Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 338 Fed, 358 Win performance?

Don't know about the 338 Fed, do know it best take it's vitamins and eat a chit-ton load of wheaties if it's going to top 200gr TSX/TTSX's at 2700+ fps, 1/2 inch groups, and brutal take no prisoners performance is all I've seen from my 358 hawkeye all weather, it's a hard, fast killing little SOB.

I have hunted with a 358 winchester for over 15 years, always by canoe and more recently by dog team. I have taken my biggest 2 moose with the 358 Winchester. I'm very pleased to see the cartridge discussed and the great praise given to the cartridge. It is my hope, that more hunters will put away their 30 caliber and 7 mm magnums and grab a 358 for ANY hunt they have planned in North America. Over the years, I've seen a bunch of "theoretical thinking out loud" and marginal information written on the internet about the 358 Winchester. Lotta these guys are posers who think they're important. Elmer Keith once said the 358 Winchester is suitable for any North American big game with 250 grain bullets. Not much has changed. Lookey here:

Yukon254 downed North America's largest animal with a 250 grain partition:

"Mainer, I was following your posts on the 358 right from the beginning over on the AOF. Early on a lot of guys were of the opinion that the 225 grain bullets were about as heavy as the little 358 could push reliably. You were going heavy for caliber, and if my memory is correct worked your way up to 300 grain bullets. I stopped at 250 grain NP. I would have gone heavier but the 250 NP was almost flawless on large game. The bison here are pretty spooky and quite tough to hunt. Our season runs in the winter months so a guy can do a lot of snowshoeing. Anyway I got up on a small herd that were feeding in a big slough, but they got my wind before I was where I wanted to be and busted out for the hills. Luckily I found an opening an shot a big bull that was bringing up the rear. I wanted to anchor him so held right in the middle of his shoulder. The bullet broke both shoulders and I found it perfectly mushroomed under the hide on the off side. The distance was about 90 meters and that bullet lifted that bull right off his feet. Anyone who has ever butchered a big bull bison will know that they are the biggest heaviest boned animals in NA."

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...ridge-for-alaska-moose-hunt#Post13231558

Of the three moose I've shot with the 358, my two largest bulls were shot with the 275 grain woodleigh. Not because the 275 woodleigh was needed, but simply because I could. The kills were immediate. I like that, as I solo hunt rivers, I want them anchored right where I hit them, not 3 seconds later in the cold water, or 3 seconds later, dead in a swamp hole:





I am not interested in a 358 as a bolt action. If I wanted a bolt action, I'd grab a 9.3 mauser carbine. The 9.3 mauser carbine, from it's very beginning as a bolt gun to compete with the fancy british doubles used in Africa, cannot be outdone. To extract as much advantage from the 358 as possible, it needs to be light in weight and fast on the repeat shots. Make my 358 a Savage 99, Winchester 88 or Browning BLR carbine. The 358 gets it's magic, from a 250 grain bullet. I hunt winter caribou by dog team in open, windy, treeless country. My winter clothing is very heavy, and shots get out there to 400 yds, like this past weekend:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...78682/3-caribou-by-dog-team#Post13278682

No more scoped bolt action, walking through crusted snow. Time to go light and fast with an ultralight 358 with 200 grain TTSX blazing through the 30-40 mph winds. It's only a matter of months, before I figure out it they will also work on Spring grizz:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...ralight-blr-358-win-project#Post13260417


I'm very reluctant to go any lighter, but if you must, the 200 grain TTSX would be my first choice. At least with the light-weight TTSX, the things have an actual shank for decent penetration after expansion, unlike the 200 grain Nosler Accubonds.



Here's some of my older load development:
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com...ta-200-grain-Accubond-and-200-grain-TTSX

This post hit the nail on the head. Do not underestimate the penetration ability of a 200 grain bullet in the 308 Win. Awesome with the right bullet.

I see all the time where people say anything bigger that a 180 grain bullet is too heavy for the 308. Not true.

And no matter how hard you try, a .358 won't squeeze through a .308 bore without issues.

There are good reasons to use the .358. Just because a .308 or .338 can and does work very well does not mean there is no good that can come from the .358's. A good loading from a .356/.358Win/.35Whelen flat out stomps stuff hard at reasonable hunting distances. Fact.

I agree with other posts to consider 200 grain spitzers in the 308 Win.

With modern powders, you should be able to get a MV of 2450+ FPS with them. With a sectional density of .300 , and BC of near .500 of 200 grain spitzers, you get good down range energy, and great penetration. It should be easy to test/ evaluate, and a very low cost alternative to reboring.

There was a thread on Alaska outdoor forums about using this set up (.308 win + 200 grain bullet) for bison. You need to develop 2000 ft-lbs energy at 100 yards with a qualifying cartridge. The .308 Win / 200 grain / 2450+ FPS load met the criteria (2400 ft-lbs @100 yards, 2000 ft-lbs @ 200 yards). Should be fine for moose needs. Plenty of moose up here in Maine are taken with factory 308 Win and 30-06 180 grain bullets. The 308 / 200 grainer should be quite a thumper.

Just an easy, low-cost option to consider for a “bigger bullet”, instead of a rebore job.

Link to Alaska outdoors: 308 Win / 200 grain / 2500+ FPS
308 Win / 200 grain / 2500 FPS loading data results