Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Building a "Thumper"

Gents, I see the thread on the Kimber/.358 Winchester and like what I see there. I have 2, 7-08's, one Sako A7 tack driver and a Savage LWH w/20" bbl., excellent shooter also. Was wanting some suggestions on building a lite, short barreled thumper similar to the Kimber thread .358 and am thinking about redoing the savage lwh to a heavier caliber round. In your opinions what would be a good fit for that rifle? Rebore, rebarrel? What larger, short action, off the shelf cartridges would fit this size action? I'm not that concerned with recoil so much as being able to buy off the shelf ammo, keep the rifle short, light and portable. Will probably go with the existing Swaro Z3 that's on it now.

Rifle's intended use would be back pack for elk in thick stuff, hogs, deer and the occasional bear hunt including the big bears. Your opinions and advice are much appreciated.

350 rem the original short mag!

I tossed around several calibers for the same purpose a while back. since overseas hunting was on the menu, I chose 9.3x62, I didn't limit myself to a short action, but wanted something I could find ammo for in Europe, Scandinavia, or Africa if need be.
I went with a 19" barreled Win 70, it has become my loaner, beat around, kill everything rifle.
350 RM, 35 Whelan, 376 Steyr, 9.3x62, and 338-06 were all on my list.

Trapr

A 350 "thumper" in the classifieds:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...24/gonew/1/wts-custom-350-rem-mag#UNREAD

450 Bushmaster.

308 Winchester

Yup, with a 200 gr bullet @ 24-2500 fps you got it.

The Savage will be the easiest conversion. You can order a pre-fit barrel from ER shaw for a couple hundred or higher quality for ~$400. If you have a C&R, Shaw will give you dealer pricing as well. For you intended purposes, I can't see the ER shaw hurting anything. You can also sell your 7mm-08 barrel pretty easily. The 9 twist sell very easily. They made some older 7mm tubes 1:11 twist. I can't see the value in re-boring a Savage when you can buy a new tube for less.

338 federal or 358 win seem to be logical choices. Factory ammo for both can be spotty locally, but if you're willing to order it, you should be fine. As stated, 450 BM or .458 Socom are also options, but ammo again can get dicey. I think we'll be fine for the next few years though.

9.3 BS looks like a promising candidate...

This is what I did. It now wears a purple swirly compact McMillan. Love the rifle and the round.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/5445933/all

I bought a Kimber 84M in 338 Federal and never looked back.

Talleys and a Leupold ultralight 2.5X, Ti bolt handle and Aluminum trigger guard
puts me at 5.3 pounds. Federal 210NP ammo shoots amazing groups.

Off the shelf? I would say your best option is a 308 with 200 grain bullets.

I would personally choose a 338 Federal or '06 depending on ranges, a 358 WCF would duplicate the use of the 338F, or a 9.3x62. Those are MY picks.

A Kimber or Tikka in those short rounds would be fine. The longer rounds can get the real heavies up to speed. And yes, the one under the radar for many, the 350 RM is very capable.

I would use 185-210s in the 338F, 225s in the 35s, Sierra for deer and Nosler or Barnes for Nasties, or all around. In the 338/06 a 200 will do 2900, think Nosler, and a 225 Barnes or Nosler for big stuff. Last, in the 9.3, hard to go wrong with a Nosler 250 or 286 IMHO.

So, those are my choices, action length and bolt face are considerations, and the bullets above, and how fast you want to drive them. I'd lean on the 350 and the longer rounds if many hunts planned for the great bears ie Grizzly. If most shots are 300 yds and under, I'd go with a 338F or 358. Hope that gives you food for thought.

Really like that purple rifle above, but not a fan of Savage, I know they shoot, just not a fan given other choices, sorry.

If you are really leaning towards "LIGHT" - in rifle weight, then I'd go with a 338 F or 358 WCF.

I would go with a 358 over the Federal. If I really wanted a 338 I would go to CDNN and get a 338 RCM for $499.00 and be done.

That's the way I spent my money. I went with the 358 over the Federal because you can shoot anything from a buckshot pellet to a 300 grain solid if you reload. When the 338 RCM's were incredibly cheap on closeout I snagged one. A little more oomph made sense in the 338 to me.

Gents, apologies for the long time of reply to all of these ideas and food for thought they are, it is much appreciated. I found a recommended gunsmith not too far from where I live and he has just about espoused all of the choices mentioned here for that action size rifle. I'm going to check with one more gunsmith in Bayfield, Colorado that did some work for me a few yrs back and see what he says. I'm also printing all of what is said here for reference going forward. My gut at the moment says either .358 Win or 350 RM (pending proper fit for the action/bolt) and the ER Shaw route looks good, too.
Again, many thanks to all.

I think you're going to enjoy that "thumper" rifle.

I'd go with the .338 Federal or the .358 Win. They're easy shooting cartridges, reasonably available in factory ammo.

Guy

358 win in a short action 308 based caliber action. Factory ammo is seasonally available.
35 Whelen in a 30-06 factory based caliber action. Factory ammo seems more available if you order. Neither will likely be locally available.
308 with heavies for the easiest solution in factory ammo. I like the idea of a 35 caliber but it's doubtful the animal will know the difference.

For a while now I've had plans to buy a Kimber Montana in 308,243,or 7-08 and cut it to 20" and have JES rebore it to 358 Win. I still want to do it but have had a couple other projects going lately.

Going with J E S in .358 Winchester. Thanks again, Gents.

This - if you can't leave well enough alone and just hunt the 7-08's.

We'll have none of that practical thinking here, sir!

I see you've already decided on the 358. That should be about perfect. When I was looking for a 'thumper' I stumbled across a 375wby custom on a Whitworth. A very unique rifle that does indeed thump on both ends. I enjoy shooting it, and it sure makes the 7stw/300h&h/etc seem gentle by comparison...