Regarding my eminent employment of a Martini Cadet .357 Magnum, 26" barrel, for relatively close range deer hunting: anybody have any real-world advice or pitfalls to avoid? 55 years of deer hunting, mostly with cast bullets in .30 rifles, but this'll be my first foray with a pistol cartridge in a rifle.

The subject:
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(And yes, the big hook on the end of the lever will go, but in truth it does offer a secure grip of the lever.)

I had a 357 built on a 310 action with a Douglas barrel in 83, I enjoyed it for a few years and traded it. Wish I hadn’t.
Mike

Hit em in the heart lung area and they will die. That's been my limited experience anyway.

Many years ago I had a Stevens 44-1/2 chambered in .357 Mag.  It started out as a smaller caliber, nice rifle on the outside, but it had a sewer pipe barrel.  Thus, its barrel got bored out to .357, and the breech block was fit with a bushing and smaller diameter firing pin.  On top was a Burris compact 4x scope.  It shot one-hole groups.

That rifle was deadly on anything it was pointed at, including white tail deer.  Have no doubt - a well-placed shot with a good bullet will bring home the venison.

I am envious of your Martini.

Curly

Used to load nearly 15 gr of 2400 for my 8" S&W model 27. Those cases were packed full. Reloading manual cited MV at around 1500 fps. You will do better with that longer barrel. 
Stay away from hollow points if you use jacketed. They are fine for a heart/lung shot but lack penetration if you hit a shoulder. 
Keep your shots well under 100 yds as MV and ME will drop fast with increased distance.
Nice rifle. A friend has one that was converted to the old 35/30-30 Wildcat. It's a dandy. I'm still trying to finagle it away from him!

John

I shoot several pistol caliber rifles, mainly custom Ruger #1s. One thing for sure is expect 300-500 fps increase in muzzle velocity over pistol data. Slower burning powders give good results of velocity and accuracy. AA1680 and Lil'Gun do very well as does Re7. For deer I go with 158gr JSP bullets. Speer makes their Hot Core and Hornady makes  a XTP FP. 

Ed

desert-dude wrote on Aug 5^th, 2022 at 12:23pm:


If you are at all interested in selling that Fix action .357, please remember me! Thank you!

I'd agree that a burn area probably attracts feeding deer. After a few years since the fire, a walk through it this time of the year, one might might stumble on beds as the new growth is probably thigh deep in spots by now.

This is my rifle.

Update: Did what I should've done in the first place and made a chamber cast. Turns out it's a .357 Maximum. (Barrel simply marked ".357") Could explain the spotty accuracy I was getting. Maximum brass has been laid in, loading a variety of cast bullets from 160 to 200 grain. Now all I need is good range day to wring it out. (Been on a hiatus after cataract surgery.)

Beautiful rifle. What kind of area do you hunt deer? Thick cover or more open? Would make a fantastic short range gun in thick cover areas.

Shooting them little white tail deer you guys get back East browsing off the bushes around outbuildings and shops are fair game for a small foreign rifle using a pistol cartridges I suppose but it would never do on the deer we have here in Idaho. We have big tough manly deer that a pistol bullet would just bounce off of.  You'd probly have problems getting a bullet to reach a mule deer here in Idaho.

I bought a rifle very similar to yours, with a crummy 357 Mag chamber.  Cut the chamber to 357 Max and it now shoots well.  Here are a bunch of results I have developed, all at 100 yards and under 2" MOA:

125gr,FR-Berry's, 24g IMR4198
140gr, FTX, 16.5g 2400 (best group)
158gr, RN-Berry's, 24.6g IMR4198
158gr, RN-Berry's, 16.2g A2400
158gr, RN-Berry's, 26.9g IMR3031
158gr, XTP, 26.9g CFE BLK
158gr, XTP, 14.5g A2400 (357 Magnum cartridge)
180gr, XTP, 14.3g A2400
180gr, XTP, 17.2g IMR4227
180gr, RN/FP-GC (Quality Bullets), 17.7g A2400
180gr, RN/FP-GC (Quality Bullets), 25.7g IMR4198
180gr, RN/FP-GC (Quality Bullets), 20.7g IMR4227
180gr, RN/FP-GC (Quality Bullets), 16.6g LilGun

Check the Shooters Reference site to get comfortable: 

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Good luck - a great single shot round paired with a great rifle.

westerner wrote on Mar 10^th, 2023 at 11:44pm:

  Nice mount Joe!

Yeah, that was a little one that was hanging out by the barn.  The big monster trophy bucks get taken by out of staters.   It's wild and wooly out here in the West. 

1937 just after the 357 was introduced.

thankfully, it's not your decision Sonny.

Aaron

westerner wrote on Apr 3^rd, 2023 at 6:38pm:


Local rifle hunting law states "straight wall case". Not wanting to drift into the realm of big BPCR rifle stuff, this is a sane alternative for local conditions.

Per my response on Page Two in this hymnal, I belatedly discovered that my Martini is indeed a Maximum. The simple ".357" stamped on the barrel had me fooled. Since the initial flurry of exchanges here, I have settled on a go-to wood's thumper load consisting of a 200 grain soft gas checked round/flat nose bullet pushed by 21gr. 1680, for nigh onto 1900 fps. Not max for the Max, but getting close. It's enough - any more and the little beastie starts to get rambunctious. Accuracy is plentiful: around an inch at 50 yards, a bit over double that at 100 where my eyes start to crap out with iron sights.

No silly deer such as the one who's head Westerner is shown holding have stumbled into view when I was carrying the rifle in the jungles where I live. Hopefully next year. Or the one after that, or the one after that.

Now I'm kinda/sorta working on a casual plinking load for it with Maxi brass, 160 SWC's, and Unique. One thing I will never do again is try to make "regular" .357's shoot in that long chamber, with it's attendant loooong throat.

westerner wrote on Apr 4^th, 2023 at 12:45pm:


Yeah, I'm tempted to mark the barrel of the next .357 Maxi (if there is one) ".35-30 Maynard", just to screw with people. One of our compatriots here told me of a guy who did just that.