Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting .358 bullets

Hello, I am having a custom rifle built chambered in 358 winchester. I will be using it to hunt deer in northeast Kansas. I am going to start reloading for it. My question is bullet choice. Does anyone have any experience with the Hornady 200 gr RN, the 250 gr RN, or the Remington 200 RN? Shots will be 150 yards and under.

Welcome to the fire. My 350 rem like the 200 grain sierra rn, and my Whelen likes the 250 Hornady rn.

No experience with the RN but the hornady 200 grain SP will kill deer dead all day long...

Thanks. I'm kinda leaning twards the Hornady 200, but was considering the 250. Kinda worring about the 250 with expansion on deer at 358 win speeds though.

2 deer killed with 225 Accubonds so far have impressed me and them...

I have probably taken more deer with the 358 than any other caliber. Tried several slugs including 200 hornady sp, 200 barnes x, 225 nosler bt, 220 speer and 225 sierra. The 200 hornady sp is my favorite. perfect match for the 358 and deer.

What he said,

Dale

I used the 200 Silvertip from 1966 til they were discontinued.

Since then I have loaded the 180 Speer which is proven on deer. My late dad made me a tool back in the 80's to swage a spitzer meplat onto the flat nose 180 Speer.

Same as posted above in regards to Hornady 200 gr. SP. I load them in Whelens for myself and two other guys. In your 358 I can't see anything working better for you on deer.

Plus 4 <g>, the 200 Horn SP is a great deer bullet.

My other favorite is the 225 Partition.

RL7 gets my 20" M7 well up over 2600 fps with the 200's; TAC is the magic pixie dust for 225's.

In some lengthy posts in the past, the R-P 200 gr PSP CoreLokt bullet has been highly respected as a good deer bullet.

http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/BrowseProducts.aspx?tabId=1&categoryId=7284&categoryString=9315***652***19785***9016***&refineSearchKeywordDisplay=remington&refineSearchKeyword=remington

In the 358 win with it's moderate velocity, use the bullet that shoots the best. 200grs or 225grs will get the job done with no tricks for deer at 150 yards. At that range, even round nose bullets would get the job done.

The thing with the 200's is that the BC on them is wretched. The .358 is fully 400-yd capable, even with some wind, with the 225 Partition. A good elk load (I presume) and it does just hammer deer. Very versatile and maximizes what a .358 can do- IMHO.

Only downside is cost- which is brutal at about $50/box.

I have killed deer with the 358win and 35Whelen at the ranges you're talking about. I use the 200gr Hornady RN and it hammers deer like they should, and they bullets hold up well. At 2500-2700fps they break anything that gets in the way and don't leave you with a bloody mess to throw away.

I like your preferences in bullets for a .358 to be used at moderate ranges. My .358 has a 19" barrel and I use the Hornady 250 gr. RN exclusively in it. With 42.5 gr. IMR 3031 it produces just about 2200 fps and is very accurate:



I am mightily impressed with the accuracy of this bullet. It shoots 3-shot groups in way less than an inch very regularly. I think it will do anything you would ask of it at .358 velocities.

Sighted 2 1/2" high at 100 yards it is 2 1/2" low at 200. I consider it a 225 yard gun, although I suppose that could be stretched a bit if necessary. So far I have only taken one black bear with it but it did a great job and the bullet howled off into the sunset somewhere after putting the bear down. I think it would be just fine for deer as well. I like to have just one load for each of my rifles, and I stopped looking when I saw how the 250's grouped.

I've had very good luck with Speer 180 grain bullet.

TR

Kansas82,
I have shot a 35 Whelen since 1989, since then I have killed close to 40 deer. I can assure you than any bullet you try will do a great job on deer with your .358 Winchester.
The most accurate in my rifle was the Sierra 225 boattail.
The 200 gr. are not very accurate in my rifle but they do a good job of killing them on the spot.
The 250 does a great job and are accurate but are more recoil.
I would try the 200 gr Hornady first and then go up if you need to. The 180 Speer will do a good job as well.
There is really no need for a premium bullet in this caliber.
The deer will not appreciate the difference.
Have Fun,
whelennut

There are certainly no flies on the 200 PSP Core-lokt!

I've used the 200gn Rem CoreLokt in my Whelen (2717fps) and found it hard on pigs if hit behind the shoulder. The pigs tended to run 40 - 100 metres before going down. If put into the shoulder pad and through bone, the piggies drop right there.

FYI - Natchez now has the Hornady 200 Gr. SP in stock for $30/100.

I haven't been able to find them anywhere in stock for the last few months.