I have never been a huge fan of the 35's but feel I should have one in the safe. What chamber should I do and what barrel lenght works best? I have a keen eye on the 358 Norma. It would be used on Black bear up to 225 yards and maybe a moose if I ever get drawn for my F--king tag this century.

It depends on what type of action you're going to use to build it.

I have a 350 Rigby, that has essentially the same capacity as the 358 Norma, and either round will do what you want with ease. I'll also add that I believe going to a larger case, ie 358 STA, or a 35-404 will produce a tremendous increase in recoil, with not that much gain in velocity. As an example, I have two accurate loads in the 350, both push a 250 gr 2700 fps, one load is 66 gr Varget, and it is comfortable to shoot, the other is 72 gr H 4350 and it is unpleasant to shoot. I have no doubt the cases burning 80 gr's of powder or more will be downright unpleasant to shoot!

Black bear and moose at 225 yards! Heck, a .358 winnie can do that with ease.

And with a 20 to 22 inch barrel.

I'd opt for the mundane and classic....35 Whelen!

As a matter of fact I am opting for that as my VZ-24 action is at a gunsmiths getting polished, contoured, drilled, tapped, New trigger and shroud as well.

Mike

I have a LH Rem 700 in 358 Norma with a 20" tube. Too bad I'm right handed, it would get out with me more. It was dads rifle so I picked it up cheap when he said he would sell it to get another 308 win. target rifle. P.O. Ackley rebored the original 7mm barrel and it has only seen a couple hundred rounds TOPS in twentyfive years of hunting. Great moose and bear gun, bolt's just on the wrong side.

I'm sure the 358 Win. will work, but will it give an exit wound every time or even at all at 200+ yards? The very first bear I ever shot was lost (more to improper bullet used when I was young) and without a blood trail to aid in tracking. I remember the guide saying "you gotta punch out the other side of'em to get any real blood trail" He was right and since then they have dropped on the spot, but if they do run the trail is easier to follow with a 1" hole on the off side, no matter what bone it hits on the way through

easy one. 350 rem mag!!!!! i cant believe no one chimed in on this one yet.
another alternative is the 358wsm. reamers are out and brass is cheap{300wsm}.
just a thought..............
woofer

I am an unabashed .358 caliber nut. From the .358 Win up, in my opinion the SD of the bullet is great. I shoot two .358 STA's, both have brakes, making the recoil about like a 7mm Rem. The Norma is a fantastic chambering, the Whelen the classic. I am getting mine ready for African Plains game someday. I can shoot a 270 gr North Fork or 280 gr Swift A-Frame from 2950 up to 3050 fps. I can also shoot a 250 gr bullet of either of those mentioned at 3100 fps. Compare the 270 grain loads to the .375 H&H, which I consider one of the best in the business. Good luck on your choice, from top to bottom with the .358 you can't go wrong. Good shooting.

I have to agree with ready-on-the-right... I like the .35 Whelen for the ranges you are talking about. Your concern about getting exit wounds is a valid one, but I think you eluded to the answer... BULLET CONSTRUCTION! Use a good, tough bullet up to 225 yards and I don't think you will have a problem.

Bob

Why would you want to build a gun with such a poor selection of bullets? If you have to build a 35 the Shooting Times Alaskan is the one to go with don't know of anything in 35 that will match its power. But tell me what a 358 Norma will do that a .340 Weatherby or 338 Ultra Mag won't do better.

Hmmm, let's see here, we have 225 and 250 gr Partitions, 250 gr Ballistic Tips, 180, 225 and 250 gr X's, 225, 250 and 310 gr Woodleighs, 225, 250 and 280 gr Swifts, 180, 200 and 250 gr Hornady's, 200 and 225 gr Sierra's, 180, 220 and 250 gr Speer and a host of others from the smaller firms like North Fork. Oh yeah, and all of the various 357 handgun bullets to plink with. The days of lack of bullets for the 35's are long gone.

I cast my 2 cents worth for the 385 Win. Go for the clasics and find one in a pre 64 M70 FWT. They make a great woods rifle.

Lets see that leaves you SIX different bullet weights you left out 200 I�m impressed. Probably non-existent at your common Sporting Goods outlet in 358 Norma but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on that one. One real issue left what can it do better than a 340 Weatherby or a 338 Ultra Mag. IMNHO nothing.

[ 10-31-2002, 02:03: Message edited by: Oleman ]

I'll second the motion for a .358 Win. Short Mag. I think it would be a neat "thumper" !

I have several .35's. The days of no decent bullets are over. Most 'premium' bullets perform well in my 35/375imp. and 35/404. I would go for a STA or a 358Ultramag with at least a 26" barrel unless you feel uncomfortable with a long rifle. I think a 35 WSM with a 22" would work too but where we hunt sometimes one would like more velocity to make up for poor distance judgement.
Have you ever gone to Nfld. on a moose hunt? This looks to me like the place to go.Mark

And yet another shithead arrives.... Not sure what "it" is that you are referring to. I am talking bullet selection not cartridge performance. The fact of the matter is there are as many bullet weights and constructions one could ever need in .358 whether launched from a 35 Remington or 358 STA or hunting little whitetail or brown bear. I own 338's and 35's so I am not biased, but it's pure horseshit to claim that there is not a good bullet selection available for the 358's. Do you own a 35? Have you loaded for one? Do you know what bullets are available for them?.....

I own a Mauser in 358 Norma, and I love it, it simply crushes the moose and bear I aim it at. I have fired a brother gun to mine, same maker and made just after mine in 358 STA andthe recoil is much worse in the STA, there are so many good bullets including the X for the norma or STA that 225 yds isnt that bad of range for moose and bear, although I try and keep my shots under150 because I use open sights on mine. JMHO

One more vote for .350 RM. All you need for the game and ranges mentioned, and can be built into very portable litle 20" barreled carbines.

As to the question of what .35s do better than the other medium bores, they can be adapted to a much greater variety of loads due to the selection of bullets available. Any of the .35s can easily be loaded to mimic any smaller .35 by matching the velocity and using a bullet designed for the smaller round from .38 Special and up. All the mediums will do the big game so nearly equally well that it is hardly worth discussion, but only the .35s can go from plinking for pennies to small game to moose equally well.

Fireplug

I've killed nearly 30 black bear with my .358 win and .250 grn speer bullets, never had to track any. I love lever guns but I'm having a bolt gun built with a shilen bbl.

How about a .358 Ultra Mag ???If nobody has made one yet, it would be real easy to neck up a .338 UM. You wouldn't have the awful recoil of a .375 UM and with a brake, it should be quite manageable while giving 200-300 fps over a .350 Rem Mag.

bowhuntr

My choice would be the .358 STA. Theres nothing that it can't due if you do your part! Excellent bullets available, North Fork, Swift and Nosler. And with a properly fitted stock recoil is not that bad.

I decided to build a .358 Norma Mag and I'm very happy with my choice.

You can load it down to .35 Rem ballistics, use cheap, light pistol bullets (as can all .358 rifles of course), or load it to the max.

Sure, you can get some more velocity with the .358 STA, but I find that I can shoot the .358 Norma at long range accurately... I don't know if I could do so with the greater recoil of the .358 STA. Plus, the volume of the .358 STW case is large enough that finding accurate light loads becomes more of a challange than with the Norma Mag.

However, all the .358 cartridges mentioned above are good ones!

jpb

I have a bunch of 35's, from 357 Mag to 358 Norma Mag, and pretty much everything in between. the rifle I grab the most from this batch is a 350 Rem Mag built on a light weight Mauser 98 action. 20" barrel, 2650 fps with 250 gr bullets, it will do the job on any moose you can see out to 300 yards. FWIW - Dan

You can't go wrong with either the STA or the Norma.
I have two STA's one in a 24" and a second that I'm stocking this winter woth a 26". The 24" has taken 3 elk with 225 and 250 grain bullets.

The Norma with a 24" barrel shoots 250 woodleighs under an inch as long as I do my part.

No brakes on them but they each weigh over 9 pounds with scope.

The added benefit of being able to .358 pistol bullets should not be overlooked.

Have a question for you folks shooting a 358 Norma Mag. What kind of velocity are you getting with 225 and 250 grain bullets? The loading manuals are saying around 2750 with 250's and near 2900fps with 225's but a lot of manual data is very conservative.

Thanks all....

[ 11-03-2002, 02:05: Message edited by: cgdavid ]

A third vote for the 350 Rem Mag... I have a stainless M70 300 WSM I'm thinking of re-barreling to 350 RM... #2 Douglas long-throated and finished at 20"... a nearly ideal Black Timber rig IMO.

Brad

2815 fps with speer 250 gr bullets, 2980 fps with Sierra/Nosler 225 gr bullets. - Dan

Dan, what cartridge are you using?

What about a nice 9.3x62 it will get the job done

I think I might just pass on the .35 cal and use what I have. If the .338 WMag can't do it, my .416 will. Drove an A-Frame lenthways through a black bear (over 3' of penetration)wednesday so how could I improve on that? It's confusing enough to pick one from what I have now. Whith the help from you guys though, I would have settled on the .358 Noma. Thanks for all the input!

Hey !!
You should try the .350 Wells Express.
That's the biggie among the others mentioned.It's of course the .378 weatherby necked down to .358 dia,and that should make you happy ,at least when numbers counts!
Take a look at "Real guns" and watch them ballistics table and you'll understand what i mean about numbers. They actually pushed a 310 gr. bullet out to 2998 fps !!!

GSF, that's out of a 358 Norma Mag. - Dan

Another one for the 35 Whelen.
Mine is a Ruger M77 MK II with a 22 " Shilen stainless barrel. Shoots like a dream.
I always wanted one...yes, the urge you know
Now I have it..yet to blood it though.
I�m a beliver in sticking to one load in my rifles. I don�t like switching bullets and loads and sight settings. As soon as I�ve got a good one working, I stick to it.
Might have something to do with aging and remebering all the settings perhaps

Glad to see so many 35 cal fans... I've recently built, or had built to be more precise, my first .358 Norma and I love it! Built on a LH M77 MkII action and currently getting fitted with a camo laminate stock from Richards.

I don't think we decide on a .358 Norma or STA because we feel a .338 or a .340 won't get the job done so subsequently the arguement made previously doesn't wash with me. If the truth were told, all anyone could possibly need to kill every animal that currently roams the earth would be the following:

.223; .270; .300 Mag; .416 Mag

We buy/build off-beat chambered rifles because we like to reload for, shoot, and hunt with them. Period....

jigger 6.5 -- I agree completely. I was shooting a .300 Win and a .340 Wby and after taking several Elk, Deer, Moose and Brown Bear with them and had no complaints. I found a gorgeous .358 STA custom from Winchester, which was one of only 58 produced, at what I thought was a bargain and bought it. I then discovered a large selection of .358 bullets being offered and started playing and tweaking. A whole new world of fast loads with a relatively wide frontal area bullets, with excellent Ballistics and Sectional Densities, came to light. A 270 grain .358 caliber bullet at 3000 fps is not to be sneezed at, in this country or Africa. I didn't discard my .340, I actually bought another, then another .358 STA at a bargain. And like you say, the fun is in the shooting and tweaking, and finding that perfect load that will put them all in that single hole, or close. After all if it is not very good when you leave the bench, how can it be any better under adverse field conditions. To me, happiness if researching and loading on those long winter nights, then shooting and testing them when weather permits. Good shooting.

[ 01-23-2003, 18:40: Message edited by: phurley ]

The last thing I would be worried about with the 358 would be an exit wound on a blacky. With any decent bullet, it would be the last thing I worried about.

I shot a moose with a slow 35 Whelen load at 150 yards, and she went clean through. Great confidence builder.

That said, I'm building a 35WSM / 223WSSM switch barrel for my "all around" rifle. Can't have too many 35's. 200 gr. GS HV's at 2900 fps is the goal. Nothing beats a big hole...... JMO, Dutch.

Here's another vote for the .350 Remington Magnum. Mine is a 700 Classic with a B-Square Scout Mount and 2.5 power Leupold Scout Scope. It also has the original front bead and a Williams receiver mounted peep sight.
I like the .35's because of the power and the ability to use pistol bullets for practice and small game hunting. I'm not sure if I would go to anything bigger that the .350 because of the recoil. The 700 with a 225 grain bullet at 2660- fps is not bad but I have loaded it to over 2700 fps and prefer the shootability of the lighter load.
Anyone out there seen the new Remington .350 Magnum in person yet...probably not going to be released until after the SHOT Show....Bob

RJM I looks as if you and I got to the same answer on rifle sights. I bought a R-700 stainless/classic in 375 H&H for use in Alaska. I called Mr. Taylor at B-Square and asked about scout mounts. He told me they were interested in developing such a mount so I loaned them my 700. I got it back with a silver finished scout mount and put a matching 2.5 Leupold with Ashley peep sights as a back up. This combination has been very successful. Last November in Kodiak I left my Win model 95 in 35 Whelen in the cabing and carried the 375 because it rained to whole time I was there. Had to pop of the scopt and use the peep sights because of the rain.