What do you guys think about the 358 Norma Mag or the 358 STA. A waste or worthwhile project on either one?

My brother has a custom Springfield in 358Norma

It shoots well.
But load development has been slow because of the limited supply of original Norma brass for it

I'm tooling up to form brass for it.

I can either size and neck up 300WinMag brass
OR I can size down and either ream or outsize neck turn 375H&H brass.

Buying brass at a $1 a pop seems excessive.

AllanD

If you like the .36 bore then go for it. You can probably fireform from .300winmag (.358norma) brass but the necks might be too thin. The recoil is going to be close to a .375h&h, so I would probably just move up to it. Really $95/100 isn't all that bad, how much are you going to shoot your cannon anyway?

Hey Sniper,

I like a medium to be a good all around rifle. Something that is capable of taking any game within north america and most of the plains game species. It should also be easy to shoot and capable of 300 yard range. Therefore my pick for a medium is the 35 Whelen. Not that your choices are bad, its just that if I want that level of power then I move up to the 375 H&H.

BigBullet

I'd build a Whelen instead...

My choicd would be and is the 9.3x62 hands down...The 358 Norma is one heck of a round however and its hard to beat, a 338 case necked up to 358 is another real nice round but its a wildcat...

Probably the best of all of them is the incomparable 338 Winchester or the great 375 H&H...

quote:

Originally posted by Allan DeGroot:
My brother has a custom Springfield in 358Norma

It shoots well.
But load development has been slow because of the limited supply of original Norma brass for it

I'm tooling up to form brass for it.

I can either size and neck up 300WinMag brass
OR I can size down and either ream or outsize neck turn 375H&H brass.

Buying brass at a $1 a pop seems excessive.

AllanD

Hi Allen

I make brass from .300 Win mag all the time. Just lube well and size only enought so that you can chamber it in the rifle in question. No need for anything other than a sizing die.

Great calibre for a reloader! I use lots of cheap pistol bullets for inexpensive practice (which you cannot do with the .338 Win Mag or .375 H&H Mag).

jpb

Go for the Whelen...

Go for the Whelen....

Sniper ----- It all depends on what you want. I am a .358 nut, and also like very flat shooting rifles for Elk. I went with the STA or Shooting Times Alaskan. I considered the great Whelan and Norma rounds, knowing that when I pull the trigger I want all the speed I can get to achieve those flat trajectories, I ended up with the STA after doing loads of research. The brass is easy to get from 8mm Mag or .375 H&H, or you can buy it from suppliers. Check out the Nosler and Barnes loading manuals and you can make the decision according to the speed you like. I have taken my rifles to Alaska, Colorado, and Africa and couldn't ask for better performance. A 225 grain bullet going 3200 fps or a 270 grain bullet going 2950 fps are extremely versital in the field. You just have to make up your mind what you want to do with the rifle. Good luck and good shooting.

Sniper ----- It all depends on what you want. I am a .358 nut, and also like very flat shooting rifles for Elk. I went with the STA or Shooting Times Alaskan. I considered the great Whelan and Norma rounds, knowing that when I pull the trigger I want all the speed I can get to achieve those flat trajectories, I ended up with the STA after doing loads of research. The brass is easy to get from 8mm Mag or .375 H&H, or you can buy it from suppliers. Check out the Nosler and Barnes loading manuals and you can make the decision according to the speed you like. I have taken my rifles to Alaska, Colorado, and Africa and couldn't ask for better performance. A 225 grain bullet going 3200 fps or a 270 grain bullet going 2950 fps are extremely versital in the field. You just have to make up your mind what you want to do with the rifle. Good luck and good shooting.

Sniper ----- If you want more speed go with the STA, if you want less speed but great rounds go with the Whelen or Norma. Each has a place for a hunter, what he hunts will dictate the correct rifle. I shoot two STA's that I have taken to Alaska, Colorado and Africa. In my opinion they are perfect for what I hunt. I like very flat trajectories. Good luck and good shooting.

Thanks for all the replies and info. I would have considered the 35 Whelen but I already have one.

I have a Sako 75 in 7 STW that I was contemplating rebarreling to another caliber. I have been leaning towards the 358 STA but I like to hear other opinions as well.

Fredj338 the rifle would probably not see a lot of action in the field. I would guesstimate it being fired 100 rounds per year if that.

How about some other ideas, if you had a Sako 75 in 7 STW what would you do with it? I have a Lazzeroni 7.21 Firebird and do not really need two super 7's.

To be honest there isn't isn't enough difference between a
358Norma and a 338WinMag to warrant serious discussion.

I have both available to play with and there isn't a whole lot of difference.

a 250gr bullet from either is more than enough to kill anything in North America, unless someone has a secret herd of Mammoth up in Canada.

The 338 is a Winchester 70XTR (pushfeed) so if I was going after big bears I'd borrow my brother's Springfield, but for Moose or Elk either rifle is fine.

Anything a Whelen can do a 358Mag can do 100-125yds further out, ditto for a 338Mag (or 340WBY)

as for a 358STA? Too much of a good thing.

I am kind of annoyed that now that Nosler FINALLY makes
a .358 partition, their #5 loading manual doesn't include
loading data for the 358Norma.

a 9.3? a 9.3 anything is silly IMO as the choices in bullets is kinda narrow....


As for forming brass for a 358Norma there are other candidates for brass to reform aside from 300Win
or 375H&H.
The 8mmRemMag and 340Weatherby are also
good candidates for reforming.

I'd prefer to use 375H&H or 8mmRemMag brass as I don't own either an 8mmRemMag or 375H&H nor do I plan to.

I MAY own a 300WinMag at some point in the future and I'm negotiating for a 340Wby.

AllanD

At that rate, 100 rds of brass would last you a life time. If you want a total wildcat rounds go w/ 8mmremmag necked up to 9.3. I've seen an article somewhere. A true DG rifle round.

Sniper, I made a similar decision recently when I built a .35 Newton.....talk about oddball! So far, it's been a worthwhile project, but unless you enjoy multiple brass forming operations, I would recommend the .358 Norma. Bisonland gets 3000fps with 250 grainers in his .358 Norma Mag, but I've never come close to that speed with my .338 WM. The .35 Newton should equal that perfomance, but I've only worked up to 2850fps currently with no pressure signs. So hopefully 3975-3000fps should be achieveable in my gun.
Good luck! The hot .35 calibers are a real hoot to shoot....flat shooting and lots of thump on both ends.

I'm a far and gone 35 nut as well, my current chambering is a 350 Rigby.

Anyhoo, I'd opt for the 358 STA. Here's my thinking, Neither round is common enough to have an edge either way. Brass is the same price, and dies won't be a whole lot more for the STA. The beauty of the STA is you can load it down to the Norma levels, yet you can still run faster if you want.

My most recent rifle is a 458 Lott, and as it was built on a 98 mauser action, I toiled with whether I should make it a win mag or not. The logic of loading the Lott to win mag levels won out, and I couldn't be happier with my choice.

You're even better off, because your donor gun is already set up for the full length case, so it's a no brainer.

I'm leaning towards the 358 STA. I like the capacity to load up and down it's range.

If you have a long action the STA is a sho-in,on the other hand I've never found the Norma lacking in power. Using 280gr Swifts for bears and 225 Partions for fall guiding it has proven itself without fail. Cases are easily made from 338's and can be built fairly lite without having to have a long barrel. Jim

We have a fellow at the local range with a 358 RUM, and it is a dandy wildcat. He has gone to max 65000 psi loads just to see what the up side is, but he uses it like a low pressure Rigby round, duplicating the 358 Norma and the 358 STW in the 50000 to 55000 psi range. Just neck size a 375 RUM and stuff a 358 bullet in it.

I have a 375 RUM and his 358 has far less recoil with these "sane" loads. His 225 Nosler partition load at 3000 fps is a dead ringer for the 338 Win in the recoil department, but there is another 300 fps in there if he wants to loosen a few fillings. With a 310 Woodleigh in there, he loads to 375 H&H velocities...again about 300 fps below max. And yes, he shots pistol bullets on top of Tightgroup with decent accuracy...

If you do not mind me asking, who rebarreled it to 358 RUM for him?

Fred Zeiglin (sp?) chambers a 358 RUM. Has a whole line he calls "Ultra Cats" for fun, mostly I think. He also sells dies, etc for them.
As for the original question, I don't think I could manage putting a Norma in a long action when the STA is there. If you like the Norma, what's not to like about the STA? You can always download it to Norma performance if that floats your boat. If you want an idea of the recoil differnce, take a look at a 338 Win and 340 Wby.
I think a fast 338, 358 or 375 is just super. My 358-404 has no problem going 2900 with a 280g bullet and a number of powders. I like it more in the 2850 range, just to keep the pressure down. Someday I might (north) fork over the moolah for some 270's and see how they do at 2900, but I'm not sure an elk would notive the diff.

Check out the 35 Wyatt if you like Horse Power.

404 Jeffery necked down to 35 caliber.
225 grain bullet at 3450 fps, has to stimulate some of you guys with excess testosterone!

www.wyattsoutdoor.com
cheers
seafire

Seafire,
The 35 Wyatt sounds very interesting, but I think I'll stick with my Whelen pushing 225's @ 2625 through the chrony. It's my "vine maple" gun.
BTW, Kevin rebarrelled my 30-06 to 25-06 back in '92. .5 moa shooter all day with handloads. I've been very impressed with it and will have him do my next. Working up some Barnes TSX's this spring for .25.
In for the 200M2 muzzleloader elk tag again this year. Hope to see a yellow "Successful" card in the mail around mid June. No desert camping trips scheduled in the future, either.
Sako