I've got a S&W 28-2, 4" barrel. Loads I've got worked up are the Speer 170 GDSP. I plan to take a shot ot the right doe (close, no longer than 25 yds.), are the 170's the ticket for this? Should I use something in a HP? The 170's shoot very well in this gun, and this load chronied @ 1528 fps in my 10" T/C, I have not chronied these in the S&W yet, but figure they are in the 1200 fps range.
Any thoughts on this are welcomed.
Bulldog...

Took one small doe with a 357 out of a 10" contender. Used a 170 gr cast SWC bullet. It worked fine. Shot was about 40 yds.

The gold dots should work fine. A lot of people who bash the .357 as a deer round have never used one. You just have to be sure of shot placement, and keep the range fairly short (the same applies to all handgun hunting, in my opinion). If you put a .357 slug through the vitals of a deer, it is going to die in short order.

I used a .357 on a doe ( 158 gr. semi-wadcutter ) a few years back. Shot her broadside at about 35 yards. She ran about 50 yards and left a decent blood trail to follow. Would not hestitate to use the .357 again under the same circumstances.

I dropped the nicest buck I have ever killed with a 125 grain XTP at under 25 yards.

I got my Deer with a .357 last year. It was about 80yds, the bullet went in behind the sholder took out both lungs and ended up in the off side sholder. He went about 40yds and fell over. The only ammo I had with me that day was 110JHP. It did the job and the bullet still weighed 110gns.

Have any of you used your .357s on hogs? How did they work for you?

I haven't, but had a friend that took one with a .357 Blackhawk......used a 200 grain hard cast bullet over 16.5 grains of W296 (I'd stick with .41 caliber and above for hogs however).

Lee Martin
www.singleactions.com

Hey guys, I took a doe last year with a .357 Ruger Blackhawk, 6" barrel, 158 gr. Hornady XTP with 15.5 grains of H110. 50 yard shot through the lungs, doe went 10 yards. I wouldn't hesitate to take a longer shot, maybe 80 yards tops...

Thanks for the input guys. I plan to use my S&W 28 if the right shot presents itself. Right now, the S&W is taken second place as a backup gun, while the T/C in 7mm TCU is the primary gun.
I do have a T/C 10" barrel in 357, I may try to take a nice doe later, after I bloody the TCU first.
Keep the comments coming.
Bulldog...

lots of good answers here! i was wondering if the you always want the bullet to go exit the animal or not. these bullet weights and velocities all sound like enough to go clear though a deer almost every time. also how do hard cast 150 gr. swc work on em??

I like to shoot through the Deer so it bleeds out faster.

Taken a warthog with a 168g hard cast flat point running at 1180 fps.
Distance was stepped out at 68 meters, and the pig ran approx 30 meters and fell down !
Heart/lung shot.

Bullet details: 180g bullet from RCBS silhouette mold, then lathe turned the nose down to result in a large meplat, which is the reason for the bullet ending up at 168g.