Shooting factory this year .358 Win. Update.

[Stillhunter]

Well I ordered some Buffalo Bore .358 Win. 225 Sierra and TSX. Have many 225/250 Partitions to load, but packed up loading gear several months ago in anticipation of a move that is taking to long. I won't be able to this year.
Any thoughts? Shooting a 20 inch BLR. Roosevelt Elk in timber, so all shooting inside 100 yds.

Thanks

Mark

 

[DrMike]

I've taken Bison and Black bear with a BLR chambered in .358. I've taken scads of mule deer, elk and moose with a Model 94 chambered in .356. I kept all shots under 200 yards. All the animals expired without much drama. Highly underrated cartridge.

 

[SJB358]

The plain old 200 grain Silvertip would work well in my book. It's very accurate in my BLR and works great for others along with performing very well in the jug tests. You'll be in great shape.

 

[DON]

Anything in 35 caliber would work for me. That 358 is a killer too no matter the bullet type but I must say the 225 grain is one of my favorite.

Don

 

[Silent Sam]

Not a fan of monolithic bullets at 358Win velocities. That 225 Sierra will work fine.

 

[Stillhunter]

Silent Sam, that did cross my mind. Where I hunt, Elk pop up like Grouse, and are gone just as quick. Mostly never a perfect broadside. I would never put a first shot in the south end of an Elk, but good penetration on hard angles is handy. Would have preferred to find 225 PT's but this will be it for this year.
As much as I second guess the mono's for the soft stuff in 358, I second guess the Sierra's on bone. Velocity from my blr should be about 2300 or so, if the published info is correct. All shooting would be 100 yds or less. Usually much less.
Likely will go with what does the best at the range. But, anything under 2 inches at 100 will suffice.
Probably over thinking the whole thing.

 

[FOTIS]

Not a fan of monolithic bullets at 358Win velocities. That 225 Sierra will work fine.

I agree it worked great for me.

 

[Silent Sam]

Never used Buffalo Bore 358 loads but if all you get is 2300fps w/ a 225gr bullet they are underloaded. 2400+ is easily & safely doable out of a 20" barrel. The 358 doesn't lose much out of a short barrel. 35 cal bullets are generally designed to cover Whelen velocities which just makes them tougher at any given range using a 358. I prefer the Partition also if I'm paying and/or traveling for a hunt just because they are so good. Having said that I would not fret over the 225 Sierra holding together and penetrating even at muzzle velocity on a big animal at less than ideal angles. If you did hit them (elk or moose) through the slats I would be surprised (very) if you ever recovered a bullet. Just one of the beauties of the 358 in a magnum oriented world. Inexpensive cup & core bullets work as well as or better than premiums.

 

[Stillhunter]

Sam, I just reread the spec's. They claim 2500 fps so, I'd guess 2450 in mine. Seems I should be in good shape with either. Will see how the rifle likes them.

 

[Silent Sam]

Well that's the bottom line. Sierras do generally shoot well. If i have a finicky rifle, and it won't shoot Sierras I figure it needs fixing. Once you get set up to reload again you can get that same performance with a few different powders. I have two loads for my BLR. 225 Sierra & 225 Partition. Everything else stays the same. They go into the same group out to 200 yds, probably further but haven't put them on paper further than that. Never have to mess with the scope. Good luck to ya'.

 

[Stillhunter]

Sounds an ideal load combo Sam.

 

[Stillhunter]

As a follow up to this, it worked out well. At the range I chose the 225 Gr tsx load as it grouped 1.25 inch without much adjustment. The Sierra 225 was high and right 6 inches, but did group at an inch. The bullet did its job on my bull. quartering away a bit. Entered mid rib cage forward through spine and out the far top shoulder. Not much expansion damage, with a near caliber size exit. The bull never took a step. Good thing as the canyon it was about to get to was particularly steep, thick, wet and nasty.

 

[DrMike]

Excellent! Good looking bull. The .358 is a fine cartridge for elk.

 

[SJB358]

Great bull. Congrats. The old 358 gets it done!

 

[preacher]

Great bull! I like those Roosevelt bulls...short wheel based and tall! I have used 250X and 200X/TSX out of my 35 Whelen AI on a lot of game, they do wonderful. I have shot lengthwise on zebra and kudu with the 250 (2600fps) and I think you teamed it up right with your 358. I had a nice BLR 358 a few years back, and if I lived where you do or back in East Texas I would still have it. I did replace it with a little Hawkeye SS 338 Federal though...something about a short cased medium bore in the woods! Congrats!

 

[Stillhunter]

The rig was as good as I had hoped. I do not think the 225 did much if any expanding though. The 200 tsx might be better, but I have only a sample of one to go by. Likely will not matter. I'm in the new house now and will be setting up my reloading station soon. I have a couple hundred each 225 and 250 Partitions to load this winter.

 

[Silent Sam]

"Not much expansion damage, with a near caliber size exit."
"I do not think the 225 did much if any expanding though."
Exactly why I don't use monos at those velocities, plus they're expensive. :shock: If you hit them in the CNS it doesn't matter much. Congrats on your bull.

ps: Partitions do work too...

 

[preacher]

I want to add that the only Roosevelt elk I ever saw was on a ranch in South Texas. We were hunting whitetail, but the owner was trying to introduce exotics, had a few head of Fallow, and a few Roosevelt's. We had to sign a piece of paper saying that if we "accidently shot" any of them we would pay a $10K fine! Needless to say, I enjoyed looking at them through my scope but I kept my crosshairs off them, ha. Beautiful elk though. I couldn't use the 200 TTSX in my BLR, too long. The 200 TSX worked fine. I think the 160 TTSX and TAC would be a screamer for you though. I get a tad over 3000fps in my 338 Federal with that combo.

 

[Bonz]

Nice bull, I too am a big fan of the Barnes X bullets from my 35 Whelen AI. Fast or slow, they seem to expand similarly in terms of diameter, so don't get too concerned about how much they appear to have or have not expanded.

On the 6 elk I have taken with the Barnes original style X (2 with the 250X, 1 with the 225X and 3 with the 200X) internal damage was not massive jellification like a guy would see with a cup and core bullet. However, the wound channels were the diameter of a big quarter and chunked the heart/lungs vs liquefying, per se. None of them went anywhere, relatively speaking, and the couple that did stumbled 20-25 yards and went down nose first. I have taken 2 elk with the newer 200 gr TTSX with much more tissue disruption early on in the wound channel and still the complete penetration with not much more than bullet diameter for an exit hole. The large nose cavity behind the polymer tip expands quicker, but no more overall expansion than the previous X bullets, so it is a great combination.

Sorry for the hi-jack, what I am meaning to say is a big quarter size hole that goes a long ways through and exits the elk (kinda like what was described by Stillhunter) with vital tissue chunks along the way kills basically as quick as total destruction. What we see with our eyes upon field dressing isn't as dramatic when comparing the X to a cup and core or Partiton style that opens quick and sheds weight, but the animals go down in the same manner as all the elk I have seen killed by other bullets. The main reason I choose the X style is the fantastic penetration combined with more than acceptable expansion from all angles.

This year on the first mule deer buck I have taken with the 200 TTSX, the bullet expanded on entry, chunked the upper lungs and broke a rib going out leaving just a bit larger than bullet diameter hole. Didn't go through more than 8-10" to get fully through the critter broadside, and he went plop straight down. The way I see it, the 200 TTSX covers bases pretty well from light resistance deer to elk and can't wait to use it again next year!

 

[SJB358]

Great report Bonz... Might have to give that 200 a try. You've sold it well.