ThomasT
Member
Brian Pearce of Rifle mag wrote an article on the 357 lever action that is worth finding and reading. His wife used hers to kill her first mule deer. he wrote about a friend who used his to kill black bear with. Ross Seyfreid wrote an article about mid sized BP cartridge rifles. He took one on a elk hunt. A .36 caliber gun that shot a 160gr lead bullet 1600fps and used it to kill a cow elk with one shot. Those are the exact ballistics as a 357 lever action.
So I would say that as long as the range is kept to a reasonable amount, less than 100 yards for me a 357 makes a versatile hunting gun. Reload and you can turn up the power a little but best of all you can load with soft point bullets instead of hollow points for deer and hogs.
My marlin 357 is my most favored of all the guns I own. With reloading it can replace a 22 up to just below 30-30 power. It cannot match the 30-30 though in my opinion. And like another poster stated its one of the best, most useful rifles you can own.
So I would say that as long as the range is kept to a reasonable amount, less than 100 yards for me a 357 makes a versatile hunting gun. Reload and you can turn up the power a little but best of all you can load with soft point bullets instead of hollow points for deer and hogs.
My marlin 357 is my most favored of all the guns I own. With reloading it can replace a 22 up to just below 30-30 power. It cannot match the 30-30 though in my opinion. And like another poster stated its one of the best, most useful rifles you can own.