358 Winchester?

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  • Last Post 15 January 2023
Lefty posted this 31 January 2010

For many years our deer populations have been very high.  I didn't mind, and in fact intentionally, handicapped myself in my choice of firearm.  Now our DNR has managed the herd and also managed the Timberwolf population.  All of a sudden getting a deer has become a challenge once again.  This is a great excuse for a new rifle. While much of the shooting is close, two of our better stands have opportunities out to 200 yds.

I have a 308 length action on hand which limits my options somewhat.  I am thinking a 358 Winchester with a 20 inch barrel - stout but easily handled in a tree stand.  There are 14” twist barrels in #4 contour readily available.  It is my intention to use loads in the 1800 - 2000 fps range.  I have not selected a mold yet.

I would like to hear your thoughts and experiences before I spend the money.

 

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beltfed posted this 15 January 2023

Ken,

I noted in the 243 thread you were already building a 35 Whelen. Good choice for all around, 

So, no real need for you to now go and build a 358W. 
.

I had looked at building a 35 whelen for my deer and whatever hunting, It will do it all

but, after "fooling around" with lhat 358 beltless magnum, and the LONG action, 

I decided on a Factory round, AND the Short Action for my deer hunting. I can simply neck up available 308 brass if I can't get 358 W brass.

That shorter action is really "IT" for fast shooting in the North woods if needed.  Very fast, if you practice some. It served me well in a couple of instances where I shot multiple deer Quickly.

Also, I went with a 24" Doutlas No. 3 barrel on the 358W Savage short action.  I found that my loads were Very close to those of my friend's 35 whelen. No need for the long action, larger caliber for most of my hunting which is/was in the North Woods.  Sometimes, I think I should have gone with a 22" , but, I have gotten along nicely with the 24".

beltfed/arnie

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 15 January 2023

thanks Beltfed ... gee, i am impressed .  ken

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beltfed posted this 14 January 2023

Here is a pIc of my 358 Long Neck beltless mag ctges alongside 35 whelen long neck( simply use 270 or 280 rem brass) . I turned the belts off 300 win mag brass, and ran them into a shortened 358 Norma Mag die, Then set back the 358 Norma barrel enought to remove the belt cut, and then ran the 35 cal neck and throat cutter in far enough to be using the full length formed 300 win mag brass. 

alongside my 358 Win iwith the 250 grain 358318 PP load.

Arnie

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beltfed posted this 14 January 2023

Ken, here is a picture of my Savage 110CL magazine.  The rifle is indeed a short action Savage 

Was a 243Win.  Max length in the magazine is 2.907". Longer than the 243, 308, and 358 Win OAL

I think the short action Rem may have a slightly shorter magazine, but note that my load for the 250 grain PPed Lyman 358318 fits the Savage mag with room to spare and the front edge of the Paper just slightly crush fits into the lands in my Douglas chambered 358 Win barrel.

Note also the 358 win case with the 358009 282 grain thumper. 

PS, I have a Neck and throat cutter that I had used on my 358 Long neck beltless magnume years back I don't know if it has a longer throat . I should check that against my Savage 358 chamber.

beltfed/arnie

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beltfed posted this 14 January 2023

Guys, from the "243 Win Cast" thread, here is a good review on 35s

beltfed/arnie

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Riposte1 posted this 27 November 2014

Many years ago, when I had more time, I acquired a Lyman mold for the .348 Winchester... I forget the number but it is a 245 or 250 gr bullet.

I didn't have a .348 though I did cast some up for a friend that did have one.  I did however have a '98 Mauser in .350 Remington Magnum and I hit upon the odd plan of wrapping a couple of wraps of 25% cotton paper around it and sizing it to .358"

they shot good in the Mauser but alas I never shot anything that bleeds with that load.

Fast forward and today I own two .358s; a Ruger Frontier which is a nifty little carbine that comes much closer to the Scout concept than Rugers nominal G.S.R. and a Browning take-down BLR..... I need to find some of those bullets I made up and try those!!!!!

Come to think of it, I also own an 1886 Winchester in .33 WCF, need to find out if those .348 bullets can stand zising them down .10?  Better yet, I own several .338 bore rifles I need to just find a good .338 mold.

Riposte

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uncowboy posted this 17 March 2013

Lefty I also have a Ruger Frontier in 358 I use 250 Gr cast over IMR 3031 and I get 1 ” at 100 Yds . This is a great gun and you are not pushing it at all at 200 yds. I couldnt beleive how little bullet drop I have at 200. I would take it to 250 with a nice open feild shot. The 3031 powder let me get more velosity with great accuracy. Hunted the gun in PA but have not killed a deer with it yet but I did water test the load at 75 yards and I had over 20” penetration and the bullet got through 1-2 layers of a bullet proof vest I draped to recover the slug. It retained 93% of its weight and doubbled its diamiter. You can't get any better than that. J.Michael

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testhop posted this 29 January 2012

i had a 358 win shot 3 deer one shot each none had to be tracked . got the brass by shooting 308s (not full charges) in the 358 made loading 358 a snap

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Lefty posted this 27 January 2012

I like my 358 Winchester. My cast bullet loads are similar to 35 Rem factory loads on paper at least. If I were going to carry it in bear country with cast bullets, I would opt for a 250 gr+ bullet made from a fairly hard alloy. I would also push them as fast as reasonable accuracy would allow. Recoil would be stout - at least by my wimpy standards.

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aaalaska posted this 27 January 2012

Guess I should explain. I have a 35 rem, and reload for it . So to keep from going any further over the edge,I try to limit the calibers I use. I load for 22 cal 6.5mm ,30,35 ,375, 44, 45.And at 60+ am not looking for any more heavy recoil types.The 444, 460 S&W, and 45/70 in the TC's have become more than I enjoy a day at the range with, unless loaded down a bit.I was looking for something mid range to use for black bear/ moose, in Grizzly country. And while the 35 rem is plenty for Black bear + moose,I feel it's a little light if needed for the other guys. I usually carry a 45/70 for them but like everyone else that hunt here ,have found myself without it, and that is not a great feeling. Alex

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6pt-sika posted this 26 January 2012

Ken Campbell, Iowa wrote: anybody hunting with these slow moving bowling balls should look into a laser rangefinder....while in a blind/stand you can range features for pre-determined hold-overs. ...and if you think a 35 bullet at 2000 is bad, try bean cans with my 45-70 at 1000 plinker loads.  (g) ken

I had pretty decent luck this past deer season using bowling balls ;)

Used bullets in variouse 444's from 280-400 grains of course all were going about as warm as I could run them . And none of my shots were over 80 yards .

 

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6pt-sika posted this 26 January 2012

aaalaska wrote: I am just thinking about adding a barrel for my Encore a friend has been pushing the 358 JDJ, I had been thinking 358 win. but am still up in the air.Any thoughts /input appreciated.

I had an Encore Pro Hunter for awhile and one of the barrels I had for it was in 338 Federal . I like that cartridge much better then the 358 WIN . Only 358 WIN I had was in a  Ruger 77R tang safety rifle .

I did however have a couple Marlin 336ER's in 356 WIN which is pretty much nothing but the 358 WIN with a rim and a bit thicker web in the case bottom . And of course you can't load them as hot .

 

I had pretty decent luck with one of the 356's using the Ranch Dog no longer made 359-180GC and his present offering the 359-190GC .

 

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 26 January 2012

anybody hunting with these slow moving bowling balls should look into a laser rangefinder....while in a blind/stand you can range features for pre-determined hold-overs. ...and if you think a 35 bullet at 2000 is bad, try bean cans with my 45-70 at 1000 plinker loads.  (g) ken

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aaalaska posted this 26 January 2012

I am just thinking about adding a barrel for my Encore a friend has been pushing the 358 JDJ, I had been thinking 358 win. but am still up in the air.Any thoughts /input appreciated.

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Lefty posted this 07 January 2012

I took the rifle to a gunsmith yesterday. He thinks the rail on the left side of the action needs to be relieved slightly. I tried polishing the rails before I took the gun to him. Polishing alone was not sufficient. The action started life as a 22-250 so I wonder if the rails were slightly too narrow for the chubby 358. I'll report back when the 'smith finishes his work.

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León posted this 27 December 2011

Lefty, I'd check the left mag lip for drag, polish off any burrs. If that's not the problem I'd reduce the meplat of the bullet that hangs up with a deburring tool just to see if changing the nose profile makes a difference.

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galenaholic posted this 25 December 2011

"I tend to be a little superstitious about my rifles and I am beginning to worry about the 358."

I have that same problem with my 7x57 Mauser. Two shots at deer and didn't recover eeither one.

"Is there a likely fix?"

You might try a different bullet. Maybe the RCBS #35-200 FN might work for you. It feeds well in my two Ruger M77s and fed very nicely in a Mauser actioned rifle I had in .358. I don't have that one any more. Seems like this guy wanted it badly and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Anyway that's what I think I would look into is a different bullet. Paul B.

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Lefty posted this 25 December 2011

Two hunting seasons have passed since my last post. I carried my 358 both seasons whenever the range limitations of the stand I was using allowed it. Nothing! I tend to be a little superstitious about my rifles and I am beginning to worry about the 358.

Now to the point of the post, the first season I used the Lyman 358315 bullet exclusively. It shoots well in my rifle and feeds smoothly. However I kept looking for a flat nose bullet to try. This fall I bought an excellent mold from Tom at Accurate molds. It drops a 210 gr flat nose bullet. This bullet also shoots well but will not feed from one side of my rifles staggered magazine. I have the same problem with the nose catching that Tycer noted in post 47 above. My rifle feeds fine from the right side of the magazine. This allows me to use the rifle as a single shot if I feed the round from the magazine. If I feed the first round manually, I can have a two shooter as the top round in the magazine feeds from the right side. As soon as I try to feed a round from the left side of the magazine, the bullet catches on the top of the barrel bolt lugs.

My rifle has a Remington action. Has anyone else experienced this problem? Is there a likely fix?

Jim

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galenaholic posted this 10 December 2010

Glad to see this thred is still going. Been away for a while. I just got back from a cow elk hunt. Sorry, I didn't shoot cast but I did use those barnes TSX 225 gr. bullets that shot so well in my Whelen. All I will say is I never saw an animal drop so darn fast in my life. She hit the deck fo fast she bounced. Damage from that bullet was massive. If I hadn't seen it, i would not have believed a solid copper bullet could be so destructive.

Now that this hunt is done, I may be ablw to swing one more. Then I can get back to shootung the cast bullets. Until I get the accuracy I want from my .358 and Whelen with cast, those bullets won't get used. To do otherwise would disrespect a game animal.

Paul B.

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Lefty posted this 10 October 2010

Hopefully I will be able to let everyone know how it works.  There are no resident packs of timberwolves in my immediate area this fall so the prospects for venison in the freezer are much brighter than they were last.

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