New hunter

Hello I am new here and new to handgun hunting. I have an old taurus 65 357 magnum I had drilled and taped and mounted a red Dot sight. I have been practicing with it. I an no where near a crack shot with it. I put 6 rounds in a 8 inch circle at 50 yards. This will. Be my first time hunting deer with it, just want to know if there are any secrets you could share to help me.

Are you hunting from the ground, or a tree, or a box blind, or?

Great place to come for advice and knowledge.

I am hunting from the ground. Or the truck, I am disabled and don't walk so we'll.

Welcome!
158 XTP HP work good on deer.
Plan to have some kind of field rest, so when that time of truth comes, you put it where you want it.
Good luck!

Yes I have a shooting stick I have been practicing with. This is the first handgun I have had a scope/sight on. I started with the red Dot as I was told it was easier to start with.

Been shooting Winchester 110gr jhp

Your last sentence or question was there any secrets to be shared? The one thing that was a game changer for me was to get "good " Trigger job, on all my pistols. NOT the "poor mans" B.S. but real legitimate trigger jobs that break clean and crisp. The Tarus can be helped some with a change of springs, and a little polishing. Wolff Springs has them for certain models. Good Hunting,,,

Had the trigger done before I got the gun. Nice and crisp with very little travel. I have never bunted with a handgun, nor have I ever used a scope on one. I have rifle bunted and Target shot for years. I qualified with a handgun in the service, but that is the end of it. Ilike I said earlier I have been practicing with it, just seem to have some trouble getting used to the sight.

As Ernie said, the 158 XTP HP seem to work well on deer for most people. I shot a buck with them last week at about 20-30 yards, I got this one back out of the deer after 18" of penetration. It held together well for impacting at over 1400 fps.

I have only used the Winchester ammo, the guy I got the gun from said he took four deer with them.

I will check into other ammo though, thank you. I eventually want to start reloading for it.

Reloading allows a tailor fit to a gun funny that way. Good luck in your quest for deer with a handgun and welcome.

Thank you all I am wondering if I should ditch the red dot and get a 2x and put on it. I was told it was easier to start with the red dot

A red dot will be fine out to as far as a 357 is capable. Dots have some advantages; no parallax, unlimited eye relief, both eyes open sighting, reticle visible in all lighting conditions, light weight. It might not hurt to try a scope to see if you like it, but I wouldn't dis the dot.

Biggest advice, patience and practice. The 357 is more than capable, I always like true broadside shots with my 357.

Welcome to the world of handgun hunting and to this site. You have a fine rig for deer assuming you know your limits and pick your shot opportunities well. The red dot is s good choice for 50 -75 yards on deer. Again it depends on your skill level to hold and place the shot in the heart / lung area. I suggest broadside or quartering away as the preferred shot. I suggest 158 to 180 grain ammo.
The only ?secret? I can add is to practice, practice, practice. I would suggest buying a .22 rimfire or a quality air pistol and shooting regularly. Good luck and enjoy.

I did not catch which Red Dot sight you were using.
Most that are made in China are junk.
If you are not all that impressed with your Red Dot you probably are not using an UltraDot.

I would go with a 30mm MatchDot II or 30mm UltraDot if buying new. If you are shopping used you can live with a 1" UltraDot (25mm) if you cannot locate a 30mm one.

The UltraDot Sights are very well made in Japan.
They have a Great Reputation for not breaking.
They Track very well.
The 25mm and 30mm UltraDot's have a 4 MOA dot size. The Red Dot covers up 4" at 100 yards.
The 30mm MatchDot II has multiple reticles. To me only 2 of them are important, 4 MOA and 2 MOA. Where this becomes important is in low light. You get Bloom on a Red Dot in low light. The 2 MOA set on 1 in low light has less bloom than a 4 MOA Dot set on 1. The 2 MOA Dot only covers up 2 inches at 100 yards. Smaller Dot equals less bloom.
Why 30mm over the 1" (25mm). Pretty simple, you can see more ground through the larger tube.

My first UltraDot was a 1" one that I still have. The last 4 that I have purchased have all been 30mm. Below is the order that I have acquired them:

1" (25mm) UltraDot
30mm UltraDot
30mm MatchDot II
30mm UltraDot 6 (AR 15 Carbine version of the MatchDot II Sight)
30mm MatchDot II

I wish you luck on your journey into handgun hunting. My advice is to use 158 XTP's and stay away from 110 grain bullets. The 110 HP's will kill a deer but the chances of an exit hole are not very good. If it runs off you will probably have a pitiful blood trail to track.

Bob

best of luck to you......