.358 Winchester experience anyone?

[6.5x300 WBY]

Bongos rifle is gorgeous


That stainless one is wrong I need the pistol grip. That flat grip don't work for me..

 

[David Emerson]

Great little round. For in the timber the woodleigh 225 round nose is an absolute hammer. I like H4895 in mine.

 

[greenejc]

I will just leave this here

Then there's Cousin Bongo's 358 from the AH forums, I would love to fondle this one

Its not a popular round, but it is neat. I just think the Whelen is a little neater.

 

[Will Gray]

Just shortened my barrel from 25" to 20" and removed the muzzle brake to make my 358 Winchester more handy in a deer blind 2650 to 2539 fps still fine for my style of hunting.

 

[Alibiiv]

Whelen's Northwoods Trails is a website that has a lot of info on the .35's, including a 358/300 Winmag. I thought that would be a pretty good wildcat, but the 358 Rum may be a whole step above that. Let me know what your trajectories are with the Sierra, Nosler and Speer bullets when you're through working up loads. I'm assuming you're just necking up the 300 or 338 Rum or necking down the 375 Rum. I'd like to see what the 375 Ruger is like necked down to 358, too.

If you're going to go this route you might want to look at the .358 Norma mag and the ballistics on the cartridge and compare it to the wildcat cartridges. Many years ago I had a Winchester 670 (?) in .358 Norma mag, it was a tack driver and easy to load for. From the publish ballistics I think that the .358NM with the modern monolithic/designer bullets would be sufficient medicine for anything that walks this continent.

 

[Alibiiv]

Its not a popular round, but it is neat. I just think the Whelen is a little neater.

I black bear hunt Maine, have used both the Whelen and the .358 Winchester to harvest bear. I use the Barnes 225gr TSX in the Whelen and the Barnes 200gr TTSX in the .358 Winchester, both give excellent results and performance. Within 100 yards I do not believe that whatever game is hit with either round it will never know the difference. The photo is from the last bear that I harvested (235lbs. with a lot of fat) with the Whelen and the 225gr TSX bullet from about 60 yards; exit hole. This is an old post, I may have posted this photo in another response in this thread. The bear before that was taken with the .358 Winchester, broad side, just behind the shoulders, broke both shoulders and nicked the heart, bear ran about 25 feet. Either of these 35 calibers are great cartridges and "will" get the job done.

 

[greenejc]

If you're going to go this route you might want to look at the .358 Norma mag and the ballistics on the cartridge and compare it to the wildcat cartridges. Many years ago I had a Winchester 670 (?) in .358 Norma mag, it was a tack driver and easy to load for. From the publish ballistics I think that the .358NM with the modern monolithic/designer bullets would be sufficient medicine for anything that walks this continent.

And you would be right. Its a great cartridge. Its just a little hard to find. It has great ballistics and tremendous impact. I wouldn't mind having one, but I'd need to put a muzzle brake on it, because the Whelen at 2675 or so with the 250 grain bullet is about all the recoil I need at my age.

 

[greenejc]

I black bear hunt Maine, have used both the Whelen and the .358 Winchester to harvest bear. I use the Barnes 225gr TSX in the Whelen and the Barnes 200gr TTSX in the .358 Winchester, both give excellent results and performance. Within 100 yards I do not believe that whatever game is hit with either round it will never know the difference. The photo is from the last bear that I harvested (235lbs. with a lot of fat) with the Whelen and the 225gr TSX bullet from about 60 yards; exit hole. This is an old post, I may have posted this photo in another response in this thread. The bear before that was taken with the .358 Winchester, broad side, just behind the shoulders, broke both shoulders and nicked the heart, bear ran about 25 feet. Either of these 35 calibers are great cartridges and "will" get the job done.

Any .35 will do the job inside 150 yards. They just hit so hard and have so much mass that they're devastating.

 

[Alibiiv]

And you would be right. Its a great cartridge. Its just a little hard to find. It has great ballistics and tremendous impact. I wouldn't mind having one, but I'd need to put a muzzle brake on it, because the Whelen at 2675 or so with the 250 grain bullet is about all the recoil I need at my age.

I shoot the Barnes 225s because that all the recoil I am willing to tolerate. At 50 yards there's enough muzzle energy in that round to drop anything that walks the continent.

 

[greenejc]

I shoot the Barnes 225s because that all the recoil I am willing to tolerate. At 50 yards there's enough muzzle energy in that round to drop anything that walks the continent.

I try to keep a supply of Sierra 225's for the Whelen, at around 2750 from a 24 inch barrel. Recoil is manageable at that level, accuracy is excellent(inside 0.7 inches for 5 shots @100yds) and on pigs and deer it is devastating. The 250's are for bear, elk and moose-not that I've gotten to hunt moose, yet.

 

[Earnhardt]

No love for the .358 Win AR-10?

 

[greenejc]

No love for the .358 Win AR-10?

The 358 in an AR10 configuration out to be just fine. I'd like it with a 24 inch barrel, just to get the most from the round.

 

[Will Gray]

The 358 in an AR10 configuration out to be just fine. I'd like it with a 24 inch barrel, just to get the most from the round.

A 20" barrel will cost you less than 100fps vs a 24" barrel.

 

[greenejc]

That depends on the barrel. But I still want the extra inches, because I want the impact. Its also why I have a Whelen instead of a 358 Winchester or a 350 Remington Magnum. I'm not after lighter weight, since that means more recoil. I'm after longer range and greater wounding potential. My latest Whelen has a 26 inch barrel and weighs around 9.5 lbs with scope. I have no problem with that, and I have an effective range of over 800 yards with both the 225 and 250 grain loads. If I were hunting in close country, I might like the 20" barrel, just for maneuverability, but most of my hunting is here in Colorado, where my shots might be anywhere from 40 yards to 5 or 6 hundred, with longer shots the norm. I plan for the longer shots, practice for the longer shots and hope for the closer ones. But I want the extra edge and capability I get from that extra velocity.