American Handgunner July/August 1979

By J. D. JonesThe .357 Magnum is not an adequatebig game cartridge. Most states considerdeer as big game. Personally, I classifythem as medium game and considerelk, moose, big bears and the like biggame. Deer in this country range in sizefrom the tiny key deer through the moose.Yep, elk and moose are also deer. In factworldwide, there are over 60 kinds ofdeer.The Whitetail or Virginia deer is the mostcommon in this country. Mulies are nextmost numerous. Sizes of Whitetails andMulies vary considerably. In many areasan adult Whitetail buck won't weigh 100pounds. In other areas one will find manythat will weigh over 200. Generally, as36with most fish and game, sizes and weights severed a deer will drop instantly only toare usually grossly overestimated.get up just as quickly and run.The common Whitetail and Mule deer The Fish and Game Commissions ofare somewhat fragile animals. They have most states are realistic in specifying thelong, spindly legs, and are built lightly minimum calibers of rifles for huntingcompared to a hog or bear, and rely on deer. Usually, the .30-30 is somewherestealth and/or speed for survival. A deer near the least powerful rifles allowed. Thewith a broken leg, and/or frequently in .30-30, even with factory loads that takethe case of a broken shoulder or hip just the safety of old .30-30 "junker" rifles intoisn't slowed down much, if any. A lung or consideration are vastly more powerfulheart shot deer-even if hit with a .270 or than any .357 Magnum firearm.similar cartridge will seldom drop imme- Under optimum conditions the .357 isdiately. At impact, he usually runs and the capable of killing any animal. Actual cahunterdoesn't know if he has-hit or pabilities of a cartridge under optimummissed. Frequently, if a large bone· such as conditions have little to do with its perashoulder blade ·is hit and the s·pine isn't formance in the field where optimum con-AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY I AUGUST 1979