I've found some incredible information on this board and was wondering if you y'all could share some experiences.
This past season, I made the decision to make a S&W 686 6” my primary hunting tool. Most of my hunting is in central Texas at very small deer (15 does harvested last year, not one exceeded 65 pounds dressed weight). With our extremely high deer densities, big deer are almost completely out of the question. We are mainly trying to lower deer numbers and these deer are pretty easy to bring in close. Anyways, I’m really curious to hear about others’ experiences with the .357 magnum out of handguns. What load did you use? How did it perform? My results are as follows:
Deer 1. Load - 180 grain Partition Gold factory load. 1st shot was broadside at 30 yards. I hit the 80 lb dressed weight spike in the 4th to last rib and it exited. Admittedly, this shot was further back than I would have like. The bullet results was fine - good expansion and complete penetration occurred. The deer ran to 60 yards, looked at me, then I brought it down with a high shoulder shot. This shot did not exit. It made it through the frontal shoulder blade, the spine, and lodged in the other side. Penetration was probably near 10” total and through some severe bone (frontal shoulder, spine, and rear shoulder). The recovered bullet had shed its frontal core, but the bulk of the bullet remained and the petals expanded fine.
Deer 2. Load – 180 grain partition gold factory load. A small wt doe (60 lb dressed weight) was quartering towards me at about 20 yards. First shot entered squarely on front should and exited offside chest. Deer dropped to shot. Complete penetration and expansion looked good.
Deer 3. Load – Speer 158 Gold Dot. A small wt doe (64 lb dressed) was perfectly broadside at about 20 yards. The shot was a high lung shot behind the front shoulder. No spine was hit. The doe was found dead after a 35 yard blood trail. After seeing exactly where the shot landed, I was somewhat worried that the blood trail might have been inadequate. It wasn’t.
Deer 4. Load – Speer 158 Gold Dot factory load. A small wt does (estimated 62 lbs) was perfectly broadside at 30 yards. I shot and the deer ran off. Several long, white hairs were shaved off at the location of the shot indicating a low body shot. After allowing this deer to sit, a very light/inconsistent blood trail was followed for ~325 yards. The blood trail went cold, and this deer never was found. I’m kicking myself for making such a poor shot. Based on the white hairs showing the location of the shot, I think a similar result would have occurred with almost any handgun round. I’m still disgusted with this result. I plan on firing at least 150 rounds from my field stands before I fire another round at a deer again.
What have your experiences been? Because these deer are so incredibly small, I’d like to make the 158 Gold Dot my “go to” load. I think it would penetrate completely on most shots, and the recovery on deer #3 from a high lung shot was encouraging.
This past season, I made the decision to make a S&W 686 6” my primary hunting tool. Most of my hunting is in central Texas at very small deer (15 does harvested last year, not one exceeded 65 pounds dressed weight). With our extremely high deer densities, big deer are almost completely out of the question. We are mainly trying to lower deer numbers and these deer are pretty easy to bring in close. Anyways, I’m really curious to hear about others’ experiences with the .357 magnum out of handguns. What load did you use? How did it perform? My results are as follows:
Deer 1. Load - 180 grain Partition Gold factory load. 1st shot was broadside at 30 yards. I hit the 80 lb dressed weight spike in the 4th to last rib and it exited. Admittedly, this shot was further back than I would have like. The bullet results was fine - good expansion and complete penetration occurred. The deer ran to 60 yards, looked at me, then I brought it down with a high shoulder shot. This shot did not exit. It made it through the frontal shoulder blade, the spine, and lodged in the other side. Penetration was probably near 10” total and through some severe bone (frontal shoulder, spine, and rear shoulder). The recovered bullet had shed its frontal core, but the bulk of the bullet remained and the petals expanded fine.
Deer 2. Load – 180 grain partition gold factory load. A small wt doe (60 lb dressed weight) was quartering towards me at about 20 yards. First shot entered squarely on front should and exited offside chest. Deer dropped to shot. Complete penetration and expansion looked good.
Deer 3. Load – Speer 158 Gold Dot. A small wt doe (64 lb dressed) was perfectly broadside at about 20 yards. The shot was a high lung shot behind the front shoulder. No spine was hit. The doe was found dead after a 35 yard blood trail. After seeing exactly where the shot landed, I was somewhat worried that the blood trail might have been inadequate. It wasn’t.
Deer 4. Load – Speer 158 Gold Dot factory load. A small wt does (estimated 62 lbs) was perfectly broadside at 30 yards. I shot and the deer ran off. Several long, white hairs were shaved off at the location of the shot indicating a low body shot. After allowing this deer to sit, a very light/inconsistent blood trail was followed for ~325 yards. The blood trail went cold, and this deer never was found. I’m kicking myself for making such a poor shot. Based on the white hairs showing the location of the shot, I think a similar result would have occurred with almost any handgun round. I’m still disgusted with this result. I plan on firing at least 150 rounds from my field stands before I fire another round at a deer again.
What have your experiences been? Because these deer are so incredibly small, I’d like to make the 158 Gold Dot my “go to” load. I think it would penetrate completely on most shots, and the recovery on deer #3 from a high lung shot was encouraging.
