# .357mag vs .44mag



## Camden (Dec 13, 2005)

uke: 8) I was wondering would a .357 mag be a better lever
action rifle than a .44 mag lever action rifle. I would use the .44 or .357 to deer hunt and I was looking for these qualities in the rifle. first a good lever action that would stop the deer in his tracks but not destroy a lot of the deers meet. Second if the gun would shoot straight for a maximum of 95-125 yards and still pack a punch on the deer (whitetail). Thanks hope to hear your responses they will be greatly apreciated.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

I have owned and shot both. There is no comparison what so ever. The 44 mag is the hands down winner for stopping deer period. The 357 will do it, and it is what my one son shot his first deer with, but what it can do the 44 will do much better.


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## Hawkseye (Nov 21, 2005)

Hey, Camden...

A good way to check the K.O. (knock out) power of a cartridge is to multiply the bullet weight x velocity / 7000 x bullet diameter...and calculate it at the farthest range you plan to use the weapon...

For example...The 44 Magnum rifle will push a 265 grain Hornady at 1550 with 21.5 grains of H-110.

265 x 1550 / 7000 x .429 = 25.173

The .357 Magnum will push a 158 grain bullet at the same 1550 with 8.9 grains of Unique.

158 x 1550 / 7000 x .357 = 12.489

So you can get a pretty good idea of the difference in effectiveness of the two cartridges on a target that is large enough to absorb the energy such as a quartering shot at a deer, or black bear. On smaller targets that simply cannot absorb the energy of the .44 Mag, you won't see as much difference between them, so the type of game being hunted is the third factor in cartridge performance.

For deer, the .44 Magnum is the clearly superior cartridge.


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