Shot at 9:25ish. I just got back to trail head with elk.

Unit: National Elk Refuge.

358 STA and 280 grain Aframe at 2662off the leg ranging up and exited out the back about rib. A chunk of lung was hanging out the exit.

The Range was 315 standing on my Bog Pod Tripod. Snow was too deep to get low.

I got an exit at 315 yards.
She went down in 45 yards from shot.

I got up to 125 yards of her (ranged it after). She picked her head up and stood. When she got to all fours, I shot her at the base of the neck. The bullet exited right behind her eye.

This is now my longest shot. Previously, my longest shot was 245 on a 7 point whitetail.

Joshua- Congratulations on the elk! Nice to see some photos.

I am trying. Photos were not high on the priority.

Snow picked up real bad.

I found a snow drift to my chin.

Huge congrats!

Easy track in the snow! Good job.

Great job!

Congrats! The big dog barked.

What scope did you put on that STA?

Leupold 2x12x42 V6 with fire dot and no side focus.

Shot her at 315 on 12 power, finisher on 6x. I turned it down as I approached.

Nice to see what a .35 can do.

Kinda low velocity for it though.

Good shooting. Amazing after that much damage
they can still get up and try to go.
Sure a shocker to knock them down hard, then to
see them get up again. Been there myself.
Thanks much for sharing your good luck with us.

George

Nice job a lot of good eating.

quote:

Originally posted by georgeld:
Nice to see what a .35 can do.

Kinda low velocity for it though.

Good shooting. Amazing after that much damage
they can still get up and try to go.
Sure a shocker to knock them down hard, then to
see them get up again. Been there myself.
Thanks much for sharing your good luck with us.

George

Yes, the velo is sedate. However, I can put 3 in the same hole at 100 yards with a 4th touching at this velo. Felt recoil is no more than my 35 Whelen if I was going to chase Buffalo, I might break out the 2750 plus loads.

I was surprised to see her get up, but I do not think she was going anywhere. She could not get up and out fast enough to keep me from sending a, “Oh no you don’t shot.”

Shot her out of a hard of 150 with 100 bulls.

She is not the biggest and not the smallest. She is simply the one that came clear and stopped as they passed through a saddle going back up the ridge. The shot could have been a couple more inches to the right as she was quartering to me some.

I am sure glad I had the big 358 with me. The meat processor was impressed.


I was very surprised to see the 280 grain swift Aframe exit at the starting speed of 2662 at 318 Yards as the Aframe is a big bullet with more lead exposed and thinner jacket then the 275 Weldcore PP with not a ton of velo at 315 yards to drive it.

Even at 2662 fps, this is still a 4,000 foot pound cartridge.

PD Shooter among other deliciousness. The meat processor out here is not lazy or incompetent. I am having Strip Steaks cut. I cannot wait to smoke these.

Before, I left I killed the Two biggest and greenest mallards I have ever seen.

I am going to take this rifle and probably this load to Austria in September for Red Stag.

Congratulations on some fine eating there!

Thank you

quote:

I was very surprised to see the 280 grain swift Aframe exit at the starting speed of 2662 at 318 Yards as the Aframe is a big bullet with more lead exposed and thinner jacket then the 275 Weldcore PP with not a ton of velo at 315 yards to drive it.

Velocity can hamper penetration.

One just has to look at the WFN heavy handgun bullets at a lot lower velocities to see it in action.

My 315gr WFN 44mag bullets have shot through feet of animals at around 1300fps.

Yes it can, but velo is still needed to drive that bullet. At 315 yards, I was probably just at the 2000 fps. I will check when I get home.

It is all a balance.

This bullet is also expanding, and does not have the nose profile of a WFN now common on a lot of solids.

I just checked. I had just at 2100 fps. I am impressed with getting an exit at the lastish rib.

I am not surprised by the exit. Bigger bullets have a lot of momentum. I shoot a 338 WM and use a 250 Grain Partition gold at 2850. I have taken a lot of animals from antelope, deer and elk from ranges of 30 yards to well over 600 and I have never recovered one of those. I have seen over 3 feet of penetration on these and still have an exit. With the bullet you are using I would expect very few that do not exit.

Great job Josh! I am glad you were able to get on some animals and get one down in short order. Your plan for the hunt went perfect.

Thank you all.

On Dec 14, 2015, I killed my first elk being do it yourself on public land.

I got home and had just got my rifle cleaned and stretched out on the coach to sleep.

My wife was in TN. I started getting calls at 11:30 about the car crash caused by my bother that took his life. He was 18.

Fast forward to December 2022, I am still living my dream life setting in the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar with whispers of loss.

Thanks for the update. You need to read Wayne van Zwoll's great article in the latest Bugle Magazine on hunting Cow Elk. Makes you appreciate hunting and harvesting cow elk.

Thank you. I will look it up now.

I want to relate a hunt with my son that illustrates penetration by the .358 STA chambering and it’s results in an Elk hunt. We hunted Thornburgh mountain between Craig and Meeker for twenty odd years until recently. I have two STA’s both Model 70 Winchesters. I load all our ammo and for Elk always the fine Northfork bullets originated by Mike Brady. We use the 270 grain bullet as was the case on this hunt. I had taken my Bull and was waiting for my son to finish his hunt that year in heavy snow typical with Colorados fourth season in November. When we could we bought both Bull and Cow tags so we could take whatever presented itself. My son was late getting off the mountain that day for good reason. In heavy snow he looks up the mountain and sees a good Bull standing broadside and shoots it threw both shoulders at 125 yards the snow so thick he only saw the Bull. The Bull collapsed at the shot. He climbed up to his Elk and was preparing to dress it when he noticed a Cow laying under a Cedar twenty yards beyond the Bull with its head on a front foot. When the Cow did not move he walked over and noticed blood on the side of her head. She was dead and warm as was the Bull. His bullet had gone threw both shoulders of the Bull and hit the Cow killing her. We dug this bullet out of her head the next day and the 270 grain Northfork had a perfect mushroom and still weighted 249 grains. I sent the bullet to Mike Brady and he weighed and measured it and sent it back to me and I treasure until this day. Sorry for the long story but it shows the penetration of the Northfork bullet weighing 270 grains loaded to 2865 fps on a cold snowy mountain in Colorado for a very memorable hunt for me and my son. Good Shooting.

Phurley: Love hearing your experiences with the 358 STA. Could you post a picture of that bullet?

Did you hunt the 358 STA this year?

I did not hunt with the STA’s this year. Sent you a PM.

I have a .358RUM.
So your experiences relate.
I have not hunted with it. While it was in the works. I got sick and just about sold the farm. am now too crippled up to do much.

I've only shot 250's for velocity checks.
When 99gr 7828 turned 3200 plus I called it more than enough.

I recently got a box of 280s, put them on the shelf for another time.

This rifle was built with the intentions of taking it to Australia for a buff cull shoot. So much for dreams!

Am happy to see some results of something similar.
I would like to see much more if you have it to share. Either here, or privately. Thank you.

George

George: I have my best 5 shot group to date shot w this rifle and load and their is my buck I killed this year a this rifle and load.

I am taking this rifle and either this load or a 275 Weldcore PP full Monty 2850 grain load to Austria next year.


I have posted those photos before, but I can post them again here if you want. Just say go.