It´s finished! My new toy, a custom M98 chambered for the .358Norma Magnum. 26" Lothar Walther semi weight barrel, Hogue stock, Recknagel trigger. The scope is a used Leupold 3-12x50, formaly mounted at my sold .450Marlin.


And the first rounds fired at 100m. I have only 20 Norma cases. This was a starting load with cases, made from fireformed RWS .375H&H brass and a 225grs Sierra spitzer soft point.


Martin

That's a tight group. Did you pause a bit between shots? You must be very pleased

Nice

Most overlooked caliber out there, and IMO it performs very well when compared to the .375 H&H with a bit more range..Never owned one but have seen them put to good use, and always amazed me. I opted for the .338 Win. for no other reason than availability of components. plus the availability of more and better bullets. That is no longer a big problem however.

Wow, nice group for it's first outting.

And nice rifle/caliber.

I've always wanted one. Will probably build one some day.

Jack deRosier, Blue Mountain Bullets & his entire extended family use 35 caliber rifles: 358 Win Sav 99s for timber, 358 Norma in various bolt actions for open country. they are quite pleased with their results, and for good reason. You'll do well with the Norma.

Nils Kvale got this right. It's one heck of a powerhouse. Awesome rifle!

I use a .358NM in my Blaser K 77 - a singleshot with only 2,8kg - not nice to shot!

@ Big Bore Fan: You got your Barrel from LW? I´m looking for a new Barrel in .358NM for my shoot-out .300H&H Sako Finbear...

Perhaps a pn in german!

Martin

That is great shooting and I think a really super calibre. A 250gr at 2750 fps will be great for most any African hunting short of DG and I'm sure will work well in your part of the world.

I've researched a .358 Norma Mag and .358 STA and am so keen on the NM that I've accumulated quite a number of .358 NM components. I just never see a .358 barrel here in SA. As a result I've gone .338 for now. The idea remains in the works.

Please keep us updated with your results.

@boet,

No, I fired round after round.

The rifle was a project, I started 2009. And it was a good moment to test reforming brass... I never did this befor.

The recoil is OK. I was surprised. My .300WM sniper rifle kicks harder.....

Nice! Im a .358 fan. No Norma mag in my arsenal, but you're making me drool!

I think if she were mine I would give some 250 gn hornadys a test drive..

I would chop the barrel to 23" There simply is no need for a 26" barrel.

Can you post a pic of the Reknagle trigger. I'm looking for a better trigger for my Mark X Mauser 9.3x64 Brenneke. The Bold trigger that is in it works, but I dont like it.
Nice looking rifle. I also really like the 358 Norma Mag. And having seen how effective Waterrat's 358 was I would easily say it will do anything the 375 will up close. And with the right bullets it will fly a bit flatter.
What twist is your barrel?

quote:

Originally posted by Cold Trigger Finger:
Can you post a pic of the Reknagle trigger. I'm looking for a better trigger for my Mark X Mauser 9.3x64 Brenneke. The Bold trigger that is in it works, but I dont like it.
Nice looking rifle. I also really like the 358 Norma Mag. And having seen how effective Waterrat's 358 was I would easily say it will do anything the 375 will up close. And with the right bullets it will fly a bit flatter.
What twist is your barrel?

just out of curiosity why you do not like the markX trigger.

it is adjustable?....

http://pdf.textfiles.com/manua...MS/interarms_mkx.pdf

http://www.zastava-arms.rs/sit...rifle__universal.pdf

When I had my Ruger 77 rebored and rechambered to .358 Norma Magnum, I solved the case availability problem with readily available once fired 7mm Remington Magnum brass. I simply use one pass with my RCBS 7mm to .35 caliber neck expander die and from there on it's just a matter of the usual reloading procedure.

I bought the Ruger, which is left handed, to help get used to shooting left handed after I developed vision problems with my right eye, and I use it for rapid fire practice with jacketed pistol bullets to keep the cost down.

I still haven't reached the degree of dexterity (pun intended) I would like, but I'm getting there. In the meantime, I have accumulated a LH Weatherby .300 and a LH Tikka .22-250 and two LH Winchester Model 70's, a .308 Winchester and a .300 WM. I killed two does with the Tikka earlier in the season, just as an experiment. Not recommended.

Thats funny. Could have swore my reply posted. I have had the factory Interarms trigger act up. Too many tiny moving parts . And I dont like trigger safeties. One of the many reasons I prefer the Ruger M77 Mk ll Hawkeye, Pdedator and V/T triggers . Simple , tough, easy to adjust pull weight and just generally an awesome design. Quite possibly an improvement on several crf military bolt rifle triggers.

quote:

Originally posted by Wstrnhuntr:


I think if she were mine I would give some 250 gn hornadys a test drive..

I bought a box of 250gs Speer spitzer hot core bullets, I will test.

Here my 3-shot groups from yesterday. The first with factory 250grs Oryx and the second with a handloaded 225grs Sierra SP, 70grs N160 and Norma brass.



And here´s a pic of the Recknagel trigger.

Big Bore Test any of the 35 cal bullets you like, but remember when you start shooting at game to choose your bullet wisely. Many of the 35 cal bullets on the market were designed for 35 Whelan velocities and will come apart at speeds the big Swede are capable of. I started shooting a 358 N almost 40 years ago and the 250 gr Speer was about the only spritzer bullet available. If the range was was 200 yds + it worked real well. Close up things were messy. Nosler Partitions in 225 or 250 gr work well if you can find them. Right now my bullet of choice is the Barnes TSX 225 gr bullet. Shoots flat, groups very well and penetrates like crazy. Swift A frames would also be good but again they are hard to come by where I live. The Norma bonded bullets will likely hold together as well. Hope that helps.

Thank you for the pic. Looks like it is shooting Very well !
I have some 286 gr Orynx loaded for my 9.3x64. They hold together quite well but expand very big. It irritates the heck out of me that Barnes doesnt make a TSX bullet in 250gr for the 358. Too many barrels out there with a 1 in 16" twist .

Oh, I forgot. It's a 12inch twist.

I really enjoyed mine!

Ed

Its a mystery to me why I dont have a 358 Norma. Be easy to rebarrel a stainless Ruger to 358 Norma. Just too many good guns, not enough time.

I know. I'm owning 18 rifles and six handguns. Gunowning is limited in Germany, especialy with hard rules for storage. And I have only a flat, not a house. So it's not easy, to place enought gunsafes, without big trouble with my wife......
But I have so many ideas for rifles. And a few nice-to-have on my wish-list.....

I have had two and am in the midst of building a third on a 1903 Springfield action. I consider a barrel from 24 to 26 inches long as ideal. My favorite load is the Barnes 225 TSX at about 2,800 fps. It shoots reasonably flat to 400 yards and kills like a .375 H&H.

My problem is justifying it when compared to the 375 Ruger. They are in the same catagory for my hunting. The 250gr TTSX BT in 375 is a really great bullet. I wish someone would offer me at least half of what I have into my 9.3. There is also Kabluey's 366 Alaskan which is a 338 necked up to take a 9.3 bullet that is also a contender. .
Too many good guns, not enough time.

I've always wanted one and unfortunately missed my chance at one built on an FN Mauser action for a pretty good price a few weeks back.

quote:

Originally posted by Cougarz:
I've always wanted one and unfortunately missed my chance at one built on an FN Mauser action for a pretty good price a few weeks back.

Those kinda things can haunt you.

I have a running list of 'missed gun opportunities' in the back of my mind.

Luckily, after enough years, they fade from memory...

I had a custom 35 whelen ai put together it has a 25" barrel with real good velocity witch ended my need for a 358 Norma I really like the Norma I can get 6 rounds in my whelen thats a lot of firepower

I had a Mod 700 35 Whelan reamed to the Ackley for years. I had it pillar bedded into a Brown Precision High Country synthetic, Shilen trigger. I recently had that rifle converted to the 358 Norma mag. Opened bolt face, Mini 16 extractor, had the ejector button moved. Shilen #4 @ 25" 14" twist and a short, two port muzzlebrake. With an older Nikon 4x12 on it weighs 8.5# empty. I've only shot about half a box of Doubletaps amm/180 TTSX. It will stack them up. I didn't need it but at 64 wanted to try it. Had a good run of over 20yrs with the Whelan AI and loads that ran on the heels of the Norma, loved how it killed at those speeds, but got tired of tickling the dragons tail, so went to the magnum. I have shot many bullet styles, but have only killed game with Barnes 250X, 200X and the 310 Woodleigh.I'm going to start this rifle off with the 200TTSX, 225TSX and the new 220 Hammer. What temp stable powders have you 358 Norma guys used for the 200-225 weight bullets? I have Norma cases. Thanks.