I have a .356 Winchester angle-eject (XTR model IIRC) in "almost" like-new condition... I've tried both a scope and a receiver sight on it, and it performs great with each one. Mostly I shoot 250 grain Keith-type semi-wadcutters through it. For really serious stuff I use 250 grain Silvertips from my hidden stash sometimes.

(When I bought the rifle (from a supposed great-great grandson of THE Robert E. Lee) it came with a Lyman receiver sight, a mould, and about 100 rounds of new brass. So far I love it.

I almost never see this rifle or this cartridge mentioned here on AR. Is that just because there aren't many of them out there? Or, is there some down-side to the cartridge or rifle that I am not yet aware of?

They were never a common rifle or that popular (along with the 307 WRA). Your Silvertips are just a decent non-bonded soft point with an Aluminum cap over them.

The 375 WRA was more popular and makes a slightly bigger hole.

The new Marlins with the flex tip bullets in 308 and 338 really put the cap on the 307/356 for good.

With a 220 gr Speer you can beat a 35 Remington and I assure you that bullet will do as well as your Silvertip. Start with 34 gr 4198. Max will be around 38.

Neat rifle that should run forever. Stock up on brass and you'll be in deep clover.

If my memory serves, there were about 2500 of the rifles in .356 produced. Less than 2000 in .307. With low production numbers there are not going to be too many around.

quote:

Originally posted by 45-70 shooter:
They were never a common rifle or that popular (along with the 307 WRA). Your Silvertips are just a decent non-bonded soft point with an Aluminum cap over them.

The 375 WRA was more popular and makes a slightly bigger hole.

The new Marlins with the flex tip bullets in 308 and 338 really put the cap on the 307/356 for good.

With a 220 gr Speer you can beat a 35 Remington and I assure you that bullet will do as well as your Silvertip. Start with 34 gr 4198. Max will be around 38.

Neat rifle that should run forever. Stock up on brass and you'll be in deep clover.

I well know the Silvertips are just a capped SP....I use them not because they are great but because I have had an ample supply of them for the last 50 years and they work well at the velocities of the .356 and the .358...and they are easy and handy to load, and feed well in my rifles (I also have a .358 BLR).

I also still have a .375 Winchester lever rifle (a Marlin 336) and a Marlin .35 Rem and they are nice guns too, as is my 94 38-55. But if I had to keep just one lever gun bigger than .33 and smaller than .45, it might be the .356 because if I had to, I could use .358 brass in it, and that is easy to make from surplus .308 hulls. Not a preferred approach, but a workable one if things were really tight.

Really an academic point. I don't forsee having to get rid of any of them, and I have enough brass and ammo for all my rifles to last the rest of my life.

Apparently you and Buckeye Shooter have answered my question though. It seems they are almost never mentioned here because it looks as if very few folks here have or use one. Or if they do, they have not responded yet.

quote:

Originally posted by buckeyeshooter:
If my memory serves, there were about 2500 of the rifles in .356 produced. Less than 2000 in .307. With low production numbers there are not going to be too many around.

Thanks for the specifics, Buckeye. I knew there were few of them, but didn't realize it was that few. I got mine, shipped with the mould and the receiver sight, etc. for just about $450 all told, so I feel pretty lucky.

There were also some Marlin 336s in the same chambering, but I suspect there were fewer of them than of the M94s.

From what I understand-- its a great round. I have never seen a .356 in a Winchester and only 2 in a Marlin. I think the Marlin numbers are even less produced than the Winchester.
I own a big bore 94 in .307. It was sitting on a used gun rack at a country dealer who knew nothing about it so he priced it like a 30-30. Got it for $200. out the door

I've got 2 boxes of new .356 ammo, if anyone wants to buy them, PM me. USA only, of course.

A couple years ago I picked up a well-used older Marlin lever in 35 Rem. I took the barrel off, recrowned it, and re-chambered it for the 356 Win. Had a few issues with loading as the round noses on the longer round wouldn't make it through the gate, but I got it to work perfectly with the 200gr flex-tips. It shoots those bullets very well too, but so far I've not taken it out after deer, just paper.

I have a Marlin 336 ER in .356 Win and there were only about 2500 of them made in that chambering. Win also made them in the 94 AE for a number of years from the 1980's into the 1990's. I just sold my Win since I prefer the Marlin to the Win 94. A gunsmith by the name of Nooneman in Missouri rechambers Marlins in .35 Remington to .356 Win and those that have them seem to like them. I have only shot whitetails with mine and find the lighter weight bullets to be better for deer than the 220 grain Speer or the 250 grain Silvertip bullets. Brass is somewhat difficult to find but is generally able to be found with some effort. In the mid 1990's I found a pawn shop in Prescott AZ that had about a thousand primed factory unfired Win cases and bought 300 so I have plenty. I tried a scope on my rifle but prefer a Lyman peep sight for the type of hunting I use the rifle for.