The latest Hornady load manual is telling, illustrating the basic physics that. for a given bullet weight, and pressure, the .358 Win has to be able to achieve higher velocity than the .338 Fed.
With the 200 grain spire points, Hornady got 2700 FPS in the .358 Win with TAC, but only 2650 in the .338 Fed. This mirrors Mule Deer's results in his Handloader #254 article.
If you want to see the .358 come alive, try the 200 TTSX with however much TAC gets you 2700 FPS. It took Hornady (IIRC) 52.4 grains. Mule Deer got about 2745 with the 200 TSX and 52/TAC.
My rifle is a Savage 99, so I back it off to 51 grains for 2685 (though I shot it last week at 95 degrees and it went just over 2700).
Then go run the numbers for energy and trajectory. Note these are at 7300' MSL, the elevation where I'll hunt elk this fall.
3" high at 100 yards, +2.1" at 200, on at 240, 5" low at 300, 18" low at 400 (hold on the hairline, center-punch the vitals). 1840 ft-lbs at 400, with over 2000 FPS to expand the TTSX. I don't expect or want to shoot an elk at 400 with my .358, but could if I had to.
I've no doubt the .338 Fed would pass (or at least catch up to) the .358 somewhere out there, but the .358 is punching a little bigger hole.
I recently got some 200 NABs but I fear they won't work too well in the .358 due to the ogive being almost into the case when loaded to short action OAL. I can hold up to 2.9" in the savage though, so maybe they'll be OK.
Cheers,
Rex
