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How Hard is .358 STA Brass to Form?
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Picture of Seamus O'Grady
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This sounds like an extremely interesting cartridge and I know it is made from the 8mm Rem. Mag. case but just what steps are involved in in forming .358 brass from 8mm Mag. brass? Also, is there anything beltless out there that resembles the STA's performance? It can be a wildcat, factory, or proprietary cartridge. However it should be at least a .338 and no larger than .375. Thanks in advance for input.
 
Posts: 567 | Location: Washington | Registered: 21 February 2002Reply With Quote
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Seamus,

When I had 358 STAs I fireformed necked down 375 H&H cases and also necked up 340 Wbys. Necking up 8mm Rems would also be easy. Actually, the 358 STA is an Improved 8mm Rem case.

In my opinion the 338 Ultra would be a better round and for th3 same reasons that the Remington shortened the 300 by about .1" to make 338 Ultra.

Some of the 358 bullets like the 250 Hornady Spire Point, have too much length in front of the cannelure so that when stuck in a 375 necked down, the overall lenght is longer than the 3.6" magazine of the Model 70.

Also, the 338 Ultra necked up would eliminate the need for any fireforming and would be a bit faster, but not by much.

But unless you want to play about with lots of different groove diameter barrels and twist rates or use pistol bullets and so on, I think the 338 Ultra is probably the way to go.

One neat thing about 35 bore size and I am assuming America is the same as Australia here, we have 35 barrels in .356, .357 and .358. Undesize barrels like .357 seem to better with Barnes X bullets.

Mike
 
Posts: 7206 | Location: Sydney, Australia | Registered: 22 May 2002Reply With Quote
<phurley>
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Seamus -- Mike 375 told you the complete story on fireforming the brass. When I started with my STA's I ordered 200 pieces of brass from Superior Ammo in Sturgis South Dakota. You can use that brass as is for loading, however after the first firing, another 1.5 to 2 grains of powder can be used. I also shoot two .340's and have shot the .338 Ultra. I like the .358 STA because of its additional frontal area and since Swift A-Frame came out with their 280 gr. bullet and North Fork with the 270 gr. bullet the choices along with the Woodleigh 300 gr. bullets are excellent. I am getting 3100 fps with the North Fork 270 gr. bullet and faster still speeds with the 225 and 250 grainers. In my opinion this is an awesome chambering that far surpasses the .375 and gets close the .378 figures, with a better S.D. bullet. good luck with you decision and good shooting. [Wink]

[ 06-18-2002, 00:08: Message edited by: phurley ]
 
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