358 win conversion/Big Game rifle

[mickey308]

Hi All,

I have a few questions regarding the 358 win for big game. I have a SA Remington rifle in .308 and the barrel needs changing. I was reading a few articles about the 358 win and it looks like a great cartridge.
How effective would the 358 be for hunting moose,elk,black bear,grizzly to about 300 yards? After reading the Nosler #6 reloading guide I can only use 225gr part bullet as the AccuBond will be too long for my action.
Is it easy to form 358 cases from .308 win cases?

Thanks In Advance,
Mickey308

 

[Big Squeeze]

Hi All,

I have a few questions regarding the 358 win for big game. I have a SA Remington rifle in .308 and the barrel needs changing. I was reading a few articles about the 358 win and it looks like a great cartridge.
How effective would the 358 be for hunting moose,elk,black bear,grizzly to about 300 yards? After reading the Nosler #6 reloading guide I can only use 225gr part bullet as the AccuBond will be too long for my action.
Is it easy to form 358 cases from .308 win cases?

Thanks In Advance,
Mickey308

.........................The 358 Win., as an offspring of the 308 Win., has been the least successful as far as popularity is concerned. It is considered a short to moderate range brush cartridge out to about 200-300 yards and is excellent for that purpose......For hunting moose, elk, black bear, grizzly, I would be more inclined or comfortable within the 200 yard range myself...........My Sierra manual says this! "Cases for the 358 can be easily formed from 308 Win brass. By using a tapered expander ball and lightly lubing the inside on the case neck, 308 Win. brass can be necked up to 35 caliber in a single pass."............IMO, it is unfortunate that this cartridge has not been as accepted and certainly deserves better recognition! Another consideration for you should also be the 338 Federal.

 

[JD338]

The 358 Win is a great round for the game you want to hunt. The 225 gr PT will get the job done. You might want to check with your gunsmith to see if you can get the magazine box opened up to allow the use of the 225 gr AB.
A 200 gr AB with a protected point (flat tip) would be really nice for ya.

JS338

 

[DrMike]

Mickey308,

I have used the .358 for bison. I have used its cousin, the .356, for black bear, elk and grizzly. Within reason, loaded with a good bullet, the .358 is one of the finest cartridges for hunting North American game that I can imagine. Load it up with 225 grain Partitions and enjoy the hunt. I actually have one good load using the AccuBond that I use in my BLR. Velocities are good and accuracy is exceptional. I tend to restrict my shots to two hundred yards, but the round is capable of 300 yard shots.

 

[Savage99]

Mickey,

Its good to see interest in my favorite woods cartridge the old .358 Winchester. The replies before me are quite informed and I am impressed by them.

I got my first .358 in a M99F in 1966 and it's still my favorite rifle for game in the woods. I use the lighter bullets for deer such as the 180 Speer or in the past the 200 gr Silvertip.

My only caution is the Rem. rifle itself! I would look at other designs before investing in it. To me they are an economy effort that lacks so many features that make up a superior rifle.

For a bolt action I really prefer a three position safety, CRF and a much stronger bolt than the Rem which has the bolt handle tacked on with braze with no interlock and even the bolt lug section is brazed onto the bolt body. Not an action to spend hard earned money on and also end up with a dinky extractor and a plunger ejector.

Presently I have four 358 Wins. The latest one is a Mannlicher-Schoenauer full stock carbine in .358 Win. Its a new toy that will get some field time. I plan to wack a coyote with it soon just to get familar with the rifle. Thats the #1 attribute of a woods gun, to know the rifle so well.

I suggest that you move the Rem. 308 down the road and look at other brands. Ruger chambers the .358 now for instance.

Left to right. ZB Brno 22f full stocked carbine 8-57, Mannlicher Schoenauer 30-06 rifle, Savage 99f .358 Win., Mannlicher Schoenauer full stocked carbine .358 Win.

These rifles are worth keeping. Start right.

 

[Big Squeeze]

Depending on how old your Remy is, Savage may have a point! Maybe a new rifle upgrade?..........Ruger M77`s are available in the 358 Win. with barrel lengths of 22" in the Mk2 or the Hawkeye (I forget which), or in the 16.5" Frontier handy carbines!........As a compact Ruger Frontier owner, I will tell you first hand, that they are literally, a delight in the field! My friend, after he used mine, also bought one in the 338 Federal. He has taken a black bear, a moose and numerous pigs with that Frontier. Very quick handling and manuverable!..................

 

[FOTIS]

Great round and yes with the 225 PT it will get the job done.

 

[tjen]

Shilen did a great job on my 700SA it was a Classic Edition so I went with a blued barrel and it looks great. Mine has a 20.5 inch barrel.

I Have had great luck with H4895 powder in the 358win. The Partition 225gr and 46.5 grs travels at 2430fps MV. And I just use 46.8grs with the hornady 200gr spire point for 2490fps and thats for accuracy its my deer load the listed max load is 48.7grs for the 200 grainer. I used Federals 210M match primers and new winchester 358 brass (they still make it).
When you start checking with barrel manufactures and gun smiths you will find the 700 is the action to build on hands down in their opinion. Thats what I found and that good sence a 700 is what you have. 20-21 inches is perfect for the cartridge and where you would use it to. Mine was a shilen #3 at 20.5 inches and it has great balance weighed 6 3/4lbs (40.25"OAL)

 

[mickey308]

First thank you all for the great information.
I have had a chance to shoot a .358 win and a federal .338 both re-chambered in remington 700 short actions. Now I just have to figure out with one to choose. Both are great big game cartridges.
My plans are to re-rechamber the rifle,use the synthetic varmint stock and Leupold 4.5x14 scope.

Thanks again,
Mickey308

 

[Guy Miner]

A buddy of mine has taken over a dozen elk, a black bear and a few mule deer with his Browning BLR in .358 Winchester. He has many other fine rifles, but chooses the stubby .358 to get the job done time after time.

Regarding the Remington action... Gimme a break! :grin:

I've got one with over 12,000 rounds through it, on the third barrel now. Never had a problem with the extractor or the bolt. It's a hard use rifle too - hunting, NRA matches, tactical matches and SWAT duty. This rifle doesn't get babied in the least but it keeps on ticking.

My son uses a Remington given to me in 1974 - no problems at all over all those 34 years of shooting and hunting...

If you think mine is an exception - take a look at the standard sniper rifles issued by the Marines and the Army. The Army uses Model 700's built by Remington for them, and the Marines build their own Remingtons in Quantico. Both are fine rifles that handle tough conditions. I've used 'em myself. Don't shy away from the Remington for a hard use rifle.

Yes, I've got a couple of Model 70 Winchesters, and a couple of military based bolt action rifles, a commercial Mauser action and a couple of lever guns for comparison.

Semper Fi! Guy

 

[6ppcar]

A buddy of mine has taken over a dozen elk, a black bear and a few mule deer with his Browning BLR in .358 Winchester. He has many other fine rifles, but chooses the stubby .358 to get the job done time after time.

Regarding the Remington action... Gimme a break! :grin:

I've got one with over 12,000 rounds through it, on the third barrel now. Never had a problem with the extractor or the bolt. It's a hard use rifle too - hunting, NRA matches, tactical matches and SWAT duty. This rifle doesn't get babied in the least but it keeps on ticking.

My son uses a Remington given to me in 1974 - no problems at all over all those 34 years of shooting and hunting..

If you think mine is an exception - take a look at the standard sniper rifles issued by the Marines and the Army. The Army uses Model 700's built by Remington for them, and the Marines build their own Remingtons in Quantico. Both are fine rifles that handle tough conditions. I've used 'em myself. Don't shy away from the Remington for a hard use rifle.

Yes, I've got a couple of Model 70 Winchesters, and a couple of military based bolt action rifles, a commercial Mauser action and a couple of lever guns for comparison.

Semper Fi! Guy

+1 on the Remington 700.

 

[Guy Miner]

Ooops - got to thinking about it - and had my rifles/round counts mixed up last night.

The Rem 700 SWAT rifle I use is at 7,000+ rounds total and is currently on the second barrel.

I was thinking of the round count through my Winchester 70 match rifle when I started spouting off about 12,000 rounds and third barrel. My apologies for the confusion. Got the numbers mixed up. Either way, my Rem 700 has proven trouble-free for 12 years of hard use. I also use another one, in .25-06 for most of my mule-deer hunting chores. Nowhere near the round count through that one - but it's a good hunting rifle just the way Remington built it. All I've done to it is adjust the trigger, scope it, shoot it and hunt with it.

At one point I gave serious consideration to re-barreling the little 1974 vintage 6mm Rem to the .358 Winchester for hunting, but decided to stay with the smaller bore for a dual purpose varmint/predator & deer rifle. That's worked out real well.

Regards, Guy

 

[tjen]

As far as bullets go most 358 cal bullets are designed to work at the 358wins velocity levels and even most pistol bullets work for plinking too.

As for the 338 cal bullets all but the AccuBond and the droped fussion were made for the 338mag. So most may prove to be to tuff at longer range where the 338 may seem better. The AccuBond is geetting a rep for being to tough for deer.

So for me I would go with the 358win. With the 225gr Partition as well as the 250gr, and 200gr standard bullets you have time proven great working bullets for deer to moose. My favorites are the 200gr psp corelokt/spire point interlock, and the 225gr Partition. And both the 180/220gr speers work too.

 

[mickey308]

I ordered my .358 barrel, I think the Nosler 225gr part and the 225gr AccuBond should work great for deer,moose,elk,big bear.
After reading the Nosler Technical Information I have a question, will the 225gr AccuBond fit my Rem 700 short action? I have a mag length of 2.820

Thanks Again For All The Great Information.
Mickey308

 

[Savage99]

Mickey,

No the 225 Nosler will not fit in a 2.8" magazine but that should not bother you as you never read my previous post either.