You can kill a deer with a 22lr if the shot is properly placed, but is it the best tool in the shed for the job, of course not. This is why I think the 357mag is not the best tool in the shed for deer hunting, when I was in my 20's I shot a good buck at twenty yards three times broadside all shots were in the kill zone, he ran around me like no tomorrow, got lucky and found him more than 200yards away, bye luck, doing circles around some small amounts of blood found, very little blood hit the ground as well, at the time I was using Win silver tips I think they were 135gr bullet, that was the last time I hunted with a 357mag, Yes many man have been brought down bye 357mag, but a man and a deer are like apples and pears, a deer can endure much more than a man. I must say over the past five years bullet construction have come a long way, even understanding this, I still think you are undergunned using a 357mag for whitetail, I'm talking the average hunter.
No need to take the chance of wounding a healthy animal, Its hard enough to get a good shot. I want to hit them with a good meplat like a 44mag/454 casull seems to be good medicine for whitetails using a revolver. I have used the 357mag as a finishing gun when rifle hunting, if I drop a deer and he is still trying to get up, I will walk up closer if possible and head shoot them with the 357mag, I have done this a few times in the past, now all I carry for a revolver is the 454 Casull across my chest using a bandito holster or cross draw, reason is bear and deer seasons overlap, so in tern I really want some good power when handgunning for bears. Aim small hit small. RAMbo.
