Choosing a pistol caliber deer rifle

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Garandimal said:
Went w/ the RUGER 77/357.

As for the 357?




​

180 gr. XTP Hand-loads really burrow in.




GR
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That is pretty impressive

This would definitely crush a deer, but for hogs I like the hard cast stuff. Underwood makes some damn good loads for a very reasonable price. I use their ammo in all my carry and home defense guns now accept my shotgun. I think their 380 +p gold dots are the best 380 defense load made.
 
I love pistol caliber levers, and have the Rossi 16" blued in .45 Colt and .357 Mag, and a Win 1894 Trapper in .44 mag

You're better off with the .44 for hunting IMHO. Easy to find factory ammo, handloads are also easy to roll, and if you stay within SAAMI specs and avoid a really wide flat-point meplat most of these lever guns will eat whatever you feed it, every time. (It's been my experience that wide meplat hard-cast loads can hang up on the ramps when cycling the lever sometimes.)

Look on Gunbroker or a similar site for the guns you're interested in if you can't find them locally. I just checked and I saw 21 .44 mags just a few minutes ago. Rossi's have come in stainless, blued, octagon, etc., and there are a lot of them out there on the used market as well. Some guys have complained about recent guns having poor fit and finish, but I I have been lucky with two of the three I have owned over the years (Many years ago I had a .357 20" but I sold it off when feeding issues kept popping up. The current .357 runs just fine.)

Marlin has also brought out .44's again, and they, too are pretty common. Henry's are everywhere, their only "drawback" is they're a bit heavier than the others. Other than that the ones I have held/shot have been great guns that cycles as smooth as glass.

Good luck with your quest!
 
How about buying the Ruger bolt action carbine in either 357 or 44 magnum? I believe that they are right at $500. I wish Marlin would bring out a lever action rifle in the .460 Smith & Wesson caliber. That would definitely be able to let the air out of Bambi's daddy real quick! I think I would take the butt stock to a laser engraver and have the name " Bambi blaster" engraved into the stock!
 
saiga308 said:
a 200 grain 10 mm has about the same results and opens up larger do to the wider caliber View attachment 776358 video time 5:14​
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Ballistically, both external, and terminal, there is not enough difference between heavy for caliber 357 Mag vs heavy for caliber 10mm Auto for the target to tell the difference let alone justify the huge cost of converting a lever gun to 10mm Auto. No one presently make a factory 10mm Auto lever gun but one or two custom makers are doing conversion but at obnoxious prices IMHO.

http://www.rangerpointprecision.com/marlin-rifle-barrels-caliber-conver

Got nothing against 10mm Auto, in fact I spent all 2016/2017 season hunting deer with 10mm but until someone makes a reasonably priced 10mm Auto lever gun (OP wants a pistol caliber lever gun) it's sort of not relevant to this thread unless the OP has a roll of Benjamin's burning a hole in his pocket.
 
If your primary use for this rifle is deer hunting I would get the 44 without question. IMO the 357 is better as a plinker that might get pressed into service once in a while as a short range deer rifle. The 44 is a much better deer rifle that you can still have fun shooting once in a while. My first choice for the 44 would be a JM Marlin 1894.
 
I had one of the little Marlins years ago, 357, bought for $300-something. I really enjoyed it and sometimes miss it. Why would someone choose such a rifle for deer, unless the individual had a physical limitation, or there was some weird law that prohibited rifles that fired rifle rounds? Such as a cheaper and more available 336 in 30-30, or a RAR around the $350 mark in any number of good deer calibers?
 
FL-NC said:
Why would someone choose such a rifle for deer, unless the individual had a physical limitation, or there was some weird law that prohibited rifles that fired rifle rounds?
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Ohio finally opened the door to a rifle for deer hunting. Must be a straight wall cartridge:

Legal deer hunting rifles are chambered for the following calibers: .357 Magnum, .357 Maximum, .38 Special, .375 Super Magnum, .375 Winchester, .38-55, .41 Long Colt, .41 Magnum, .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .444 Marlin, .45 ACP, .45 Colt, .45 Long Colt, .45 Winchester Magnum, .45 Smith & Wesson, .454 Casull, .460 Smith & Wesson, .45-70, .45-90, .45-110, .475 Linebaugh, .50-70, .50-90, .50-100, .50-110 and .500 Smith & Wesson.

The problem is flat terrain and population density. The first year rifle was permitted, a few years ago, gun and pawn shops were flooded with people looking for rifles in the above calibers. So far so good. I always hunted in West Virginia and despite a wide range of rifles I had I always gravitated to my little Ruger 44 Carbine as it was short and handy, easy to come right up on target. I seldom had a shot worth taking over 100 yards and most deer I took were inside 50 yards. All things considered the shorter easily carried rifles in cartridges like .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum were a good choice as well as the .45 Colt and a few others.

Ron
 
I think you made a great choice. While I like both the .357 and .44 magnums, the .44 is the better deer cartridge, IMHO.
 
Reloadron said:
Ohio finally opened the door to a rifle for deer hunting. Must be a straight wall cartridge:

Legal deer hunting rifles are chambered for the following calibers: .357 Magnum, .357 Maximum, .38 Special, .375 Super Magnum, .375 Winchester, .38-55, .41 Long Colt, .41 Magnum, .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .444 Marlin, .45 ACP, .45 Colt, .45 Long Colt, .45 Winchester Magnum, .45 Smith & Wesson, .454 Casull, .460 Smith & Wesson, .45-70, .45-90, .45-110, .475 Linebaugh, .50-70, .50-90, .50-100, .50-110 and .500 Smith & Wesson.

The problem is flat terrain and population density. The first year rifle was permitted, a few years ago, gun and pawn shops were flooded with people looking for rifles in the above calibers. So far so good. I always hunted in West Virginia and despite a wide range of rifles I had I always gravitated to my little Ruger 44 Carbine as it was short and handy, easy to come right up on target. I seldom had a shot worth taking over 100 yards and most deer I took were inside 50 yards. All things considered the shorter easily carried rifles in cartridges like .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum were a good choice as well as the .45 Colt and a few others.

Ron
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It would make sense to use a rifle like this in that situation, where the law limits choices. To me, the law is stupid. It would make more sense to enact hunting regs, such as requiring deer hunters to be at a minimum height in a tree of blind. A miss or a pass through puts the bullet in the ground.Florida, and parts of many other states like Tn, Ky, Ga, etc. aren't known for hilly terrain, and we somehow manage not to slaughter each other every fall. Is there a LAW that states that someone can't fire a case of 223 ammo at cans on the ground on property where they are allowed to do so by the owner? I submit that this is infinitely more dangerous than the low round count and safety precautions taken by the vast majority of hunters. In many states, "safety" is cited as the reason deer can't be taken with modern center fire rifles, but killing animals like coyotes with them is 100% OK. Sorry, but laws like this are a pet peeve of mine.
 
FL-NC said:
It would make sense to use a rifle like this in that situation, where the law limits choices. To me, the law is stupid. It would make more sense to enact hunting regs, such as requiring deer hunters to be at a minimum height in a tree of blind. A miss or a pass through puts the bullet in the ground.Florida, and parts of many other states like Tn, Ky, Ga, etc. aren't known for hilly terrain, and we somehow manage not to slaughter each other every fall. Is there a LAW that states that someone can't fire a case of 223 ammo at cans on the ground on property where they are allowed to do so by the owner? I submit that this is infinitely more dangerous than the low round count and safety precautions taken by the vast majority of hunters. In many states, "safety" is cited as the reason deer can't be taken with modern center fire rifles, but killing animals like coyotes with them is 100% OK. Sorry, but laws like this are a pet peeve of mine.
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This will always come down to the same thing. Every year, on a national basis, hunters manage to kill other hunters as a result of "hunting accidents" which generally comes down to pure negligence or even better put stupidity. Because this story was local to me I recall it well.

Amish man accidentally killed girl in horse-drawn-buggy with stray gunshot, will serve 30 days in jail' In this case the man decided the simplest way to clear his muzzle loading rifle was to discharge it into the air at an angle. What goes up must... and when it came down, against all odds, over a mile away, it killed a girl.

Then we have this story:
‘He was a dedicated and loving husband’: St. Petersburg man killed in Ohio hunting accident

This demonstrates that stupidity has no boundaries.
Volusia man mistook friend for deer in fatal hunting accident

Earlier I mentioned that I hunted West Virginia and I liked it there. Much less population density and there were days up in those mountains when we never saw another hunter. While I agree with your thinking I also figure they can't legislate laws against stupidity nor can stupidity be fixed. Stupidity also appears to cross state lines and I see it as a global thing. I also agree the law is foolish as using Coyote as an example since you mentioned Coyote.

"What firearms are legal for coyotes in Ohio? Longbow or Bow: This would include compound bows and recurve bows. Crossbow. Handgun: Any caliber. Rife: Any caliber. Shotgun: 10 gauge or smaller shotgun. Airgun". I am not sure if Coyote can be hunted during deer seasons when the woodlands are much more populated.

Ron
 
Ron- Thanks for sharing. In the first incident, stupidity resulted in a freak accident. I wouldn't even call that a hunting accident, because at the time, the man wasn't even hunting, he was firing his rifle at NOTHING. In the second, a crime occurred, in my opinion. "Several" shots were fired, by people who didn't have permission to be in the area at a man wearing orange. If this was the case, what could he have been mistaken for? And if these morons had thought that they had successfully harvested a blaze orange deer, why didn't they track it (wouldn't have been hard) and reacted properly to the accident? They fled the scene. In the third, a shotgun was used. Despite this, that mental genius mistook a human for a deer and killed him at shotgun range. Was it a quartering away shot, or a double-lung shot? Neck shot, or Texas heart shot? Because ANY of these shots taken on a DEER would require the hunter to identify that specific part of DEER anatomy in order to take that shot. So, unless he was hiding behind a plastic deer decoy ... see my point? And not only shot him- killed him. Yep, that definitely needs to be investigated. In the last 2 examples, the shooters not only broke basic rules of firearm handling, and hunter safety- it is likely that there may have been criminal intent.
 
FL-NC said:
Ron- Thanks for sharing. In the first incident, stupidity resulted in a freak accident. I wouldn't even call that a hunting accident, because at the time, the man wasn't even hunting, he was firing his rifle at NOTHING. In the second, a crime occurred, in my opinion. "Several" shots were fired, by people who didn't have permission to be in the area at a man wearing orange. If this was the case, what could he have been mistaken for? And if these morons had thought that they had successfully harvested a blaze orange deer, why didn't they track it (wouldn't have been hard) and reacted properly to the accident? They fled the scene. In the third, a shotgun was used. Despite this, that mental genius mistook a human for a deer and killed him at shotgun range. Was it a quartering away shot, or a double-lung shot? Neck shot, or Texas heart shot? Because ANY of these shots taken on a DEER would require the hunter to identify that specific part of DEER anatomy in order to take that shot. So, unless he was hiding behind a plastic deer decoy ... see my point? And not only shot him- killed him. Yep, that definitely needs to be investigated. In the last 2 examples, the shooters not only broke basic rules of firearm handling, and hunter safety- it is likely that there may have been criminal intent.
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I don't want to wander much more off topic and wish the original poster the very best with whatever his choice might be. I feel most hunting accidents are hardly what I would call an "accident" more like negligence or pure stupidity. Every year on hunting season opening day this becomes apparent on a national basis. With that we can resume our regular programming (thread topic). :)

Ron
 
Reloadron said:
Ohio finally opened the door to a rifle for deer hunting. Must be a straight wall cartridge:

Legal deer hunting rifles are chambered for the following calibers: .357 Magnum, .357 Maximum, .38 Special, .375 Super Magnum, .375 Winchester, .38-55, .41 Long Colt, .41 Magnum, .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .444 Marlin, .45 ACP, .45 Colt, .45 Long Colt, .45 Winchester Magnum, .45 Smith & Wesson, .454 Casull, .460 Smith & Wesson, .45-70, .45-90, .45-110, .475 Linebaugh, .50-70, .50-90, .50-100, .50-110 and .500 Smith & Wesson.

The problem is flat terrain and population density. The first year rifle was permitted, a few years ago, gun and pawn shops were flooded with people looking for rifles in the above calibers. So far so good. I always hunted in West Virginia and despite a wide range of rifles I had I always gravitated to my little Ruger 44 Carbine as it was short and handy, easy to come right up on target. I seldom had a shot worth taking over 100 yards and most deer I took were inside 50 yards. All things considered the shorter easily carried rifles in cartridges like .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum were a good choice as well as the .45 Colt and a few others.

Ron
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That list is no longer accurate. There is no longer a list of legal cartridges. As of the 2017 season Ohio's legal deer hunting rifles are defined as: "Straight-walled cartridge rifles in the following calibers: New this year! All straight-walled cartridge calibers from a minimum of .357 to a maximum of .50." -quoted from ODNR website.
 
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