I live land hunt in Mississippi. Over the last decade or so, Mississippi has changed primitive weapon seasons to accept modern single shot rifles chambered .35 cal and above. My current rifle is a TC pro hunter with a MGM 35 Remington barrel. I picked the 35 Remington so my kids could shoot it without much recoil. After killing a few deer with it, I'm a little disappointed with the results. Initially I was satisfied, and I know dead is dead, but I'm curious if a couple hundred feet per second more generated with a 358 Winchester might produce quicker kills. With classic behind the should shots using Remington and Hornady factory ammo, the deer are covering a good bit of ground before expiring and some have had to have a second shot. I'm about to give up on the Hornady Leverevolution ammo because the bullets pencil through with little damage. I read the 25/06 - 257 Weatherby debates all the time and I don't feel this is the same comparison because its a different level of velocity. So, my question is, at what velocity do kills become "quicker"? And for the guys that have hunting with both, does the 358 Winchester have a noticable advantage?
I have only gotten one deer with a 35 Remington and it ran forever before going down. I was using the 35 Remington Winchester factory load. I felt the bullets were a bit hard, but I have nothing concrete to support it. For comparison, the deer I shot with my 30-30 either dropped in their tracks or went down much faster. I have never used a 358 Winchester so I don't know. I have used the Sierra 225 grain SPBT in a 35 Whelen and it is a deer stopper for sure.
