Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 18.5" .358Win: Too loud?

So we've got a neat old user-grade 7mm-08 M788 Remington with the 18.5" spout and I'm considering a rebore to .358Win. Partly considering it because my father and I have always wanted to try the .358, partly because the 788 magazine allows a longer OAL than a 700, and partly because the 7mm-08 hurts my ears too dang much when barrel lengths get below 20". I've got two 7mm-08 20" carbines and that's as short as I want to go. I know that my experience has pointed toward expansion ratio making a difference in how abusive a shorter barrel can be. A 22" .338WM seems fine, as compared to a 24" 7mmRM with the same case capacity. A 20" .308Win seems okay, while a 20" 243Win seems rather barky. Would it make much difference to the ear, going from .284 bore to .358 on this old 788?

You'll get a lot more performance and less noise out of a 35 cal 18.5" barrel than you will in it's current 7mm version. I'd say go for it.

375 Raptor?

My 20" Whelen doesn't seem too barky. I think the smaller .358 case should be just fine with the shorter tube.

JPro
Go for it you will get a lot of thump out of th at rifle. Load it with 200 grain accubonds or 225 grain Sierra
Or a 225grain woodleigh PPSP.
It won't be as noisy is the 7 08 and still be good out to 300 yards.
Be wary of those that say it's a short range bush cartridge it's a lot more than that. The little 358 kills out of all proportion to its size.
I once asked a mate why he likes his 358. His reply was it just plain works.
Bob

My 20” rar isn’t bad,

Have the barrel threaded for a can and shoot the hellout of it till it's tired, then rebore it spec the can for use with a 358 down the line. You the one with the beautiful shooting daughters. Got to be worse things that can happen to a guy than keeping his girls into ammo. MB

That made me think..... I've not done the 158 XTP's in my .358....but the thought of a short barrel, can, and reduced loads could be a lot of fun.

Do it. The 358 is more of a boom than a crack. It should be fine. You may not be able to load it as warm as some folks around here do because of the rear lug 788 action, but it still should be a dandy rifle.

For whatever it's worth, Ruger made a limited run of short barrel (18" ???) 358s in full stocks in the early 90s for Grice or Jerry's or one of the big wholesalers. They sold out real quick.

Appreciate the compliments on the kiddos. They're really a good pair that is just growing up too quickly. And the thread/suppress notion has crossed my mind as well.

Regarding the short barrel .358, it sounds like it might be a viable option to make the gun more useful and satisfy a curiosity. I've shot reduced Whelen loads for years (225NAB at 2,420fps) and they knock the snot out of stuff. I could see a handy boltgun carbine pushing the 200NAB as a legit 250yd pig/deer thumper.

I have a Remington 7600 carbine (18.5” barrel) that was originally a .35 Remington that I had converted to a .358 Win. and don’t find the report objectionable and agree that it’s more of a “boom” than a “crack”. I think the .358 is a great cartridge!!

PennDog

Not at all, this custom 700 358 I bought here isn't barky at all

That 788 in 358 will be a cool conversion. I'd wish for a 22" bbl. but either way .......

Luke Moffits 16 inch barreled kimber 358 was only 100 fps behind my 20 in barreled 358. He was using reloader 10x. Its a good short barrel powder. Go for it, you should see 2350 fps from a 250 grainer, 2450 fps from a 225 grainer.

I remember seeing that one when it was a new build. Always thought it was cool.

358 Win = Kool.........

Had an 18" Savage I put together 10 yrs ago.....

Turned out heavier than I wanted....

Fat tube....Laminated stock.....sold it

I purchased 1 of the 18" Ruger rifles back in the day in 358 Win. I couldn't take the noise. It was so bad and that's why I sold it to RJM. He wanted it. My SS Model 7, Rem 700 and my Rem 600 all have 20" barrels in 358. I don't remember the Model name of that Ruger bolt action carbine.

Ken

Won't work. 788 mag will not feed .358 because of the wide neck. Was going to do it myself about 20 years ago. Tried it and you will have a hard time getting it to feed.

Ken...that was a super shorty 16.5" Ruger Frontier you sold me....and Kinley and I both still have our rifles...wonderful woods/tree stand gun...

That said I have not seen any jacketed bullet that will expand worth a heck from barrels under 20", except for maybe the .35 Remington 200 CorLoc RN, and now run a MP 220 grain cast/gas checked HP... Getting right at 1900 fps with RL-7 and MOA accurate.. My friend killed his last deer with his Frontier using a RCBS 220 FP...hole in...hole out...

Bob

Hadn't thought of that. I knew there was a reason I asked for opinions. Thanks for the insight.....