Hi!
I have ordered a new lothar walhter barrel in 358 win for my Remington 700. I wounder if anybody have experience of this caliber?
If you have, I wounder what kind of bullets you prefer and which loads you are using.

I will use this rifel for deers, wild bores and mooses.

//Twinn

[ 11-05-2003, 23:16: Message edited by: Twinn ]

I have a pre 64 fwt M70 Winchester in 358. Its a great round for deer bear moose. I use a 225 grain Sierria, H4895 Powder and CCI primers.

Like Anderson I have had a .358 Win in a M 70 and a couple of 99's for quite a while. For lighter game like deer and black bear I shoot the 180 Speer.

For bigger animals a heavier bullet is the obvious choice. Since the velocities with such bullets will not be too high for conventional contruction bullets then they should perform well. However the 225 Nosler Partition is there waiting for you.

I have a custom Sako in 358 and love it. I use it primarily for black bear,pigs and deer in heavy cover. I use IMR 4320 under a 225 grain Sierra SPBT. Definitely an underappreciated round; it's one of those rounds that just works.

Thanks for your answers!!!
Anyone who has tried Woodleigh bullets or Nosler?

//Twinn

I have tried everything BUT woodliegh's in this round, as it is still probably my favorite round.

225 sierra gamekings
748

2525 fps more or less

200 grains to 2650

180 to just under 180

250 to 2350

barnes x 200 at 2400 (pushing it, btw)

hornady 158gr JHP 2980

remington 150s.... unknown velocity, groups like a fine 12 gage... firing 16 gage round... SPLATTER

jeffe

In my 358 on a R 700, AA2520 with 250 gr Hornady's RN were awesome.

In my 358 (a Browning BLR) I use the 225 Sierras and 748. It does everything I would want a 358 to do. - Dan

[ 11-07-2003, 19:55: Message edited by: dan belisle ]

Its a short action round and a good one, but if I was going to use it in a bolt gun with a large action like a 700 I would much rather have it in a 35 Whelen or even a 358 Norma or something of that ilk...I can always load those DOWN to duplicate the 358 Win but still have the option of a much more capable rifle...Just a thought.

Ray,

You have a point of course, you always do but a couple of these 358 are in 99F's and that's as sweet a woods rifle as there is in my eyes.

I found out long ago that the bucks around here don't stand around in the open in season so these 300 yd rifles are more than sufficient for the purpose. I know they are overkill but I feel woodsy carrying a .358. They are not that heavy to carry either.

If I were to build a new bolt .358 Win it might be on a Kimber 84M or some custom action. The barrel would be about 20" long and be a tiny bit more stout than the Featherweight barrels that I have.

My M 70 is a safe queen to me. I got I long ago and someone had selected a factory stock that has wood as spectacular as Saeed's David Miller rifle, maybe more so. Of course the checkering, finish and lines are just stock Winny so the stock in total is nowhere close to that Miller stock in but the rifle really is special at least to me. I shoot it at the range only.

The .358 Winchester is a nice personal cartridge. It's fun in this respect.

I have a model 70 rebarreled to 358 from Shilen. My rifle loves the 225 grain Nosler ballistic tips (have to seat them a little deep) and the 225 grain sierra. I've only used it twice for deer. Two dead deer, two shots.

Bob257

Twinn - I purchased my .358 BLR new in 1980 and it is the gun I reach for every deer season - I originally bought it mainly because of its chambering - there is just something about that .35 caliber round that appeals to me - now the BLR has become a comfortable old friend over the years . The 200 grain factory silvertips are not the best for whitetails (not to mention their expense), so I recently took up reloading again in order to broaden my bullet choice. So far my BLR likes the 180 grain Speer Flat Point pushed by 47.0 grains of IMR3031 - not the hottest load but it gives me consistent 3/4 - 1" groups. I agree with Savage 99 that the 225 grain Nosler partition would make an excellent choice for your Model 700 on moose. Other seem to like the 200 grain Hornady RN, which I haven't tried yet. One of the best under-appreciated cartridges available. Enjoy it!

My gun is a R 700 Vls so its a short action so 358win fits perfectly in the gun, thank for al your answers I will start with Speers 220gr flat nose, den I will try Nolser partition, Rhino and the ballistic tip.

It�s very intresting to hear about your experience of the caliber, here back home in sweden the 358 win aint that usual. So thats why I changed my barrel from a 308 win to the 358 win.

//Twinn

I have 2 rifles in .358 Win.; a Ruger 77RS carbine with the 18.5" barrel and a Tikka Whitetail Deluxe that I had Pac-Nor rebarrel from .308 Win. The barrel on the Tikka is a #4 contour, 1 in 12 twist, finished at 23.6". The magazine on the Tikka is long enough so that I can seat 225 grain Nosler Partitions so that the base of the bullet is even with the base of the case neck. The barrel was throated for this combination. Powered by BL-C(2), this combination consistently puts 5 shots into 1/2"-5/8" at 100 yards. The Ruger is a wonderful woods rifle, but I can't seat the bullets out as with the Tikka. It really likes 180 grain Speers.

I have a .358 Win in a Browning BLR. The .358 is an excellent hunting caliber. The rifle I have it in is too light. The recoil is pretty bad. Now when I want to hunt with a .35 caliber, I usually reach for my Rem. 7400 in .35 Whelen.

GREAT CALIBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been shooting and reloading the .358 for about 20+ years.

After all the different loads and rifle types I have had in that caliber, I have steeled into the firm belief the Speer 250gr was created JUST for that cartridge. I have had .358 in 88Winchester, A grendel bolt gun, A little custom Mauser bolt gun and now in a BLR. Easily killed 40+ deer and one bear with that bullet. I really can't tell you how it performed because I have never recovered one yet. Including one that went through teh full length of a deer on a Texas heart shot that first hit the large rt rear leg bone, shattering it then continuing out all the way out through the front of the chest.

It is the one rifle cartridge that I use for EVEYTHING with that gun.

I'm down to one BLR in .358 but have had many others. I use two loads. 200 grn hornady with 47/imr3031 for around 2500 and 53 grns of 748 for 2350 with .250 speers. I've shot nearly 30 bear with the .250 speer and have yet to recover a bullet. The bears are always DOA as are any deer. I've not a shot a mooose with one but a friend has shot many in Canada with his Blr .358 and .250 speers( he is a guide in Sask.) uses his .358 for everything. As soon as I can scratch up some money I'm going to have my model 7 ss rebarreled to .358 with a 22" bbl.

So you have great experience with the Speer 250gr? Is it the mag tip you have used then? I thought the 250gr was to heavy for this caliber so I didnt think of using that one. Thanks for your shares.
I will try that one then! When you have killed bears with the 250, has the bullet maked al the way through the body and left it on the other side?

//Twinn

I am a member of the .358 Win cult also. Mine is a Rem M78 with a 23" Douglas barrel. I like the Speer 220g flatpoints over a moderate charge of Win748. It really does a job on woods whitetail.

I use the .35 Rem quite often too and am a big fan of .35 cal performance on game. Plateau Hunter

I used 250 gr. Silvertips (from the 1970's...I still have some) and Gevelot RP-3 in my pre-'64 M70 FW, and still use that load in my current .358 Browning BLR.

I don't know what RP-3 is called in Europe, but I'll bet Gevelot still has it available there. Anyway, 45.0 grs. is a HOT load, so start with 42.5 or 43.0 grs and a 250 gr. bullet of your choice, and go up or down from there to suit your fancy.

It's a great little round for NA moose or Euro elk.

AC

I had a Browning BLR .358 until my brother hang dog looks got too much for me and I gave it to him. It had a 2.5 Weaver with a post reticle. We were hunting this year and a nice 4 point mulie jumped up at about 50 feet from him. He was using some old W-W 250 Silver tips. Two thing happened real fast, he shot and the deer went down, drt! Like Elmer Keith use to say, "we will eat right up to the bullet hole." It shoots everything in a 2" circle at 100 yds. and many better. Since it's a 200 yd. cartridge that's pretty good in my books. But now he's happy and I won't be until I find another one, hopefully a 99 Savage.

I have a 358 in a Savage 99 and have found it really likes 220gr. Speer SP over 46gr. of IMR 4895.
I have a MCR short action on order that will also end up being a 358

When I said I had never recovered a .250 speer(just the plain ol speer) it wasn't totally true. I did recover one from a very lage blond bear a couple of years ago. it, broke both shoulders and lodged in the off side leg, shot was very steep angle. Perfect mushroom. Last year I shot a decent chocolate beer with a .35 hornady spire point and recovered the bullet, again from the off side leg .emember I shoot these bear at short range 20-60 yds. The best powder I ever found for the .358 was AA2015br, not the new stuff,(if anyone has any I would sure like to get some) Last summer I found a load of 53 grns of 748 will give 2350 and is accurate enough for my needs in a bear rifle. As some have said the .225 will do it all.(look in the newest edition of the sierra manual under .358 load data and you will see a picture of me with a large bear 400 + lbs taken with the225 sierra)not a good picture in B&W.

In addition to W748, try AA2230 as these are quite dense and have the right burn rate. The case is small enough to shoot 357 handgun bullets very well at reduced loads, and a very good varmint application.