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I just picked up a 94 in 356 Winchester from a nameless source on this site (thanks).

Wondering what bullets you guys have used for what game? I have 220FP Speers on hand that I was planning on using for bear and maybe trying some Hornady 200 RN.

What powders also.

Thanks.

Congratulations...Those are quite hard to find. Wish I could help you with loading data but I don't have a .356 and I'm not ok with that.

Loading data is a little scarce but this is an easy cartridge to load. Anything in the IMR 3031 - 4895 range works great. Win 748 produced the highest velocity for me with good accuracy. 220 Speers have been the only bullet I've used in mine but I haven't hunted it much. One small black bear is all it's taken. Most data seems to be about .358 Win levels less 10%. My rifle ejects cases made from .308 NM brass just fine. Might be worth a try if you run short of brass. Ward

Load data for the .356 is not scarce at all; you are on the wrong forum. I like the Campfire but it is not really a �lever-Action� Forum. Try the Beartooth Bullets Shooters Forum. You will find a number of .356 shooters lurking there.

http://www.shootersforum.com/

You will find the .356 a very easy cartridge to load for. Cast bullets such as the 200-grain RCBS bullet can be driven at full speed without difficulty. I have found the 220 Speer to be a very accurate bullet in my Winchester but it is too tough for use on our West Texas white tail deer. The indications were the Speer bullet was just starting to expand as it exited. All of the deer I shot through the lungs with this bullet ran. I admit they were dead on their feet and only ran until they ran out of oxygen. Switching to the 200 grain Sierra, Hornady or bulk Remington bullets significantly changed my results. The 200-grain bullet driven at .356 velocities, 2300 fps+ resulted in deer either dropping in their tracks or very shortly thereafter. There was never a doubt the deer was solidly hit. All of the 200-grain bullets hold together well on shoulder shots and the bullets exit.

As too powder selection Hodgdon 4198 is my first choice, followed by Hodgdon Varget and 4895. All of these provide high velocity with excellent accuracy in my rifle. As pointed out Winchester 748 will certainly do the job. W748 will equal or exceed the velocity of the other powders but I have not found it quite as accurate. Above 90 degrees I have experienced indications of high pressure with published load data when using W748 and the 220-grain Speer bullet. This included a light lever kick and the beginning signs of sticky extraction.

I use Varget in my .358 win BLR it is very clean burning and accurate.

I have shot 2 whitetail with the speer 180 fp and a book load from AA of 2015 for 2700 fps. I have loaded the 220 speers and the group very differently than the 180's. I have never used them on game. I am almost 100 % committed in this gun to the Ly 358627 215 gr cast bullet, though I am playing with the Saeco 352 245 gr also. Gianni.

For those of you who have used the 200g bullets, how did they work. I have only used Winchesters 200g and 250g bullets on deer and prefered the 250's due to better penetration. The deer hit with the 250 did run off but the blood trail was easy to follow and it penetrated from the last rib and exited the off shoulder. The 200g bullet hit a deer on the rear of the shoulder and blew up. Deer was dead in a blink, but the off shoulder wasn't touched and the near shoulder was ruined for table fair. Two deer doesn't prove anything though.

Hunter

My experiences with the 200-grain bullets have been on our West Texas white tail deer. A good full-bodied adult male deer in my area runs 150 lbs on the hoof with many under this weight. Using the 200-grain Remington and Sierra JRN bullets in the .356 has given me much quicker kills and more significant blood splashes at the site of the shot than I experienced with the 220 grain Speer bullet.
Using the 200-grain bullets the deer when hit �humped up� at the shot and there was no doubt they were hard hit. If the deer moved from its tracks they did so stiff legged and slowly.
With the 220-grain bullet I did not experience this. When hit with the 220 grain Speer bullet the deer would typically take off at a run, running sometimes 100+ yards before running out of oxygen and dropping or ducking under a ceader to hide.
I could not tell the difference between the two bullet weights when taking shoulder shots. My shoulder shots typically cross the chest cavity and exit through the ribs or just behind them. The deer drop in their tracks with this type shot/
I have not been able to punch both shoulders on a broadside shot with either bullet.

I just got in the dies, cases, and a box of 200grain Hornady RN and some more 220 Speers. I will run some tests on bears in a few weeks.

I realized I should point out that when I said I had not punched both shoulders with the 200 grain bullets it is because I have not been able able to set up that kind of shot, not that the bullets failed to fully penetrate.

My favorite max load for the 220 Speer bullet uses 39.0 grains of Hodgdon 4198 and gives me 2,364 fps with excellent accuracy. This load is 39% efficient by Ken Howells fomula or gives 61 fps per grain of powder. It is a maximum load due to case capacity with the bullet seated to 2.550" in Winchester brass and using Winchester primers. At about 2,700 ftpds of muzzle energy it is a pretty powerful load from a 20" rifle.

46.0 grain of either IMR or Hodgdon 4895 will almost do the same thing but I prefer the 4198 load as it "feels" more accurate to me - I cannot prove this.

This thread has me comparing muzzle energies of the various Big Bore lever guns. I combined my spreadsheets on the various calibers and pulled what I consider to be my best all-round load for each caliber � keeping in mind the largest animal I regularly hunt is whitetail deer � and most of that within 100 yards. This is not a fair comparison as my .30-30AI, .307, .356 and .375 Winchester all have 20� barrels. My .444 Winchester Timber Rifle has a 17.75� barrel and my Marlin Guide Gun has an 18.5� barrel. The only Model 71 I have been near wore a 24� barrel.
I could have improved the showing of the .30 calibers by using 180-grain bullet data but I consider the 170-grain bullets a better choice overall. I have experienced no lack of penetration from the 170-grain bullets.
The selection of the 200-grain Sierra for the .375 Winchester is based on my experiences with this wonderful bullet. The Sierra has a strong jacket, opens up quickly and yet holds together well and penetrates deeply. I have tried all of the readily available bullets for the .375 Winchester and have settled on the 200-grain Sierra as the best for my use.

.30-30AI 170 grain Sierra 2406 fps � 2180 fpe
.307 Win. 170 Hornady 2567 fps � 2481 fpe
.375 Win. 200 Sierra 2431 fps � 2618 fpe
.45-70 Lyman 457122HP 1949 fps � 2709 fpe
.348 Win. 220 Barnes 2360 fps � 2714 fpe
.356 Win. 220 Speer 2364 fps � 2723 fpe
.444 Marlin 310 Lee 2018 fps � 2796 fpe

It is hard for me to give any one of the cartridges a clear advantage over any other. My personal preference is for the .307 Winchester but I believe the .356 Winchester is the most versatile cartridge in the group. The difficult part of looking at cartridges is not allowing a preference for a specific rifle to affect the decision.
Fun way to waste an evening.

I'll be playing with it this weekend. I am also ordering a mold. I am hoping the 220 does well....

As a starter mold you will be hard pressed to beat the RCBS 200 grain gas check bullet. This one seems to fit the throat on the Winchesters. I have not heard of anyone who tried it who did not get good results in the Winchester rifles. There are several gtood .35 caliber bullet molds available but for the money the RCBS is hard to beat.
I shoot them as-cast with the checks seated on my Lyman 450 tool.

That is exactly the mold I am gonna order. I have some cast from that mold that work well in my Whelen. One of the guys that works for me casts a silly amount of bullets and also just got a Whelen. Told him I would spring for the mold in exchange for bullets.

Thanks for the help.

hmmm... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

You it WILL cost......

I've used the 220 speer loaded to 2300 fps on one moose, a calf at exactly 250 paces. Shot right through sideways at the diaphragm/liver, next shot broke the backbone over the shoulders and exited. Bullet expansion looked OK from the wound channel. Range was about as far as I think this round should be shot at anything though. Only shot two deer otherwise, both with the 250 grain factory load. Those were both at about 20 feet! I'd like to get more experience with this round at moderate ranges.

www.mtbaldybullets.com has a couple of nice cast .359" gas checked bullets for smokeless. One is a 240gr FN and the other is a 280gr FN hard cast to 18 BHN they want 20 bucks for 100 sized, checked,lubed bullets.

Check out Jon at western bullets in Missoula MT. The last time I checked his prices were about 1/2 of that. I will drive by Tuesday and see. Gianni.

I'll cast them (or have someone cast them here). Shipping a couple of hundred cast bullets will add another $50 to the price..