S&W 57

[WDW]

I recently picked up a no dash 6" Model 57 in the fantasmic .41 Magnum. Anyone recommend a good hunting load for this. I intend on doing more handgun hunting in the near future. Mostly hogs & white tails.

[Lon]

I've seen good reviews on this:

http://www.winchester.com/Products/h...mington+Magnum

No first hand knowledge of it, though. I used 3" mag 12 ga. Slugs when I hunted hogs.

[Tamara]

Mmmmmm... Model 57!

Cor-Bon used to load a 265gr flat-meplat HC bullet, but I've heard that Smiths didn't stabilize them too well (I have a few boxes, but have never shot them much past ten yards at milk jugs.)

Now both they and Federal load a 250gr HC. Dunno if this would be preferable to an expanding bullet out of a handgun on hogs or not.

[WDW]

Mmmmmm... Model 57!

Cor-Bon used to load a 265gr flat-meplat HC bullet, but I've heard that Smiths didn't stabilize them too well (I have a few boxes, but have never shot them much past ten yards at milk jugs.)

Now both they and Federal load a 250gr HC. Dunno if this would be preferable to an expanding bullet out of a handgun on hogs or not.

Wow! That's some collection. What did you rob a museum or something? Thanks for the info. Ill check those loads out.

[ACP230]

My Smith .41s did not like the Federal 250 grain lead bullets much. They shot them OK but the recoil seemed too much for the gun.
The Ruger Redhawk .41s did not have a problem.

If I had to shoot a deer this minute with one of my M57s I'd use Remington 210 grain softpoints. I have a few boxes of it and the guns all shoot it
well.

Winchester Silvertips were the first .41 ammo I shot when I got my first M57. They are basically a defense round but I've heard of people using them for hunting. They seem
harder to find on the shelves these days.

Cor-Bon makes some .41 Magnum ammo for defense and hunting. I have some of the 170 grain JHPs but figure the bullet might be a bit light for deer.

I have mostly been loading practice/small game loads with 210 to 230 grail LSWCs. I have made some stouter loads with 200 grain JHPs in the past.

I was going to use my eight and three eighths inch M657 in a special does only season once. Had it sighted with the Remington softpoints, had practiced,
and had a good place to hunt in the county where the season was to be held. Then, the DNR cancelled the whole thing. So, no actual deer hunting with the .41 yet.