I recently purchased a beautiful Savage mod.99 in .358Win and plan to cook up some handloads for the purpose of taking Wild Boar. The current selection of premium bullets for this caliber is surprisingly diverse. I am considering the good old 225gr Nosler Partition at an average muzzle velocity of 2400fps, The 200gr Barnes X at 2500fps, and the extremely expensive 225gr Swift A-Frame at 2400fps. Figuring in the Ballislic Coefficients and muzzle velocities of all three of these bullets on a long range ballistics chart I have come up with the following information.

200gr X bullet (2500fps at muzzle)
2529ft-lbs at 100yds/2047 ft-lbs at 200yds.

225gr Partition (2400fps at muzzle)
2425ft-lbs at 100yds/2033ft-lbs at 200yds.

225gr Swift A-Frame (2400fps at muzzle)
2250ft-lbs at 100yds/1734ft-lbs at 200yds.(poor B.C)

The question is this:
Given this ballistic information and your knowledge of the performance of these premium bullets, What would be the best selection for Boars in the 300-400lb class and the occasional Black Bear at short to medium ranges?

I have never used any of the bullets you've mentioned, but I am sure they would all work great. I personally like the 225 gr weight for the 358 Win. Personally I use 225 gr Sierra boattails and IMR 4320 for pigs, deer, black bear, etc. and they have performed great on the abovementioned game and are very accurate. Lou

second vote for 225 sierra, but with win 748...

best bullets for my 358s
jeffe

Nothing wrong with any of those bullets, but the Nosler will do all you need on hogs and is a bit cheaper. I don't know anything about bears but am reasonably sure it will work on them too. I'm sure you know this, but don't push your loads, 99s are not well suited for high pressures.

i use the sierra 225 also

Well, I've never shot a .358, but I like X bullets on hogs, especially older fatter ones. The X almost always exits, which is a great asset for leaving a blood trail. Small entrance wounds rarely bleed on a hog because the fat seems to "seal" the wound up. A nice exit wound like that created by the X bullet usually results in a good enough blood trail to follow without a dog's nose to the ground. However, the Partition should work nearly as well, and doesn't cost as much.

358OWNER
Why not shoot a couple of pigs with each bullet, and report on your results.
The 358 will be a great pig/bear rifle.

Has anyone tried them Swift A-Frames on game? I have heard that they are nearly indestructible, yet I wonder if they will properly expand at .358win velicities. Remington is now loading their re-introduced 350 Remington Magnum with the 225gr A-Frame at 2600fps (probably more like 2500-2550), calling it safari grade. Is it worth the extra $?

That A-Frame is a little tougher than some bullets but will kill none the less. I like premium bullets in many types of cartidges but hogs just don't require them in that caliber. Unless it's "pride of ownership" driving the question (which I fully appreciate), conventional bullets will stand you well at 358 velocities.

For pigs I reckon woodleigh bullets are the go because they hang together well and also expand and thats what you want IMHO.

I shot two deer and one boar weighing 245 lbs. dressed this season. My load was the 220 Speer bullets out of my 350 Rem Mag. at 2,700 fps. Performance was excellent! The boar was approx. 40 yrds. and in the process of leaving after responding to my hog call. My bullet entered the last portion of the left side of the rib cage and stopped under the skin infront of the right shoulder. Two ribs were broken on entry and two on exiting the ribcage. The bullet was in excellent condition, perfect mushroom. I have not weighed it but would guess it still retained at least 75% of it's weight. I think the 220 would have exited on a broadside shot. Personally, I like exit wounds on hogs and am going to try some Speer 250's.

I've shot deer, hogs, elk and black bear using Speer Hotcore bullets in my 7MM Mag., 8MM Mag., 243 Win. and 350 Mag. and always had excellent performance.

I've had great luck with Speer bullets, although they don't receive much praise. I prefer them to Hornady or Sierra in regular SP hunting bullets.

I am working up a .308 load for hogs, and I will start (and hopefully be happy with) with the Speer 180 Gr. SP.

I have used 200 gr Remington on Missouri Whietails. One with semipoint and one with roundnose. RN had a larger exit wound. Really large! Both were less that 40yd shots. Not exactly a hog. I want to try the 250 gr on hogs. Looking for partitions. If I go for Xs I will drop back to 225 gr. Could try some of the Hornady 275 gr RNs. I know where there are 150 of them right now. Let us know about the results on this and the Medium Bore Forum. Especially if it is in the 358 WCF, Whelen, or Rem Mag. Good shootin' Packrattusnongratus