Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles .284 Win or .358 Win or the Bob??

I know a lot of folks like to get all the performance possible out of a cartridge and in the 358 that means maybe 2600 fps in a 20" barrel with a 200g give or 2500 with a 225g.

If you really talking 50 yds give or take and as a person who hunts the Adirondacks, you would have to work to find a 100 yd spot. The 358 works very well when loaded more mildly. a 200 at say 2300 is plenty for any deer (or Adirondack bear) and kicks a hell of a lot less.

I have three 358s at the moment and one is fairly light a 20" #2 tube in a MPI LW stock. Its not pleasant with a 225 NP at 2550, but quite a bit different with a 200g at few hundred fps less.

My current favorite deer rifle is a 250AI and its a fine rifle for a lot of purposes. but if after hunting for a few days with out seeing a deer, I busted up a buck in thick stuff 20 yds ahead and had about 2 seconds to make a shot at a rapidly disapearing deer (an unfortunately common occurance for me hunting in the Adirondacks) I would rather have my 358. I know dozens of other cartridges would work as well, but one of the small luxuries is carrying just the "perfect" rifle for a task.

"lightweight whitetail rifle for the Adirondacks" - you don't need a 358. If you want to keep it light, go with a cartridge that's hard on the deer but kind to you. I'd recommend a 7-08 as a maximum, and consider a 243 or a 260, as well. I'm a fan of 308-based rounds, and for good reasons, I believe. It's a great case design which promotes accuracy and efficiency, and you won't have a problem finding good brass, either.

noKnees...your post makes a great argument.

Many shots will be on fleeing deer, time for one quick snapshot.

Shot placement trumps all, we all know, yet there are times where a bigger hole = more blood loss.

Course I could just blow one of his legs off and track him all day....a pard of mine did just that....no fun.

Sell the M70 as is.

Buy a new Kimber 84M .308. A landmark rifle.

I have .358's. It's fun, for a while, to say you use one.

Other than that,

Why not just combine the two and build a 358/284?

.358 Win

i have tried everything i could think of and am back to the Bob. i use it most for varmints since i live in ohio but 120 grain bullet would handle those black bears, and any deer that walks, no?

and consider ammo that doesn't burn a handful of powder every shot, no recoil or muzzle blast to speak of, and you get to say "a Bob" when people ask at the rage lol

A quandry? Figuring out how to put man on the moon was a quandry. This is an impossible situation.

A 358 in a bolt action just seems wrong to me... kind of like a bolt action 30-30. Yeah, I got one, but it's just "wrong".

284 has the cool factor and will have everybody drooling over it at camp and the range.

257 or even the more classic 250-3000 are also fun.

The pre-64 Winchester 70 was offered in .358 as well as the Roberts, so both make great sense in my mind.

Wish Winchester had offered the .284 in a featherweight...

Just do the 358 Win already and shoot 200 Gr Hornady's. I've never had so much fun bustin rocks with my 18-1/2" barreled 358.

The .358 is FUN for what it is. I shoot a 6.5lb bolt gun and with 200 grain factory loads I don't notice the recoil at all. If you start pouring in the powder and using heavier bullets I'm sure you'll get a rough return.....but with lighter 200 grain loads it's a glorified .35 Rem with little recoil, low report, and excellent performance on game a close range.

It's not the perfect deer (or anything else) round, but it is a neat round...that is a lot of fun to use while still hunting deer.

My vote is for the 358 Win. I've hunted a few times up in your neck of the woods near Ballston Spa. I shot a big doe at about 150 yds with a 358 Win and it dropped in about 4 steps. Just factory ammo out of a BLR.
Big hole and blood trail. Dead when I got there.

Dan

you could always go with a custom wild cat 284 case necked up to .358 bore , or even better a 300wsm k\necked up to .358

350 WSM

I vote 300 Savage.

If legal in NY, a quick twist 22-250 or 22-250AI could be built light in weight, light in recoil, and quite deadly with the appropriate bullet of your choice. My Marlin XS7 parts gun in 22-250 has a 1-9" ROT barrel and shoots 60 grain Partitions as well as I can shoot.

As noted, the 55mm case length of the 284 can cause COAL issues with heavier bullets in a short action.

My limited experience shooting whitetails with .358" bullets in the 356, 358, and 35-284 has shown that at least one bullet, the 220 grain Speer FP, is so tough that it showed little expansion while going through-through an average size whitetail. I switched to the 180 grain Speer FP and got quicker kills, but has to ask myself if there was any reason to go with a .358" bore rifle and shoot light for diameter bullets.

My vote is for the .358 Winchester. You should be able to get .358 200 Grainers in both protected point or RN in bulk. www.midwayusa.com Many times they are on sale. Use pistol bullets. Or Hornady has a 180 gr SSP, use them for varmints or reduced recoil loads. Rifle bullets from 200 gr to 310 gr Woodleigh. Cast bullets in many styles. You can buy solids, softs, or Barnes X. I have a few 358 Winchesters and plan on two more at least. Use commercial cases or get Lake City once fireds from Midway. Run them through a small base .308 die then one pass in the .358 WCF. Usually they are a tiny bit shortened after the 358 die but check them anyway for length. Then load them with a couple less grains of powder than recommended for the velocity you want. The military cases are quite thick walled. My whitetails have never gone a dozen steps after hit with the 200 gr bulk Remington bullets. Good luck whatever way you go.

............That scratching you`re doing, all boils down to your desire for more caliber diversity. Meaning, you`re looking for something different to use other than a 7mm.

As some have already mentioned, I concur with the 358 Win followed by the 338 Fed. I`m guessing that most if not all of your kill shots within the Adirondacks will be at 250 yards and less? A 30 cal addition might be a little too close to the 7mm you already have, whereas you have a greater diameter separation going with the 338 Fed or the 358 Win.

Cannot go wrong with any round based on the good `ol 308.

Both the 338 Fed and 358 Win make excellent short and medium ranged woods cartridges. I reload both rounds for friends.

My .257 Roberts, purchased used, is my favorite rifle and does double duty for varmints to elk. If I were building or buying new for a deer rifle (fewer varmints) it would be a .260 Rem or a 7mm-08.

You need to get out more......

SAKO .358