Airforce is the Airforce texan ss in 357 suitable for deer hunting?

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TYLERHASKINS2

TYLERHASKINS2

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Jun 9, 2020
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brooklyn, MI
hello, I shall keep this post short and get right into it, im looking to pick up an Airforce texan in 357 for coyote and deer hunting. my state requires 35 caliber or larger with no other restrictions on minimum FPE or anything else relating to airguns. im looking at the texan 357 ss, the ss makes 165 FPE, is that enough for deer hunting? or should I go with the LSS that makes 300 FPE? obviously the 300 FPE is a big jump over 165, but if 165 is humane then I would like to save the added weight and length. thanks for the help!
 
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I used a friend's to take a small doe. Never again. He lost a big eight point, not sure of all his details. He said the same thing, never again with that caliber.

The doe I shot was 26 yards, broadside and I punched both lungs. She ran maybe 100 yards but not one drop of blood. No hair, nothing. I got lucky finding her because she kicked up enough leaves to track.
 
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I would go with something that makes a bigger drain hole in the lungs. Mathematicaly, a 180 grain .357 with a wide nose should do the job though. Brain shots would be fine, but deer move their heads a LOT. I would avoid the neck shots refered to. They work great with a bullet that has the hydrolic shock of a powderburning .308 round, but there is a lot of tissue in there that will not be a fatal wound with a low powered lead round.
 
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Is it enough? Yes... but my general rule is this: If you have to ask, then you should go larger until you understand anatomy of the game you intend to take, your own skills and limitations and the limitations of the gun.

If you're dead set on .35, go for it... practice with it, learn and understand the trajectory at various ranges and be patient enough to keep your shots within your skill level, accounting for 'buck fever'.

Not trying to sound like a prick or 'better than thou'. We all started somewhere on this airgun journey.
 
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ghost1066 said:
I used a friend's to take a small doe. Never again. He lost a big eight point, not sure of all his details. He said the same thing, never again with that caliber.

The doe I shot was 26 yards, broadside and I punched both lungs. She ran maybe 100 yards but not one drop of blood. No hair, nothing. I got lucky finding her because she kicked up enough leaves to track.
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I have similar experiences... Either zero or hero....No blood trails the normal.. Big bore any caliber neck shot . Powder burner sub Sonics don't kill great either.... Nature of the beast....
 
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after reading all of these responses, I think im going to hold off on the big bore game for a while, or ill end up with say a 457 or 510. the main reason for wanting the 357 was being able to use slugs/bullets for deer and pellets for smaller game and pest animals, but if its not humane then I have zero interest in using it. from reading the responses it either seems like its a solid humane kill or nothing, and those odds are not good enough for me. im a pretty decent shot, been shooting for over a decade now, but you never know what's going to happen in the time between pulling the trigger and the projectile impacting the animal, and it sounds like if the shot isn't absolutely perfect, the 357 probably won't deliver. now if Michigan will ever just legalize "air bows"...
 
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Tyler, your post #7 is excellent logic.
Here in Ohio we can only use airguns on small game, we can’t even use them on turkey, which would be easy.
I small game and pest with .22, .25 and .30. For me, even if I could deer hunt with a .357 or larger I probably would not. Nothing against anyone that succesfully uses them. Archery in Ohio goes Late September to about first week in Febuary, that’s a long season. I have yet to use a PB during “gun week” to take a deer. I get it done with archery. I like to get one deer in the freezer and get it over with as soon as possible so I can get back to small game and my year round pesting permissions.

I sort of compare airgun hunting to fishing for yellow perch and walleye. Yellow perch fishing is flat out fun when you find a honey hole, just like a good squirrel area in the woods, you have a decent bag limit (especially pesting) and some good trigger time. Deer hunting is more like walley fishing, you put in a lot of slow boring trolling time but the reward can be awesome and the bag limit is lower and you can fill a freezer quicker.
To each his own. Economics plays in too. .22 pellets are very economical especially if you like to shoot a lot. .25 gets expensive quickly, .30 is even more expensive. .357 and larger isn’t a good choice if you’re going to plink, but your budget will dictate that. And plinking a .357 has a very low shot count as well.
As much as I would like to get a deer with my .450 Bushmaster, I’m entirely happy with my archery success and to be honest I can deer hunt in much more pleasant weather. I have many many hours in trees in crappy weather and much prefer pre-November where I can have crisp mornings and pleasant daytime temps. To me, because of the cost of a decent larger game air rifle for a one week season, it’s a poor investment.
If you do go the big game route be sure to shoot in fair weather and cold weather to learn how cold weather affects yout POI so you’re confident of the proper aim.
Good luck.
 
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rcs9250 said:
Tyler, your post #7 is excellent logic.
Here in Ohio we can only use airguns on small game, we can’t even use them on turkey, which would be easy.
I small game and pest with .22, .25 and .30. For me, even if I could deer hunt with a .357 or larger I probably would not. Nothing against anyone that succesfully uses them. Archery in Ohio goes Late September to about first week in Febuary, that’s a long season. I have yet to use a PB during “gun week” to take a deer. I get it done with archery. I like to get one deer in the freezer and get it over with as soon as possible so I can get back to small game and my year round pesting permissions.

I sort of compare airgun hunting to fishing for yellow perch and walleye. Yellow perch fishing is flat out fun when you find a honey hole, just like a good squirrel area in the woods, you have a decent bag limit (especially pesting) and some good trigger time. Deer hunting is more like walley fishing, you put in a lot of slow boring trolling time but the reward can be awesome and the bag limit is lower and you can fill a freezer quicker.
To each his own. Economics plays in too. .22 pellets are very economical especially if you like to shoot a lot. .25 gets expensive quickly, .30 is even more expensive. .357 and larger isn’t a good choice if you’re going to plink, but your budget will dictate that. And plinking a .357 has a very low shot count as well.
As much as I would like to get a deer with my .450 Bushmaster, I’m entirely happy with my archery success and to be honest I can deer hunt in much more pleasant weather. I have many many hours in trees in crappy weather and much prefer pre-November where I can have crisp mornings and pleasant daytime temps. To me, because of the cost of a decent larger game air rifle for a one week season, it’s a poor investment.
If you do go the big game route be sure to shoot in fair weather and cold weather to learn how cold weather affects yout POI so you’re confident of the proper aim.
Good luck.
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ill probably end up going the cheaper route and get a 350 legend Upper for my "big scary black rifle" or a similar caliber and save like $900 or something crazy like that if I end up deer hunting in the future. I think ill be happy with small game for now while im still learning how to hunt and all that fun beginner stuff.
 
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@TYLERHASKINS2 Refreshing to see someone ask for advice re big bore hunting and actually think logically and take that advice. Kudos, sir. Often, with these types of questions, a persons mind is already make up and when they dont get the validation they seek....they rebuke and just do what they intended anyway.
 
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TYLERHASKINS2 said:
ill probably end up going the cheaper route and get a 350 legend Upper for my "big scary black rifle" or a similar caliber and save like $900 or something crazy like that if I end up deer hunting in the future. I think ill be happy with small game for now while im still learning how to hunt and all that fun beginner stuff.
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In my opinion, small game hunting is very good training for deer hunting. I started deer hunting before small game and I can tell you that the first time you see a deer coming into your kill zone your heart is beating a million miles an hour and it’s a real challenge to calm your breathing and your thoughts. Between my first deer season and second deer season I got into small game with a Benjamin Marauder .25. There’s still excitement when a squirrel is in your sights but after several of them you calm down. I found that in the next deer season I was much calmer when a deer was spotted and I could talk myself into being much calmer. Not sociopath calmer, but a lot calmer.
 
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rcs9250 said:
In my opinion, small game hunting is very good training for deer hunting. I started deer hunting before small game and I can tell you that the first time you see a deer coming into your kill zone your heart is beating a million miles an hour and it’s a real challenge to calm your breathing and your thoughts. Between my first deer season and second deer season I got into small game with a Benjamin Marauder .25. There’s still excitement when a squirrel is in your sights but after several of them you calm down. I found that in the next deer season I was much calmer when a deer was spotted and I could talk myself into being much calmer. Not sociopath calmer, but a lot calmer.
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This is true in my experience. Squirrel hunting is an excellent way to hone one’s hunting skills, gray squirrel hunting that is. That is a game animal when you go after them in the woods without baiting them. They will test your patience, vision, aim, discipline, woodsmanship and your overall hunting skillset. I think that if you can consistently shoot squirrels in the brain with pellets within 50 yards, you can learn to hunt larger animals.
 
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Ezana4CE said:
This is true in my experience. Squirrel hunting is an excellent way to hone one’s hunting skills, gray squirrel hunting that is. That is a game animal when you go after them in the woods without baiting them. They will test your patience, vision, aim, discipline, woodsmanship and your overall hunting skillset. I think that if you can consistently shoot squirrels in the brain with pellets within 50 yards, you can learn to hunt larger animals.
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Yes, if you can brain a squirrel at 50yds offhand, then braced you should have no trouble out to 100yds on heart and lungs. A responsible hunter learns to track after the shot as well. Pay attention to all of ones surroundings. I have double lung/heart shot plenty of deer with big .cal powder burners, plenty have still ran 100yds after through brush. I love deer meat, they were all found to fullfill the harvest. Double Will go down, always wait for the shot to present,and with air be even more confident in placement.
 
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