Guys,

This is my second year hunting with strictly home-cast bullets. Last year I accounted for two deer, and several hogs.

This year I decided the .357 mag from my 10" Contender would be the one. Load was the RCBS 158gr SWC GC, an immodest charge of H-110, CCI mag primer, for 1500+ fps.

I took the shot at about 115-125 yds, small buck, quartering away. At the shot, he did the "kick" and trotted about 30 yds. He stood there for a couple of minutes-few seconds(seemed like a half-hour), then lay down. He was DRT when I walked up.

The air-cooled WW bullet (163gr checked & lubed) entered behind the ribcage on the right side, and exited the center of the left shoulder. The liver was jellied, as were the bottom of the right lung, and the whole of the left lung. The left shoulder showed the bullet was still traveling point-on, without too much -maybe a little- deformation. I had some reservations about penetration with this bullet/load from the T/C and a 10" barrel, But no more! Even though this was at the outside limit of my personal range (MY ability, that is). It was just too good an opportunity to pass up: Calm, unalerted deer, open pasture, perfect quartering-away position. The only thing, I wish I could recover the bullet... What-the-heck, I like two holes!

Anyone have an idea of the BC for this bullet? Or, a good guesstimation of impact velocity/energy @125yds, given an instrumental(10ft) velocity of 1550fps?



Small, but oh, so edible!



Exit side.

Well done Bug
I like cast bullets also.I shoot 475 and 500 cal ,got 2 last week in East Tx-1-spike and 1-doe with my SW 500.

Sean

Bug, at 125 yards you can figure about 1073 fps and 409 ft/lbs. If you can find the actual BC of that bullet, I can do better. I used the .117 BC of a similar Lee bullet.

Congrats on the successfull hunt.

Thanks, Junior. I didn't think about running a substitute bullet! DUH!
Somewhere I've seen a listing for cast bullet BCs, but CRS keeps me from accessing it. Your figures are about what I was expecting though.

475/480: Heck, with bullets that big, you should be able to see through the hole! Congrats! I think I'll start using th .44 Mag barrel now. It has a bit more built in "fudge factor". I am a whole lot more confident in its ability, anyway.
I really just wanted to see how the .357 performed. You hear so much conflicting information, so I decided to find out for myself.

Bug what was your overall view of the 357mag. I ask because I to have read both sides of the story.

Greg,
I'll start off by saying that this is a T/C Contender, with a 10" barrel. The fixed-breech gives it a bit more bounce, and the T/C platform allows a bit more leeway as far as pressure goes, when compared to revolvers. I have been up to the primer-piercing stage (with pistol primers, NOT rifle primers!) with easy extraction and no other signs of pressure. Those loads were well over max in any of the contemporary manuals; more along the lines of the original "optimistic" loadings circulated when the .357 Mag was young.
Another thing, this particular barrel shoots jacketed or gas checked bullets just fine, but just sprays plain based bullets no matter how hard they are.
I wanted this pistol set up for 100yds-or-less hunting, on our smallish (100-125# +/-) whitetails, and feral hogs. While the hogs do occasionally do get up to 400# or so, the norm is about 200#, and down.
I wanted at least a 150gr cast bullet - and more would be better - running as fast as I could push it, within the accuracy envelope. I settled on the 158gr RCBS SWC, which comes in at 163gr, checked & lubed. I get about 1 1/2-2" groups (sometimes smaller! I am the limiting factor) at 100yds, with about 1550-1575fps instrumental. This is good-to-go, for me. As an aside, I haven't found recoil, with ANY load, to be more than what I call mild. That always helps.
I haven't taken very many animals with this load yet, but the experience (5) so far leads me to believe it is adequate. Not spectacular, but very useable. Sorta' like the 7mm mauser, or .257 Roberts. I have yet to get a full-length shot, so I haven't recovered any bullets. Everything I have shot had complete penetration, regardless of the angle. That's the good part. The down side seems to be that this loading does not impart a whole lot of (hydrodynamic/hydrostatic) shock. None of the animals have been knocked down and died right there. All have run, but not very much, and died quickly. I attribute these good, relatively quick, clean kills to placement as much as any other factor. All shots were good solid heart-lung hits.
At first, I held out for broadside, double-lung shots. I was cautious of the penetration. I have since upped my expectations, and now want at least one shoulder - the game stops quicker. Next, I'll try both shoulders. I fully expect complete penetration there too. And, an anchored animal.
Finally, no, it's not the do-all, end-all cartridge. It IS very useable, given the game size and range limitations I set for myself. The .44 Mag stands above it, on all counts. If you want to put the "Hunt" back in hunting, then yeah, it does quite well. That was my original intention, when taking up a Contender.
All said, it performs just about the same job as my 10" 7mmTCU, with 120gr NBT jacketed bullets, albeit with a bit more penetration. And, they are my own, home-cast bullets. Yeah, I'm satisfied.
P.S. Sorry to go on so long... But, you asked!