading is a must for this cartridge as factory loadings are limited and expensive. But yet ive read a 41 magnum loaded to 900fps is "real good on whitetail".

454 Casull can be either an expensive and glorified 45 colt platform in DA/SA format, or a very shooter abusive gun recoil and muzzle flash wise for the shooter. No one really snickers at the 454 for defense, some aparently exceptional 45 colt loads exist as well as hp or jsp in full power 454 casull pressure and velocity.

Now with the above items, is it super critical to single out any of these calibers for use? Sure you can look at it price wise, in which case a nice 357 tends to be cheapest for both gun and ammunition if you prefer to use the 38 special.
THe 454 is not the greatest to carry if you load it with full power fmj or hard cast lead as youd get penetration of both tree and bear or of mugger and mailbox.

I ask because i like a few handguns in each of these calibers and its tricky to decide what one is worth the start up costs.

 

[Majic]

Well first you have to decide what you want the caliber to do. The .357 is good for target, defensive, and the lower spectrum of big game hunting. The 2 big bores are well suited for big game hunting, but don't cover the target and defensive uses very well. The .454 does have the ability to shoot the .45 Colt round that gives it some flexibility. You have your info backwards on the .41 as it has full powered loads that are used for hunting and lower powered loads, though not much lower than full powered loads, that can be used for defensive purposes though not optimal. So decide on the primary purpose the cartridge will be used for and then make your decision.

But yet ive read a 41 magnum loaded to 900fps is "real good on whitetail".

Basically any big bore cartridge pushing a suitable bullet 900 to 1000 fps is real good on whitetails at reasonable distances.

 

[Sundles]

Sort of like comparing grapes to apples to watermelons.

Buy whatever you want and dont analize it too hard. Buy all three.....

 

[Baron357]

This is how I see it.

.357 = self defense, target, fun, great woods and hunting gun except for Grizzly and other large game, although possible.

.41 = Fun, great woods and hunting gun for just about anything in North america although I would go bigger for grizzly, better safe then sorry.

.454 = Fun if you can handel it, Big game hunting and protection.

Unless you reload the .41 and .454 will be expensive to shoot.

 

[trueg50]

I would have to side with the .357, it is cheap, considered the ultimate defensive caliber because it doesn't over penetrate too much (unless you like to view the 454's effectiveness to penetrate drywall) and again apples->oranges->watermelons.

 

[YosemiteSam357]

Your "start up costs" for anything but the .357 should include several hundred dollars for reloading equipment, if you don't already have it. The price of factory ammo for any of the others will keep you off the range.

-- Sam

 

[22-rimfire]

My choices have been 357 Mag in a Colt Trooper Mark III where I shoot mostly magnum loads and a 3" Ruger GP100 in which I shoot dominantly regular 38spl and +P loads with a few 357's thrown in. I don't see the 357 magnum other than from a rifle being used for whitetails. But then I have larger caliber handguns too.

You have most of your 41 magnum information wrong. The 41 magnum is my favorite larger bore caliber and feel it is the perfect balance between a moderate to moderately high recoil gun for target, carry in the woods, and for hunting anything smaller than an elk. I'd carry it elk hunting as a backup, but not primary.

454 Casull is a good round for whitetail if you want to punish yourself with recoil or you are prone to take 100 yd+ shots with a handgun. I use a 480 Ruger and feel that it is punishing enough for me. I feel the 480 Ruger is useful for any game in North America. It is a practical balance between killing power, accuracy, and felt recoil. I would be quite content with a 480 Ruger Alaskan if I tramped around Grizzly country on a regular basis. Otherwise I stick to the 41 magnum for defensive purposes in the outdoors.

If you are a Smith affectionado, go with the N-frames in 357 and 41 magnum. I lean toward the Rugers for larger than 44 magnum calibers.

 

[rdaines]

I guess I have to look into my safe as see what I have......a SP-101 in .357 and a GP100 in .357

I'm thinking about a .41 revolver but doubt that I really need it. Anything bigger I don't need.

 

[MCgunner]

I love the .357, versatile and big enough for anything I hunt except maybe really big hogs. However, I really respect the .41 Mag. It'll do anything the .44 mag will do when properly handloaded. For a handloader like myself, it's a very attractive cartridge and someday I'll probably get a Blackhawk in the caliber and some dies and cases to go with it.

 

[Baron357]

I would love a .41 mag but seeing as I don't reload I stick with the .357. My next round will be .44 mag mostly b/c of the fact I can get ammo just about anywhere.

 

[22-rimfire]

Baron357: Ammo availability of the 41 Magnum is not bad. If your primary source of ammo is Walmart, I can see why you might think that 41 mag ammo is hard to find as compared to the 44mag. It really just depends on how much you shoot the big bores. For me, I have absolutely no problem finding enough 41 ammo.

 

[Stinger]

Your "start up costs" for anything but the .357 should include several hundred dollars for reloading equipment

?????

How?

Dies cost the same (possible a couple of dollars more), you use the same press, the same measure.

Bullets and brass cost slightly more. But even if you got enough to load thousands of rounds of each, it would take a heck of a lot of components to equal hundreds of dollars. A whole lot.

 

[eldon519]

I think he's saying you can get by with the .357 magnum without reloading, but if you're gonna shoot the .41 or .454 much, you'll probably be forced into it if you plan to shoot much at all cause of ammo cost.

 

[YosemiteSam357]

I think he's saying you can get by with the .357 magnum without reloading, but if you're gonna shoot the .41 or .454 much, you'll probably be forced into it if you plan to shoot much at all cause of ammo cost.

That's exactly what I meant. Thanks, Eldon.

.357, and even better, .38 ammo is readily available, and relatively cheap. The others, for all practical purposes, are "reloaders only" cartridges.

-- Sam