49.5 grns of I4895, Nosler 225 grn partition, cci 200 lr.

.9 groups and 2430 fps from my 20 inch BLR.

Very effective all purpose african plains game load to 250 yds

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MED

The sole purpose of a rifle is to please its owner

[This message has been edited by Mike Dettorre (edited 01-11-2002).]

180 gr. Speer flat nose. I use IMR 4198 and the load chronographs at little over 2700 fps instrumental. I am not listing the charge as its a tiny bit over max. This bullet groups about 1.5" at 100 yards.

This bullet is a sure and instant "stopper" for whitetails up to 240 yards. It has far more put down and keep down power than anything out of the 30-06/7mm Mag class on deer.

Another load thats very effective on deer is the Winchester 200 gr Sivertip. I load 46 gr of IMR 3031 with this to about 2500 fps.
But I don't see that bullet for sale now. Even long ago I had to special order them.

I bought a 1000 200 gr Rem Pt SPCls and so far I am having accuracy problems with them.
So I ordered more 180 Speers.
The RN 200 gr Corelokt did not group that well for me either. But the 180 Speer will in fact group well at 200 yards. I have not shot it that much at 200 but the groups are always very good.
My primary .358 Win rifles are M-99 Savage featherweights. Both rifles have good chambers but the cases stretch anyway. So I have to use a wire with a hook on it to feel the inside of every case before I load it. This method has worked perfectly for a long time.

My other .358 Win. is a old M-70 featherweight. This is the usual bolt rife situation and cases do not stretch.

I don't carry the heavier bullets. If the game were bigger then I would but the 225 gr and 250 gr bullets kick a lot harder. I doubt they will kill deer as well either.

This is my favorite deer and black bear cartridge. I have killed game with it since 1964.

Don,
Glad to see someone else knows the benifits of the Speer 180 grain bullet! I use the same bullet in my .358 Win (a custom based on a Rem. 700 and in my .357 maximum. IT performs at the 2000 fps of the Maximum and just as well at the 2600+ from the Remington.

I don't understand why most want to use the big 225s and larger bullets. It seems a bit overkill to me,

Paul

I like the 225s for the high SD and hence penetration. For deer, cow elk, or pigs, the 200s are just fine.

If I had my coice a hard cast 215 would be about perfect.

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MED

The sole purpose of a rifle is to please its owner

My hunting buddy "retired" his .358 Win. M-77 about 5 years ago after he got a bear with it. I never asked why. This year he shot a buck 4 times with his 06, 165 gr grand slams, at 80 yards and I went over there to see the deer. It had run about 100 yards. I said "the .358 Winchester kills them quicker" he agreed.

He is a very analytical engineer. I wonder what he will use next year. A deer can run far enough to be a problem for us. If it goes on the land owners lawn and dies there we are in trouble.

I have 225 gr Noslers in the drawer. The animals are not big enough for that bullet here but as Dettorre said they are in Africa.

PaulS,

I am sure you can drop that impact velocity down to 1900 FPS. Thats what a .358 W's 180 gr Speer is going at 240 yards and it's deadly at that range.

That same "engineer" I mention above pointed out long ago that it takes a lot of energy to expand a bullet and that is wasted energy! Thats why flat pointed bullets of larger diameter are so effective.

This is just a plinking load that I tried in my MRI Lone Eagle with 15" barrel.

11.9 gr of Unique with a 158 gr LSWC pistol bullet.

It shoots low at 50 yds when I am sighted in at 100 yds for my 225 Nosler Ballistic Tips but it is pretty accurate. Sean

All,

I order some hard cast 200 grn flat points. I am going to work up some loads with them for my next Africa trip.

Will let you know how they do.

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MED

The sole purpose of a rifle is to please its owner

Mike Dettorre,

I have shot some cast bullets out of the .358 Win but I never shot game with it.

But I did kill a small whitetail at 100 yards with a 250 gr flat nose hollow point out of the .375 H&H. I used IMR 3031, a filler and the muzzle velocity is about 2250 fps. The deer was unaware of me and it just fell down with a chest shot. There was a good exit hole.

I think we are all thinking now that a hard, flat nosed bullet is a very good thing at modest velocities. I don't know if I would want hollow points in Africa. But for whitetails my load is good.

I was just curious but noone seems to be working with the Speer 220 FP. Is this because of any problem with the bullet (ie, you tried it and it didn't shoot well, or didn't expand well), or is it simply because noone has had a need/desire to try it? I am just wondering because about 3 weeks ago now I bought a Savage 99 in .358 and as soon as my scope gets here I am going to make some empty brass to begin reloading for this one. Sean

I just always felt if I was going to use that heay a bullt might as well go to a 225 spitzer.

But maybe I'll give them a try also.

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MED

The sole purpose of a rifle is to please its owner

Anyone know if I could use your .358 rds like the 180's in my 358 norma? Im taking it deer hunting if I can find a light load as I think my 250 grn's drop way more power than necessary on target 4,000 + ftlbs

While a 225 gr bullet might be just right as a all around size in the .358 Win. we would all agree that the bullet should be matched to the game.

I hunt deer and black bear in the forest and I have found that the 200 gr Win Silvertip (can't find them anymore) and the 180 gr Speer flat nose give outstanding killing power and less recoil. The 180 gr Speer bullet also is very accurate in all my .358W's.

Long ago I got a lot of factory 250 gr loads cheap. I still have a lot left cause they kick and the velocity is kind of low.

I would work up two loads for the .358W. One with 180's and the other with 225 Nosler Partitions.

For the .358 Norma mag the 200 gr Remington Corelokt has a thicker jacket than say a .30 caliber bullet. It might be ok for light game.

I have never tried the 220 gr Speer. I tried the 180 gr Hornady SS pistol bullet and it did not group as well as the 180 Speer. The 200 gr Remingtons don't group all that well for me. I am not working on loads for the .358 Winchester at all. I have loaded for it since 1966. The load I have is perfect. All the rifles (3) are sighted in. All they need is to be aimed at something and it dies.

The 180 gr Speer kills deer faster than any load in a 30-06 or 7mm mag within it's range. I am positive of that. Dead is not dead and I don't care a hoot what Big Stick says. A marginal hit with that bullet on deer in the forest will anchor the deer better. Other heavier bullets will work also but why get kicked all over at the range?

Mine is 49 grs of 4320 w/ 225 gr Partitions or Sierra's that goes 2400 and 2460 fps in my BLR and pre-64 M-70 Featherweight, respectively and are both very accurate. I was going to take the M70 to Africa this year but have decided on my 9.3x62 Husky instead.

Hello Mike. I have tried the 220 flat nose, no accuracy. .225's are too tough for us game. I use Hornady 200" and plain old Speer 250" I'm still shooting bears. The last one was the Mb. non resident record for 2004. 512 lbs 7'2" 21 6-/16. used my old Bar .358 with a load you gave me. One shot, one bear no tracking.

Hi
My all time favorite load for my Savage Mod99-358 is 45.0grs H-335 behind a Speer 250gr Spitzer. W-W brass and primers. This chrono's at 2260fps. It's very accurate and it just drops critters in their tracks.
When I lived in central Kalifornia it was my rifle of choice for up close wild pig shootin..

48 gr of W748 and the Sierra 225 (deer and practice), the Nosler 225 partition for elk.

Great accuracy, easy case extraction and a very potent killer.

I have some 220 Speer's and 220 Hornaday spire points to play with when I get around to it.

I much prefer to carry and use my little Sako .358, rather than my pre-64 Win .338 mag.

I used a heavier load with W-748 and the 225 gr Partition, but it was very compressed. I found that after storing the rounds for a while, the fine powder actually worked its way trhough the primer hole and caused the primer to back out, causing failures to fire. It was very accurate and gave great velocity, but turned out to be unreliable.

200 grain Hornady jacketed round nose, pushed by 45 grains of IMR 4064.

Oops ! Edit my post above to say "200" gr Hornadays- not 220's.

Gotta quit typing without my glasses.....