Originally posted by TrapperP:
General question re bullet performance in the 357. This past Saturday my son shot a buck and broke his back with 30/06. Climbed down from tree stand and the buck was trying to pull himself with his front feet so he shot him again, this time in the neck with a 357 [Mod 66 S&W 6" if this is important] the shot broke the deer's neck and the bullet was under the skin on the off side, looked like a golf ball. I cut it our and it was in three pieces, the jacket and two pieces of core. Of course I lost it somewhere in the process of retrieving the deer, field dressing and etc, so I did not get a chance to weigh it.
The bullet was a Hornady 158 Gr JFP and the load was one I have fired probably a couple of thousand times. 357 W-W cases, 14.5 Grs of 2400 powder and a CCI primer. I've used this load in various and sundry handguns as well as many times in a 1894C Marlin. Up to now, I have been most happy with it but I don't think it should have come apart. As one fellow here in the office said, I should not complain as it did its job but I still would have like to see the bullet in one piece.
Anyone have any advice or recommendations on another bullet or type of bullet/load combination for the 357???
I'm looking and considering a change.

I'd post this in the handgun section, but a lot of handgun hunters use hard cast bullets for hunting. If you are looking for penetration without breaking up, they fit that bill. I like the Hornady XTP, as they shoot really well in my gun. I think that they are fine for the lighter game that we have around here. If I were going to shoot something pretty big, I'd go with hard cast bullets. My .02

quote:

Originally posted by daniel77: I like the Hornady XTP, as they shoot really well in my gun. If I were going to shoot something pretty big, I'd go with hard cast bullets. My .02

I am of the same opinion. A "Keith" type semi-wadcutter will cut a nice round hole allowing vital fluids to leak out, plus they penetrate well.
I also like Hornady's XTB bullets and have taken many white tail deer with them. The H.P. variety expands when driven at the proper velocity, and the F.P. possesses enough of a nose so as to have "smack down" power.
And like you, 2400 would have been one of my choices too, especially when using hard cast lead bullets. My 6" 686 yields an honest 1370f/s when using WW 296 and a Hornady 158 grain JHP.

You hit it in the neck and still found most of the bullet. I would not complain. I usually use XTPs but for hunting with the 357, I use Nosler 180 Partition Handguns.

That bullet contacted the game at muzzle velocity which is probably 2-300fps faster than it would contact game in a normal hunting situation at say 75-100 yards. If you encounter this same problem at your normal hunting ranges/velocity it may be time to look for something else but I wouldn't consider this situation a problem with the bullet.

I'm with the others. Coming apart while passing through neck bones is not a failure in my book. That said, my favorite .357 pistol bullet is the Remington 180 grain softnose hollowpoint (the one with the scalloped jacket they sell in bulk...or used to?). I start it at 1500 fps from my 10 inch 357 magnum Contender barrel using Speer silhouette data. I ran one through a doe's near shoulder a few years back. The shot angle was steeper than I thought and it passed through a corn-filled paunch on the way out. Purely by chance my buddy found the bullet buried in the tree the doe was passing in front of when my shot broke. The nose was gone, the jacket folded back at the cannalure, and it was expanded to .40 caliber. It still weighed 140 grains. The doe did not go far.

The Horn XTP and Speer gold dots seem to work well on deer. I've recently ordered hard cast bullets from both Beartooth and Montana bullet works. They perform totally different from jacketed bullets. Both the XTP and GD expand nicely and hold together, but do not penetrate as deeply as the non-expanding hard cast. For deer, I don't think it really matters. Just do NOT use silvertips, standard sierras or non-partition noslers--they're very inconsistent.

I kinds think I would rather use some of the
fmj flat or round nose target bullets instead
of the hard cast. The big difference for me
is I dont like pure lead rubbing in my grooves
I dont care how hard cast they are. I'd
rather have the copper jacket and I'd wager
that expansion would be minimal just like
hard cast

that xtp did better than just about any over the counter projectile on the market. about the only thing i know better is the 185 grain hard cast bullet from bear tooth bullets. that thing will penetrate to china.