New to the forum and need some help . I would like anyones experiences on game using 200 gr Hornady round nose bullets at approx 2375 fps . Does anyone have experience with the 220 gr Speer flat point at approx 2400 fps on game ?
I shot a small buck in the ribs with the 200 gr Hornady RN out of my .358 Win at about 50 ft. The deer never saw me. This was the only deer that ever ran on that cartridge and the last I expect as I don't load that bullet now.
The fork horn ran about 100 yards and then fell. At least it ran towards the car! When I got home I filed the bullet in half and found that while the nose has lead extruded all over it that the jacket underneath that bullet is closed to a small hole! The load was 46 grs of 3031 for about 2450 fps MV. Before that I loaded the 200 gr Winchester Silvertip with the same load. This is an outstanding deer bullet but I can't get them anymore. By then a friend was already shooting the 180 gr Speer FN out of a .358 Ruger and I switched to that bullet. If anything it's even better than the Silvertip.
I have never loaded the 220 Speer but I like FN bullets. Just load the 180 Speer for deer and all you will need is one shot and a knife.
[ 10-31-2002, 06:44: Message edited by: Don Martin29 ]
Hey GSF1200, Could you ask your friend what bullet he was using? Typical distance to the Game? Where was the bullet impacting on the Game? Approximately how many did he loose?
Not trying to put you on the spot at all. It is just that your friends experience is so drastically different from mine that I'm curious as to what the actual difference is.
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Hey Goat, I've also had excellent performance with the 200gr Hornady, Rem and Sierra RNs. But, I've taken(and seen taken) more Game with the 200gr Hornady SP (Part#3510), which is a great bullet for this caliber and the 350RemMag.
Also agree with Don and ".358" about the 180gr Speer FP (Part#2435) being a really fine bullet in the 358Win. Great performance and excellent accuracy even though it sets a good distance Off-the-Lands.
Huuuummm, come to think of it, I've never seen or heard of a "bad" 0.358" bullet!
Posts: 9920 | Location: Carolinas, USA | Registered: 22 April 2001
[QUOTE]Originally posted by GSF1200: [QB]He recovered all the deer he shot, they just didn't drop on the spot. He was using factory 200gr Win ammo.
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This goes against everything that I know about killing power on deer. It's the opposite of my lifetimes experiance that started in 1966 with the .358 Win. I used the 200 gr factory Silvertip but all were handloads to 2450 fps. I never had a deer get up and few stummbled more than 50 feet. On the other hand I have seen deer hit with a 30/06, 7mm Mag and others not only run but get up and run. I hate that.
I don't believe your friend and I say that very strongly and it's not just bullet placement as I have hit some of them on the edges.
I have a friend who has also used the .358 Win quite a bit. This man is a top level engineering executive. I rate him as knowledgeble as Harald on anything scientific/bullet performance. His conclusions on the .358 Win vrs the 30/06 are the same as mine.
Hotcore , Did you ever use the 200 gr Hornady RN on game or just on paper ? I really want to stay with 200 gr bullets or heavier . If I were going to use 180 s I would probably drop back to 30 caliber . Having said that I really would like to use the Speer 220 gr Flatpoint for my general purpose bullet but I can't seem to find any "real world" experiences of its use .
Deville is located about 20 miles northeast of Alexandria in extreme N.E. Rapides Parish in central La . (Remember we have Parishes instead of counties )
quote:Originally posted by Goat: Hotcore, Did you ever use the 200 gr Hornady RN on game or just on paper?
Hey Goat, Yes indeed. 200gr Hornady RNs on Deer, Hogs and Black Bear. Not sure how many of each with the RNs, but a bunch. I killed some with them as well as the guys I hunted with.
Back in the late `60s - early`70s I was fortunate to be able to hunt with a great bunch of fellow MARINES and civilians in Eastern NC. I was stationed at Cherry Point and in our group we had 6 different 358Win M99s among all the other rifles. The 358Win owners were kind enough to share their rifles with everyone.
We "Pulled Down" regular old 7.62NATO ammo, opened the necks, worked up loads using the good old Ball Powder from those same cases and had great success with them. Most of the older folks prefered the RNs simply because they had not bothered to try the SPs. Paper accuracy was fine with the RNs in our Pull-Downs (which I'd guess was in the 1.5" size for 3-shot groups) and actual On-Game performance was excellent.
One of us had picked up a few boxes of the 200gr Hornady SPs because we needed to load some ammo. Been to long ago to remember why the SPs were bought rather than the RNs, but I'll "guess" they were just out of the RNs at Bullseye Gun Shop in Havelock.
I do remember for sure there was some question in the minds of the folks who had used the RNs for so long about how well the SPs would do. For that reason, we(they HA) kept a close watch on the results of using the SPs. When I left Cherry Point, the string was 66 straight 1-shot kills on Deer, Hogs and Black Bears using the 358Wins with 200gr SPs. No idea how far it continued.
But, that in no way means there is anything at all wrong with using the 200gr RN. They work just fine too.
One additional benefit of the Hornady RN bullets is they are usually 2-diameter which allows you to either get them moving faster than other brands at an equilavent pressure, or run at the same speed with less pressure. Less pressure is particularly nice to have in M99s since it helps reduce case-stretch in the rear lock-up action. (Just walked in and looked to see if I had any, but the only 0.358" RNs I have right now are Sierras.)
Basically, you can't go wrong with either the Hornday RNs or SPs. Outstanding bullets!
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Hey GSF1200, Thanks for the update. Glad to hear he didn't loose any. Darn shame he wasn't pleased with the 358Win. First time I've ever heard of that.
Posts: 9920 | Location: Carolinas, USA | Registered: 22 April 2001
GSF 1200-10" exit wound? is that in diameter or circumference? I will have to say I have never seen an exit wound that large.
Goat-I have killed a grand total of one deer with the 220g Speer FP out of a .358 and that was last season. The bullet hit too far back and a little low. It angled through the diaphram, traversed the chest, and exited on the off side. Not a great shot on my part but the deer only ran about 25 yards and fell over, kicked a couple of times and expired. There was plenty of blood along his 25 yard death run too. I usually use the 200Rem RN CL out of one of my .35 Remingtons but wanted to use the .358. The .358 cals are great game rifles-I like the .35 Rem and the .358 Win is just more of a good thing. I think the 180s are too light for the .35 cal but will admit never using any.
Don Martin-good post-I agree with your thoughts whole heartedly. Plateau Hunter
quote:Originally posted by Goat: Deville is located about 20 miles northeast of Alexandria in extreme N.E. Rapides Parish in central La . (Remember we have Parishes instead of counties )
Read my location I'm in Lafayette. Do you shoot military rifles? We have a group that get's together about every 2 month's in Pineville, and have a informal shoot. All military rifles are welcome, we shoot FAL's, M1's, Enfields, Mauser's etc..
Posts: 3097 | Location: Louisiana | Registered: 28 November 2001
