Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Help me build a compact .358 bolt gun

I want to build a .358 in a compact, 20” bbl, 13” LOP stock, CRF, bolt gun. Wood stock. Somewhat lightweight, but not too light. I do not like whippy featherweight barrels. And there’s the rub...

The easy answer is to buy a Winchester Model 70 Compact in 308 and have it re-bored to 358, But it only comes with an unwanted featherweight barrel contour.

So here are my options as I see them:

1. Buy the M70 Compact ($900 ish) and have it rebarreled in a 20” .358, sporter-ish weight bbl. (Which I would likely then have fluted for cosmetics and weight savings.) and then re-fit the stock barrel channel for the new, heavier barrel. Or...

2. Buy the Winchester M70 Supergrade Sporter ($1400 ish) in .308, have the barrel cut back to 20” and re-bored to .358. Then have the stock cut down to 13 inch LOP, and recoil pad installed.

What is the better option? I really don’t care much about the upgraded wood on the supergrade, although it’s kinda nice. Unfortunately, Winchester does not offer a standard sporter option in short action.

Door 1. It's a better stock design.

If it were me I would simply state what I want down to the last feature and call Montana Rifle Company and order the rifle. Any way you slice it you’ll be spending $1,500+ why not get a turnkey rifle from one source rather than trying to cut, replace, mix and match.

Very interesting. I’m not very familiar with Montana rifles. Enlighten me please!

I went to their site and I don’t see a .358 option and no mention of customization.

What is the allure of the 358 for you?

My thoughts exactly!

Call em. They do non-std chambers as well as stds (the 358 Win is a std.) Even though they don’t show a 358 Win, I’m sure they will chamber it on a 20” barrel with .675”-.700” finished muzzle. They sell their actions as well if that is all that suits you. I’m sure they would build a 350 Rem Mag as well or a 35-300WSM (35 Sambar). The short mags actually are well suited to their 3” SA w/.532” bolt face. Either way their actions are a solid platform.

A cabinet full of dies and components I already own. And just cause...

Ok, I will call if they offer some custom options.

Have you checked out Alamo Precision Rifles?

They’re building a 20” .358 win for me as we speak.

Nope, tell me more please!

I'll throw this out to you - Kimber Montana SA, send to Shaen rifles for re-barrel with Lilja 84M modifled cut to 22". I was on a quest to do exactly as you describe. Got sidetracked with the 338 Fed and went 23" Lilja in 338 Fed. With a NF SHV in Talleys it weighs 6lb 12.6 oz. Fully loaded with sling will weigh an ounce or two over 7lbs. It is a sweet set up. For cost, you can find a SA for $900 or less, $325 for the Lilja, $375 or so for Shaen and you'll be at $1600. I had a SA that didn't shoot all that great so the re-barrel made sense.

I think Grice's in Clearfield, Pa had a run of .358's in a light model 77!!

He wrote that he wanted a wood stock...

All I see from Grices is the Ruger American. No thanks.

I'd find a factory Hawkeye M77 in .358 and cut a new crown and a new LOP. If that poses too much challenge, I'd find a nice wood Hawkeye donor and rebarrel, likely duping the factory Ruger magnum contour. The rifle will balance better and inletting the little bit of extra forend is not a huge feat. A .358 bore is a big hole, and it takes a substantial contour to give you enough weight out front with a 20" pipe. All the actions mentioned here in this thread are not light, and walnut stocks also tend to be biased a bit toward rear ballast. No way I'd want a lightweight barrel on such a rifle. It'd feel like the front end isn't even there. We all have our preferences....

Completely agree. Which is why the featherweight option is not appealing. I have had Ruger tang safeties and MK2’s, never a Hawkeye. How does that action compare in function and build? I’ve never considered Ruger much for custom work as a team to be a bit odd with that angled actions screw and funny little recoil lug.

I get a 358 itch every once in a while, but I haven't scratched it.

Easiest, most cost efficient option.

Another cost efficient route would be to go with any sporter barreled action of choice in .308/.243/etc and have JES rebore it. http://www.35caliber.com/

The MRC action would be nice if you want to go custom.

The hawkeye is not that much different from the MkII. Most changes concern metal finish, stock lines, and the trigger. Honestly, a good tanger or MkII wouldn't be a bad start either, if the walnut is nice enough. If I'm not mistaken, the Ruger, MRC, M70, and the Howa/Vanguard all offer a bit more magazine box COAL than the standard 2.82" for short actions. That can be a plus in the .358win if you are trying to shoot tipped bullets like the NAB or TTSX.

My bad - I missed that

The only Hawkeye I see in .358 is the French Walnut version. Can’t say I’m thrilled with the basket weave checkering but I could get used to it. Does anyone know what the barrel contour is on that French Walnut Hawkeye? That might be the easiest option as all is have to do is cut the bbl and the stock down.

But will it shoot? I’ve never known Ruger to be accuracy champs. Does that French Walnut version have a better barrel out of their custom shop or something?

Also, how is the Hawkeye trigger? Decent? Or need a swap? I liked the tang safety triggers after a once over. Never could get the mk2 trigger right so it got swapped.

It's cool to see a bit of a resurgence in the popularity of the old 358. For hunting in timber and rolling country it is a shell that has a lot of use and merit, yet because of market dynamics it never really caught on. But it's a lack of popularity is not due to any lack of usefulness.
I have to guess it failed because of the 30-06 being the most popular cartridge at the time the 358 came into existence,and the 06 would fire a 220 grain bullet to longer ranges then the 358 would fire a 220 225 or 250.
A real hunter understand that it is not an important factor, but the armchair book-reading shooter was easily impressed with trajectory tables.

Anyway, the 358 is a cartridge I have seen used a bit. I myself never owned one, but considered making on for myself a number of times. I have made about 8-9 or them for customers and 2 of those customers hunt with me from time to time. I have had opportunity to SEE the 358 work and I can say without reservation it works very well. Loaded with 225 grain bullets it also shoots a bit flatter then most men think it will so iut's false that it's only a close range round. One man I made a 358 for uses it for all his hunting including Antelope and he just loves it. He's killed antelope, deer elk moose and bear with that gun, and every time he kills something I get a call from him. I delight in those calls. A happy customer is the best kind.

I went parallel to the 358 for my own use, but the ballistics I am using are about the same as the 358. I like the 9X57 and the 9.3x57. I love good Mausers, and the Standard 57MM shell of the Mauser feeds perfectly from those actions regardless of the bullet diameter. From the 24 cal (6MM Rem) to the 37 cal (9.5X57) all of the cartridges require only a barrel of the correct size and you have the bases for a very good hunting rifle with very little metal work to do other then the usual bolt handle and safety. So I found the 9.3X57 to my liking, and I am now making a 9X57 with a 257 Roberts switch barrel set. The 9X57 is just about the same as the 358 Winchester. It is made on the American/British grooved barrel instead of the German /Austrian size, having .358 grooves instead of 355 or 356. This allows me to use the standard American .358" size bullets.
My 9.3X57 seems to be at the top of it's game with the Norma 236 grain bullets, but does well with heavier bullets too, up to 286 grain.
The "up-side" to using the Mauser cartridge over the 358 is the total lack of need to work on the action, and in my eyes, the classic Mauser look.
The "down-side" to the Mauser shells over the 358 is the cost of the dies (2X the cost of 358 dies) and the fact that the best bullet I have found for it is costly in comparison to what I can get from Speer, Sierra, Hornady and Nosler. I use the 270 grain Speer and at the lower speed of the 9.3X57 that bullet is not as prone to break completely apart as it is from my 9.3X74R or my 9.3X62.
I also used the 250 grain Nosler AccuBond, but that bullet costs as much as the Norma's do, so it is good but not quite as easy to open up as the Norma, but the Norma's don't ever come apart because they are bonded too.

But back to the point.
A 35-36 caliber bullet of 225 to 286 grains moving along at 30-30 to 303 Brit speeds are very deadly and very effective on about any game you want to shoot with it.
I am betting you'll like what you end up with.

In the meantime, just so you get some shooting in while you have your custom made up...get a nice Remington 7600 pump Carbine in .308 or 243 and have JES rebore it to 358 win! I'd be tempted to even try a Model 7400!

Not exactly what you described, but I like this cheapo..

I’ve had Ruger 77s, MK IIs and Hawkeyes and the Hawkeye is my favorite of the three. The older models were great guns but the actions were a little rough, triggers were not that great and they shot alright for a hunting gun, but not great. The Hawkeye that I currently have (an Alaskan model in 375 Ruger) has one of the smoothest and most perfectly timed action I’ve owned and that includes a lot of custom actions. The finish on the action is noticeably better than the earlier models and the trigger is very good for a factory trigger.

My 375 will easily shoot sub .75” groups at 100 with a variety of premium hunting bullets and occasionally less than that with some of the standard cup and core bullets. The 30-06 and 300 Win Mag M77s I had would shoot 1 MOA with a bullet they liked but usually a little larger group. The MK IIs in 338 Win Mag and 308 Win were closer to 1.5 MOA with everything I tried.

I missed a chance at an M77 Hawkeye in 358 a few years ago and I’ve kicked myself ever since. I’d just finished building a Savage Striker in 358 Win and didn’t feel like I needed two guns in that chambering. Now the pistol is gone and I wish I’d grabbed the rifle!

Oh I have a Savage 99 in same cal. I got the shootin irons.

If you’re going to shoot much offhand, then I’d go with the M-70 Compact and a 22” sporter-weight barrel. Once you get it scoped you can shoot it offhand and see how it balances. Then you can decide whether to shorten and flute the barrel.

Sounds like an interesting project.


Okie John

I sort of built a 358 a while.ago...i bought a Walmart Remington 700 adl for 378 bucks. Dropped it into a b&c stock with some factory bottom metal. Sent it to JES and had it bored and chambered to 358. Mounted a 2.5-8 on it and called it good. I think I had less than 900 all up scope included. It would shoot Hornady 200 grain soire points under an inch

Unless your set on the new production M70, don't limit yourself to what's available now.
I bet you can find an older M70 in 308 that could be cut and rebored.

Use the money saved to make it what you want.

No sense buying new, when you are going to chop it up.

I’d do that in a heartbeat, if I could actually find one!

Yeah, too bad they don’t make cheap M70’s, or sell the bare action. I don’t hate on the 700, but it’s not what I want for this build.

Good idea, in theory, but the M70 compact doesn’t come with a sporter weight barrel.

Might find a Rem 798 or similar import Mauser in 308 for a decent price.

Chop and rebore, maybe a trigger.

I have a Tikka T3 in .308 that is waiting to go to JES and become a .358. I have a T3 Hunter stock that I picked up for cheap. Will probably modify the bolt stop and get some of the 6.5CM mags to assuage any COAL potential issues. When all is said and done think I'll have maybe $850 in it. Might chop the barrel back to 20" haven't decided on that yet. Should be light and handy.

Have you considered a CZ?

Considered, yes. I own a CZ 550 and it’s a fine factory rifle. But like all other common CRF actions out there, M70, 77, 550, they aren’t available as a bare action and cost effective donor rifles are hard to find.

There’s a lot of good potential platforms out there to flip to a .358 win.

I really like the older Bofors Steel L579 SAKO rifle......
you could find one of those in .243 or .308 and send it to Jes to rebore.
You’d have a great action and adjustable trigger, with a nicely designed walnut stock.

I wouldn’t personally be in any great hurry to cut to 20”. You should scope it and see how the
balance is and determin how you want it to feel.
I like neutral or just a bit weight forward in a rifle. They hang, swing and shoot so much better that way.

Good luck! That little cartridge is a stud.
Mine puts Nosler and Sierra 225’s in the same group.

Well I got it done today with Alamo Precision Rifles. A 20” K & P heavy sporter contour, micro spiral flute job, Alamo Hunter action, Trigger Tech primary, traditional blue mimic Cerakote, all bedded into a Mc Woody Hunter. A bit more cash than I wanted to spend, but time is money, and they made the process really easy. I’m thrilled so far. Good communication and a very fair price for what I got. Best of all, I got the CRF action like I wanted without having to find a donor and source everything from multiple different places and then round up a smith to put it all together well. One stop shop with Alamo, and no one else to point fingers at if something goes south. Very fast turnaround too!

Montana never called me back, and this is the only other option I’m aware of for a CRF action in a custom build without having to find a donor rifle. If it all comes together like I think it will, Alamo found a fan in me!

I suggest that you consider a Remington 660 carbine for your project.

Sherwood

I have the bug for a 358 as well. I may go with the Walmart 700 in 308 and cut it to 21" send it to JES to rebore it.

There isn't a single bullet in the bore size,that is worth a fhuqk.

Hint...............

Hey dumb dumb, this isn’t the long range forum.....

It’s actually a great cartridge if a guy can peel his cuunt from the couch and computer and hunt...


Feel free to critique my choice in cartridges by posting a better Roosevelt bull.... 🤣🤣🖕🏿

I know. You'd have to go full custom or find a Model 70 barrel chambered for a short-action cartridge that you could rebore.


Okie John

Too easy to align COAL,RPM and BC...in order to connect all dots,less a single concession.

None of which ANY .358" arranges.

Hint.............

What other chamberings would you consider for a CRF, SA, short range thumper bolt gun?

.338" bolsters the Skinner,amongst others and it is both robust and beyond repute.

Hint......................

Your full of [bleep] on that call,,,

Yeah.
I have to agree.
At least for the distances I’m shooting the 225 grain NAB is a pretty good bullet.
A long range rifle a .35 is not but at least to 400 yds I’d be comfortable with it.
Yes the .338 is better and has superior bullets than the .35 I agree.