If you’re looking for accuracy, the long colt isn’t a very good option unless you are shooting within three feet of the target. lol

I've killed several deer and hogs with my old Dam Wesson .44 mag, 10".

I would not consider a .357.

Buy whatever brand you want (I know personally that Ruger Blackhawk's and Redhawks are very accurate).

Consider that you may decide to change grips after purchase.

Stick with at least 240gr bullet size or larger. I've settled on the Hornady 300gr XTP. That load will blow through both deer and hogs.

I've killed a bunch of deer with handguns. Most have been with a 44 magnum, several with 41 magnums. I admit to never killing one with a 357 magnum. I have however taken a bunch with a 357 Maximum. Admittedly the Maximum in a revolver is somewhat of a rare bird, but they are out there, totally a reloading option. The 41's are available but ammo again can be an issue. It's pretty much a reloading option. My longest open sight kill was with a 4 inch S&W 57, 41 magnum. Doe was hauling butt. I hit her at 89 paces, she skidded 9 paces on her chin. And yes I hit her where I was aiming, one shot. My longest shot with a scoped gun was pushing a 100 yards +/-. That gun is a 7 1/2 inch Red Hawk with a red dot sight. At one time it wore a scope which I didn't like, too hard to shoot offhand as the scope amplifies the shakes. With the red dot you just don't see the shakes as much. They are there, you just don't see them. I much prefer hunting with open sights. The last few years the gun I have carried is chambered in 44 Special, a 5 1/2 inch Ruger Black Hawk with a Bisley grip frame. More than enough power, I have never gotten a slug back. I use heavy for caliber slugs that I cast myself using wheel weight lead. The Maximum gets a 180 grain slug, the 44 magnums 310 grain, and the 44 Special is 260 grain. I only have one Taurus, a 454 Raging Bull that I am still figuring out. Four of the five chambers will give me a very nice 4 shot group. The fifth puts its shot out an inch or two at 25 yards off bags. That chamber throat is larger than the other four. At present the cylinder is out to have all the throats made the same. I won't be buying another Taurus or a 454 for that matter. After I get it back and figured out, it's going down the road. Besides the chamber throat issue I can't keep the ejector rod to stay screwed down.

I have never had any issues at all with S&W or Ruger guns. The Smiths are superbly accurate. They just can't take a steady diet of heavy loads that the Rugers can. The Red Hawks in my estimation are indestructible when fed by any sane hand-loader. For velocities I get 1500 fps out of the Maximum with a 180 grain slug, 44 Magnum 1200 with the 310, and 1050 with a 260 out of the 44 Special. Can I get more out of them? Sure, but why? They group very very well and I never get any slugs back. So what's the point. I have a range finder, I know my trajectory and I shoot a lot.

As GreenCountyPete said "Buy once, Cry once".

I like the longest barrel for accuracy,and prefer a vented rib instead of a scope.

I have killed two deer with my 357 revolver and one with my remington replica 44 cap and ball. Its like bow hunting. Get close shoot careful. Never owned a 44. Keep thinking I need one. Then I get visions of a 454 casull or something similar. That has to be fun to shoot/hunt with.

Of the two you list my nood would go with the GP100, nothing against the Taurus just a fan of the GP, if I was looking for a 44 mag I would look for an older Ruger Blackhawk or one of these



Top gun is a Uberti Badboy, at the local GS or cost me 599.99 and while I have yet to shot a deer with it, I can manage to keep all 6 on a 6inch paper plate at 100 using a rest off the bench

I have other 44mag S&W, Ruger even a colt anaconda, there a handful especially with full bore loads, but at the same time if you hand load you can tailor a load to whatever you want from lite plinking to big bear, not to mention it makes shooting one a lot less costly, and right now 44 mag ammo is still hard to find at least around here

I would look at a ruger regardless of caliber. There is a reason reloading manuals have a section for ruger only loads. A 44MAG WILL NOT get you more range over a 357. Few people should be shooting deer with a handgun past 60 yards. Sure I have killed them with a 357 over 120 but I also practiced a lot back then and have a range and can shoot at home.

357 use 158gr bullets min. I have had excellent results with 16gr of win 296 and 158gr xtp's.

I have shot deer with rugers In 44mag out to 100 yards also as well as tc encore in 308. Currently I have a rugar black hawlk in 45long colt I bought from a family member in need of cash 7 years back.

A good shot placement and bullet design and weight and they all do the job very well. Ford vs Chevy I think. Regardless of what people try to claim all handguns are very weak compared to rifles and putting holes through the important things and a good blood trail are what matters.

Providence, in 357 I use the same powder charge and bullet weight, but shoot wheel weight lead cast bullets from a lyman mould. Both deer had plenty of internal damage. Did not go very far.

Casting has always been part of the plan but it's something else that requires time to learn a new skill and sizing and lubing equipment I would need to learn how to use. I don't even have a reloading set up at home. It's still down at my other house 100 miles away. I'm very limited on time.

357is one of the most versatile revolvers. Take a black hawlk. Shoot 357 and 38 out of the 357 cylinder, change the cylinder and shoot 9mm. 3 caliber availability in a pinch if you need it.

Paul, I have both .44 mag and .357 mag revolvers and a .357 max in a Contender. How do you manage to (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) (pull the hammer back) those revolvers without the deer hearing it? I'd love to try taking deer with the .44 and with the Contender. Maybe I just have to accept that the shot is going to be longer than I like.

Point the gun at the deer. Pull back on the trigger as you c o c k it. Release the triiger. Lower the hammer. with a single action you still get a couple little clicks but not as loud. The deer I shot with with my cap and ball was not spooked by it at all. Turned his head to look at me but I was in postion to shoot already.

Ed, never had a problem. Usually I have it cocked before they get to where I want to shoot them. I have shot a few at 8 to 10 feet. I have also shot a couple double action, a hurry up real close situation.

no one says you can't thumb back the hammer when they are 50 yards out

same with taking the safety off a rifle and shouldering it , you wait till they turn their head or head is behind a tree

it is more likely the movement than noise unless they are right under you

they might be crunching a bit walking through the woods

if you want to try an experiment , show your wife (or friend) how to hammer back your revolver and let it down even if she dry fires it at the ground take the rounds out of it, see how far away you can hear her do it with your back turned to her. pick a still night , morning , a bit of a breeze try it few times.
add a little bit to that for deer having better ears. it will likely be much less than when you would start seeing them walking in.

people have been thumbing back the hammer on a gun for 400+ years and shooting deer

I have a S & W 686 in a 4 inch barrel. It small enough that you can carry it if you have a conceal carry permit. They shoot real good and for practice you can shoot 38 special. I have the 7 shot, but you can also get the 6 shot model.

I have a Colt King Cobra 357. I think it's the best one I've ever owned. I've had Rugers and Taurus in 357 and 44 Magnum, but like the Colts better.

you may want to go shop gun smiths that do nice trigger jobs on revolvers' , see what they will and won't work on , that can better inform your decision of what to buy

with minimal points of contact how good you can make the single action trigger pull on a revolver is often a big factor in how well you can shoot it
the better out of the box trigger is good , but if you do plan to take it further some designs lend themselves to getting better than others. a lot of this is aftermarket parts availability. so see what is available for spring kits and such.

Super Redhawk in .44 mag. Thats where I would start, If I had the coin, Colt, Dan Wesson, etc.

Speaking from the view point of having worked on these things (gunsmith) what I've found is Taurus guns look real nice on the outside, but the parts inside are rather crude, rough and more on the soft side, I would go with the Ruger single action, easy to do a nice trigger job, very stout gun. If you can handload the .45 long colt is another good option in the regular Blackhawk , if not the .44 in a Super Blackhawk, either round I've found a Keith style bullet works the best.

I have this Taurus 44 (model 44) if you plan on going with a scope and buying taurus,,I would go with the taurus raging hunter it has picatinny on the barrel,,it’s ready for a scope out of the box…

In .44 the Ruger will handle the stouter loads that the Smith Model 29 will not, is that correct?

Mike