Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 308 rebore to 358

Double tap has a 310 gr load in the 358.
At 21something

Bullet construction/placement trumps weight everyday of the week and twice on Sunday.

Ok stupid question here , I have never been around or know squat about reboreing a rifle. why would you rebore a barrel instead of just rebarreling ? On a hunting , using rifle.
On a rebore won't you have to at least touch up the chamber , touch up crown and re rifle after making bore larger ?

A 223 55 gr Barnes is not a bear bullet , no matter what the placement.
So with all due respect, I disagree .
Everyone knows placement and construction are important.
Thats a given
Nowhere did I say they are not important.you need all three for the game you are hunting.
Size matters.

Good God man, asking questions like that has absolutely no bearing whatsoever for a man playing with new rifle builds!

.....this coming from the owner of several 358s, 338 Feds, 308s, 7mm-08s, 260s, and 243s.

Re-boring (at least using the services of JES Reboring) is easily half the cost of re-barreling. The JES rebore includes the re-chambering and re-rifling. I've had 3 rebored by JES. None of which had or required the crown be touched up. Each one was a MOA shooter from the day I got it back from Jesse.

You bet. Jesse has done two 358s for me, both shoot very well with factory ammo.
I'll be sending him another this year.

Great
Will call him again tomorrow
Hard man to get a hold of

You must have a lot of experience with bears?

Not gonna type a novel, but I've seen penetration on animals beyond what my 308s can do. If I ran magnum 308s, I might could drive higher weight/SD 308 bullets to similar results as my .358 200-250gr stuff....but it'd cost more powder, recoil, and gun.

.308" (7.62mm) 150 grain, SD .226
.358" (.35) 200 grain, SD .223
.308" (7.62mm) 180 grain, SD .271
.358" (.35) 250 grain, SD .279

JME, but while SDs can tell us something, they're only good until the bullet deforms, and weight/velocity will pretty much rule, regardless of paper or my/your/anyone's anecdotal theory.

Man, you know everything. I'm sure you'll do well in Alaska. LUCK

Alpha mags allow long bullets , rovering
Both guns use 308 case
Like the idea of stocks the same
Triggers close
Mags work for both guns

Run the 308 with 180, 190, or 200 grain bullets. It will do just as well. I'd skip the 358 altogether.

If you truly need a bigger gun for bigger game, then get a truly bigger gun (which starts at 9.3x62, and is perfected in a 375). Why not get a Ruger Alaskan in 375 and have a real match to your little 308?

I have shot a lot of game with both the 30 caliber rifles (308 and 30-06) and feel the 358 and 35 Whelen are a cut above the 30's in every category when it comes to penetration, width of wound channels and blood trails. I have never shot a Partition out of a 35 caliber rifle either but have used them a lot in the 30's. I have to say that with chest hits the 35 calibers seem to bring down game quicker. I use 220-225gr. bullets on feral hogs usually and 250 gr. bullets on all else. This is not to say I am knocking the 30's as I am very fond of them also but if you need a heavy blood trail you are more likely to get it from a 35 especially on feral hogs.

Can't put it into words or qualify it by mathematics, but there is a definite "break" in performance at the level of about .33 caliber.

This same "break" also occurs somewhere around .27 caliber which is why the .270 Winchester is a "legend". The .30 caliber rifles (read that .308 or .30-06) are definitely in that range, but the .270 is just within the range where "killing" power is inhanced above the lesser .24-.25 caliber rifles. It can't be proven, but it exists.

At .33 caliber (and definitely at .35 caliber) there is another "break" in performance. It's not that they kill any better (anything from a .24 caliber on up will kill just as well if properly placed), but it is in the class where reaction to the shot (stagger or fall) and distance traveled after the shot is apparent. The bigger bores just tend to hit harder and leave a better blood trail (critical in some habitates).

If you think you are going to kill more game with a bigger bore....you are wrong. However, if you believe that a bigger bore will make finding your game easier and making the effect of your shot more apparent....then you are on the right track.

Very well put, and I would agree.

I'm a big fan of big holes.
There has been a noticeable difference for me in 308 vs 358.
I'll grab my 358s over my 308s at this point.

Elmer Keith was a fan of big holes as well.

Elmer was a fan of big bores for a reason.....they just work! Odd how most hunters of long experience (200+ kills) seem to feel the same way and gravitate toward bigger bore rifles.

Most fans of small bore-high velosity rounds are mostly limited to less than 50 kills and open country hunting.

Are you saying you prefer the WAG method?

No, I am saying that 40+ years of experience and observation can't be put into words......but it still holds true. Unlike some who form opinions based on a couple of dozen kills and a lot of internet clicks.

Suspicions confirmed, WAG.

Observation and experience that can't be put into words is more akin to imagination than reality.........

Personally, I've always been able to quantify differences when they exist. I understand that it's quite a feat for others.