Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 358 Bullet for Elk?

Got it narrowed down to 3 Bullets for my 358 Win for elk season.

They are Speer 250 gr SP Hot Core @ 2400 fps, Nosler 225 PT @ 2500 fps and the Barnes 200 TTSX @ 2675 FPS

They all shoot well out of my rifle. They are all good to 400 on my charts.

Which one would you choose and why. This is ultimately going to be rifle I use for everything. Deer to Moose and the occasional woodchuck or yote

Real world experience is always welcome!

Thanks

I have a 35 Whelen and use 225 gr TSX and reloader 15. I would like a 358 in a BLR. Son got my BLR in 308. light and accurate rifle. I've read a lot about the 358 and think it is a very underrated caliber.

250 grain is my game. Still have a supply of old Hornady 250 RN. Also use the 250 Spire. They both shoot well out of the 1895 .35 WCF. I like the Speer Hot-cors! That's what I'd try! Need to see how they shoot in the old girl!!

I agree, I m glad to have built it!



Nice Rifle and Nice Elk! The Speer's are easy to load and half the price of the other two.

250 Speer or 225 NP is what I would try in your 358. My 35 Whelen with 250 Speer works well around 2450 FPS. Usually has 2 holes on moose or bear.

The 225 NP works great also but prefer the 250.

No bad choices in your list. I've shot most of my elk with a Speer 250 at a muzzle velocity of 2500 fps. I find it has a wee bit more penetration than the 225s, but i've never tried the 200 ttsx.

If you're getting good accuracy out of the 200 gr Barnes TTSX...I'd go with that one.

The heavier slugs aren't needed when you're using a solid copper bullet. It'll penetrate just as well, be flatter shooting and work fine for deer.


Dan

Going to agree with Kaywoodie (Gasp,the horror! ) and suggest the 250 gr Speer.

I like the bullet a lot. It loads easy and of the work I ve done with it so far its not a bad shooter.

If Hornady still made the 250 grain Round Nose that's what I would have done and never looked back.

II am going to use the 250 gr Speer in my .35 Whelen,when I get it back from the gunsmith.

What ever shoots best in your gun. I have killed elk with just 200 gr c&c bullets too.

The 250 gr slugs leave the 358 Win at 2100 - 2200 fps depending upon barrel length. Not my choice for the shorty 358. We used the 200 gr TTSX in a 358 Win in Africa five years ago and it performed very well on all manner of plains game from springbuck to kudu and gemsbuck. It would be my choice for elk as well.

I've used the 225 Partition at 2500 fps on a bunch of deer. I'd carry it for elk. I would say that it's a "medium" penetrating just based on the fact that I did catch one in a dink deer. The shot was quartering away and it hit the spine and sort of followed the spine for a while. An odd shot for sure- but still, I caught one in a 90-lb deer, so...

Great cartridge. TAC is your buddy with 200-225's.

I use the 250 gr rn from Hornady in my Whelen. Moose, elk, zebra, wildebeest, impala, pronghorn; all of them. Perhaps, though, I'm just easily satisfied when they die quickly

My Ruger All Weather 35 Whelen shoots the Barnes Vor Tex factory ammo with the 180 grain TTSX at 2900 fps into small groups, that's 200 fps faster than the same bullet out of an 06, no experience on game.

The beauty of expansion ratio. I can get 2675 fps with 200's from my .358; that's about all an '06 will do with 200's from a bigger case!

Yes and exactly why in my bolt gun I have been able to achieve over 2400 fps with 250's. It's avg. a reliable 1.25" 5 shot group.

I m going to make some further adjustment to the load, but I m sticking with the Speer 250 Hot Cor as my mice to moose load. I m happy with it. If the numbers hold out it will work out to 400 yards.

More to come.........

Arrrrrrg!!! A .35 Win. in a 1895!! I'd give my left testicle for one of those. Heck, at my age, I'd give BOTH!😖

Haven't hunted elk in eons but have killed upwards of a dozen Bullwinkles with 250 Hot-Cors. Launch them at about 2445 fps. from my 22" barreled A-Bolt .35 Whelen and they typically result in an immediately dead moose.

Only recovered one bullet. That was from a bull that was galloping straight away across a muskeg and rapidly vanishing into the thick early morning fog. A desperate snap shot at about 60 yds. folded him like a mallard taking a full charge of #2's and he went down in a spectacular splash of wet snow & swamp water. The bullet had struck the left hip about 4" from from the anus, smashed the pelvis, ploughed through a couple of feet of intestines and stomach contents (yuck😝) and came to rest just behind the right front leg. The core and jacket were totally mushed up like a wad of bubble gum but still were together. IIRC, it still weighed about 170 grains.

If the 250 H-C can perform like this on a moose, similar results could be expected with elk.

I like the 225 Sierra for my Whelen's. I've had great luck in accuracy and performance with it.

This year a wounded a Oryx with my 7600 Whelen with a 225 grn Hawk bullet. I cant claim failure, but we're almost certain the bullet went exactly where it should have gone and we only found blood for about 300 yds. After about a half mile we found the group of Oryx bedded and jumped them, looking like nothing was wrong with them.

Again, just an anecdotal. These animals are known to be tough as hell, so it might have just been oryx being oryx. It was the first animal I've lost in a long time and it sure did burn.

-Jon

I've handled that same rifle before and didnt know what I was holding until i walked into the LGS a couple weeks ago and found one with something close to a $3500 price tag hanging from it.

-Jon

At a bit over 200 yards and at 0º or somewhat lower F:



l to r: unfired 35 cal 250 Hornady SP, 250 Hornady SP which barely entered chest cavity just aft of the forward end of the sternum, 300 45 cl XTP Mag finisher up closer, 35 cal 225 gr Barnes XFB pulled from high shoulder muscle.




250 Hot-Cor pulled from another moose which was shot at around 35 yards angled from back side of ribs on one side into shoulder muscles on the other side.



200 PSP Corelokt taken from caribou shot at 100-200 yards.

I save 250s for the Norma these days and use the lighter bullets in the Winchester with either TAC or IMR 4895.

All bullets fired from 358 Winchester.

I have both 225 Partitions and 200 TTSX loaded for my rifle, as well as a bunch of 220 Hot-Cors. My choices for use are in that order as well.

Well Compadre,

If I can make it to Quemado this year I'll tote it back. With a couple of boxes of cartridges. We'll try busting the gong with it!!

Bob

jm: Based on my experience with Hawk bullets in a 356 Win; I believe you had a bullet failure with jacket/core separation.

I've had excellent results with the Speer 250 Hot-Cors in my Whelen on Elk (mostly Cows, nothing Really big) It's been a long time since I chronoed the load, but if my memory is correct it's around 2500fps.

I'm sure I used some Hornadys and some sierras as well, but the 250 speers are what I used last and can remember the most.

They are tough only when the bullet does not hit the vitals. Since you did not recover the oryx,it's all speculation.

I put a 270 gr Swift A-Frame from a .375 H&H in the wrong spot on this oryx and had a tough time killing it. It took an hour of following it up before the killing shot was made.


IIRC,it took 6 rounds altogether from my rifle and the PH's to bring it bag.

If you're using a 358 Winchester I would go with the lighter bullets, either the 200 grain Barnes or the 225 Partition.

If you were using a larger round - 35 Whelen, 350 Remington Magnum, 358 Norma or STW, I would suggest a heavier bullet.

Way back in the 1980s the late Finn Aagaard reported good performance with the 250 grain Speer in his Whelen.

This is what my .35 Whelen does with a 250 gr Speer. The load is 55.0 grs Var-Get and WLR primers. Going to take it out tomorrow morning to see if it will duplicate that group and also shoot the load over the chronograph.


The rifle. Interarms Mark X,Douglas 22" with a 1-12" twist. The scope is an old Weaver 3x.

Right now my two loads are as follows

Hornady 200 gr SP at 2600 fps. ( I'm not even loading that. The factory load performs great and above stated velocities).

Speer 250 gr Hot Cor at almost 2450 fps (this is my handload)

For ease I much prefer the Factory Hornady Load because its already done ie: I don't have to roll it.

Double Tap is loading the Speer load I like, its just pricey, but time is money so a box is in my future.

Buffalo Bore has the Sierra 225 gr loaded ready to go as well as the Barnes.

I m still leaning towards the Speer for my do all load. I m guessing the guys that had trouble with that soft Hot Cor bullet in the 358 win where starting out under 2100 fps.

I m running it at factory 35 Whelen velocity

Back in the early 70's I met an old rancher down by Pincher Creek, Alberta who had an 1895 in .303 British. Don't believe there were a lot made in that caliber. Would be interesting to know what that's worth now.

I'm deciding on a moose load for my Whelen in the next few months. Narrowed it down to slow and heavy (250 NPT) and lite and fast (200 TTSX). Would have thrown the 225 NAB into the fray, but they are like hen's teeth these days. All depends on how things shoot. Haven't got the speed I was hoping for with the 200 TTSX yet - just a hair above 2,700 fps.

Nice looking set up. Classy looking with the old 3x Weaver on top. I had an old 4x El Paso steel tube on my Whelen for about 20 years. Last year the adjustments started getting sticky/erratic so I replaced it with a 1.5-4.5 Bushnell Elite 3200. No need for higher magnification on a Whelen.
That's a good group you got there. I get slightly under 1.25" at 100 meters with the 250 H-C on top of IMR4064 or IMR8208XBR. (both at about 2450 fps). Hornady 250 SPRP's group slightly tighter (about 1") but the H-C's are still my "go-to". They've accounted for a pile of game for me and I trust them to work without fail. Besides, that .25" doesn't make a whit of difference on big critters at Whelen ranges.

An old friend and mentor carried a pre-64 model 70 featherweight in 358 for all of his long elk hunting career. His bullet of choice was the Speer 250 grain Hot Core. He killed more elk over his lifetime than anyone I ever knew and swore by that bullet.

I've used the Nosler 250 grain Partitions from a 35 Whelen on three caribou but have no doubt any of the 250 grain offerings would have done just as well.

The 358 would be right at home with any of the 250 grain Speer, Hornady, Nosler, Hawk or Woodleigh offerings.

Not trying to hijack thread bit there were more .303's made than you would think. Both std rifles and SRC's. Here's one in .303 that belongs to a compadre of mine. I did some stock work on this one for him.

That is good to know.

Yup.

Do have some 250 gr NP's that I may try in the Whelen sometime.

The most accurate bullet that I ever tried in my Whelen was the 280 gr. Swift A-Frame with IMR4064. Don't recall the charge (it was a long time ago). They would go into little clover leaf clusters between .5"- .75" all day long. The drawback? They were ferociously expensive, hard to find around here and kicked the snot out of me. Thus, they never went hunting. I have no doubt that they would be deadly medicine for elk, moose or most anything else anywhere in the world.

My rifle, by the way, is a Browning A-Bolt, 22" RKS stainless tube with a 1/21 to 1/12 gain twist.

Very nice! Surprised that the .303 chambering was fairly common.

I tried the 280 gr SAF's in a .358 Norma Mag,they shot real well. Don't remember why I don't use them now.

The .35 Whelen in the above pic is a Douglas barrel with a 1-12" twist.

Just received email from him tonight. He had to off one of his ancient bovines with it this evening.

Still doing the job!

Not sure if I mentioned it to you in the past but IMR 8208 does well in my gun with 200 gr TTSX and Accubonds, 57 gr for 2850 fps with both. I did go up to Nosler's max of 59 gr for over 2900 fps but had excellent accuracy at 2850 fps. Some guys are doing well with H 4895 and the 200's as well.

I m hopping to make it a long term deal myself. I have shot them all I like them all. Just want to make sure I have the most power on tap I can. The 225 are probably more balance, but the 250 all most gaurantees performance in my mind. Also with my scope I m using its not hard to adjust for the additional 1 moa of drop.

I used the 250 gr. Speer exclusively in my 358 on feral hogs with great satisfaction. My load is 42.5 grains of IMR 3031, necked up Winchester 308 cases and CCI 200 primers. 2250 fps and used under 250 yards. Way under rated cartridge.

I reload and use 225 gr. NP's over a stout load of Ramshot TAC in my 358 Win. I've only taken deer with this load but would not hesitate to use it at a reasonable range for elk.

Any will work, but I'd say the Nosler Partitions will be at the top of the heap overall.

Try and name a .358 caliber bullet that won't work on elk......

Very true statement right there!

Just wanted to make a quick update. The Speer 250's where my first choice. As loading progress I had worked in some Sierra 225 GK. Man those just flat shoot in my rifle. I mean little bug hole groups.

My loads are Averaging 2494 fps with the 225 SGK. I m more than please. I have decided to put all my efforts into the 225 SGK and basically this is the load I will be using on elk this year. I also have made a scope change. The rifle will be wearing a Leupold VX-III 2.5x8-36 with BDC reticle that I was able to match using one of my ballistic apps. All in all everything has been positive. I need to do some trajectory validation yet, but I m waiting for the cooler nights to do that.

If anyone wants to know, The load is as follows. 225 gr SGK, 49 gr Ramshot TAC, CCI 250 primer, Hornady Brass and its yielding very good results.

My favorite load for the .35 Whelen uses the 225 gr. Barnes TSX bullet at 2710 FPS. Elk killer galore. Two elk DRT and three more hit so hard they went down but still had their heads up. Just totally unable to even try to get up and go. The load is accurate in my custom Mauser but too hot for the Remington M700 Classic. I have tried it in the M77RS Ruger as it has a potential headspacing problem. I got a total case head separation fro a Remington factory load so it's been sitting idle for a long time. I figure I'll use it for a cast bullet shooter where I can seat the bullets into the rifling eliminating the excess headspace. I'll use it as a fun gun.
Funny thing, before I got the custom Mauser I was playing with the 250 gr. Hornady's and 250 gr. Speer Hot cores with interesting results. Then came the Mauser and a coveted Kaibab National Forest deer tag. Hunters were asked to voluntarily use monometal bullets and the state would furnish them for handloaders free. I got the TSX bullest and bought 100 more and worked up to my 2710 FPS load. Biggest surprise was groups ran from .50" to .75" depending on how carefully I shot the group. The load was a keeper so I never bothered to try anything else. I still have a bunch of the Speer, Hornady and Nosler bullets to try when I get around to it. That is if I ever do. Maybe I'll try and use those in the M700 for a back up rifle.
Paul B.

For sure. At the stated velocities , about any C&C bullet. I use 220 gr RN in my .06 at about 2400fps.About the same thing as 225 in a.358 .They flat out kill elk .

I found the Federal 225 gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claw to be very effective on elk and deer in my .35 Whelen. I have a .358 Win but have never taken it elk hunting since I hunt areas where longer shooting is usually required. No doubt any 225 gr bullet would be effective as long as there is sufficient velocity at impact to ensure expansion and good penetration.

Not to hijack the thread but I have a box of 50 250gr Speer HC 358 bullets that I'll never use. Make me an offer shipped. Prefer 225gr NP.

Cool. I m very excited. I m going to check expansion but it should be fine.

Bobber257 who did your gain twist barrel. Thanks for your time. Cheers NC

I would pick the Barnes. They are freak nasty at point blank, plus they scoot on down range. If you can group em.........they will smoke em!

So here's a good one.

Since I was running out of 225 pills. I pulled some Speer 220 FNSP off the shelf and loaded them ahead of a case full of IMR 3031. Well off to the range I went and holy hell these bullets shoot! By that I mean 5 shots into the same ragged hole! I had no idea they would shoot so well! They look cool as heck loaded into the 358.

Does anyone have any experiences with these bullets?

My god they should be just about perfect for the 358. Ballistics ain't to shabby either. They are running over the chrony at 2410 fps. I would guess that would be just about perfect for that bullet. Might just use this load on Elk and Mulies this year.

Another thing is they are easy to find, I can use regular primers with the 3031 and that is also easy to find. I ran out of Ramshot TAC and just flat out don't want to make the 2 hour round trip drive to get it.