I'm not real good with the search function, so I'm sorry if this is beating a dead horse. I was ready to throw down the money on a Marlin 338MXLR, but we all know the deal there (I hadn't done my homework).

Now I'm onto the BLR. I like ammo availability of the '06, but people seem to like the short action better in this rifle. This leads me to the 358 or 300wsm. I already reload for the '06 and the WSM and would do so for the 358.

What say you?

Thanks,
Dan

I started shooting a Savage 99 358 this season and like the caliber so far. Have not killed with it but recoil is nice, accuracy excellent. I don't like a hammer on a scoped rifle due to needing to flip open scope covers and cock hammer- too many thingy's to remember when it gets fast and furious. If unscoped, hammer guns are cool. Several Savage 99's for sale right now if you look around.

The 358 or a 308 win and the BLR are a good match. I have old steel framed model with a straight stock in 358

The 358 is easy to load cartridge thats good for 300 yds without much hair pulling.

I don't know how the pistol grip stocks are but I am not sure I would really want much more than a 30.06 or so in the straight stocked version. It doesn't have the greatest recoil pad and the rifle does come up a bit under recoil.

in the distant past my BLR wore a 1.75-5X burris, now a williams peep.

No experience with the BLR, but my Savage 99 .358 is death on anything I point it at. I don't reload so Im stuck with the lousy 200 grain silvertips. It shoots the 250's far better but at the range I kill deer, within 35 yards or so, its no issue. I can only suppose a 250 grain soft point would be the "cats behind." You'll love the .358 and Im sure the BLR is a fine rifle.

My sister-in-law is a lefty and hunts with a BLR in 7mm-08. She has taken elk, mountain mulies, and whitetails with this rifle.

Sherwood

My 358 BLR is one of my most accurate rifles with it's favorite handload. Where I hunt is pretty open so I don't bring it out much. I did take a doe one year at a little over 100 yds and she dropped dead within 5 or 6 steps.

Dan

I have a Lighting model in 30-06, I like it. I think you would be better served by the BLR, and I own 3 marlins. If you want an oddball chambering look at the 325wsm.

.358 and BLR all the way. I too have a steel receiver with straight stock and love it. The deer and hogs don't.

My pard shoots a 270wsm and its great. I've got a 257 roberts and i really like it. Both pretty darn accurate[inch to 1 and 1/4 at 100 with 5 shots]. I had a long action in 7mm mag and i hated it. Long, unwieldy, had a 200 fps slow barrel and just felt clunky to me.

YMMV, Fred

P.S. I put a leather stick on cheekpiece from brownells on them all because browning puts more drop at the comb on the blr than even their shotguns. Guess your not supposed to scope them.

I've shot deer with that load...I like it!!!

Hornady is now making 358 Win ammo, so if you don't reload you're not stuck with trying to find older factory Winchester Silvertips:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/66...00-grain-interlock-spire-point-box-of-20

I have newer model Browning 358 straight grip with leup. 2 X 7 scope.It will group my handloads into 1 to 1 1/2 at 100yds. 200 grain hornady interlock 48 grains h4895 wlr primers win brass. I taken a couple of deer and a hog. All one shot kills. The average range though was less than 50 yds. easy to carry and a quick second shot if needed.

358win

Dang! 358win you and I think alike. Mine wears a 1st Gen. Monarch 2-7 and I also shoot 200g Horn. SP albeit with a different powder and primer.

I have a soft spot for the older BLR 81 with the steel reciever. Had a couple in .243 but traded/sold them over the years. Just the other day I found another one and this time I'm keeping it. I make my living in remote areas of northern BC and pack a rifle for wolves during the winter. The .243 is a favorite for predators like coyote, wolf and wolverine (.22Mag for lynx) and the detachable mag on the BLR makes for a quick carbine to bring into action.

358 works for me....also considering a 300 WSM

The only BLR I had was in 257 Roberts. I bought it for my mom to use, but the hammer made her nervous for some reason so sold it. I really liked it, but for the trigger. Even with that it would still shoot to 1-1.5" for three shots.

I have a 358 Win in a Win M88. I have killed 2 MN whitetail bucks with it. One at 10 yards and the other at 180 yards. Both using 225g Nos. PT. It worked very well.

The 88 is a great rifle.

The BLR, not so much.......

Glad this thread came up as I am also thinking of a BLR lightweight in 358. I'm likin' 35s and don't own a 358. Plan on keeping it open sights, for whatever time I got left (eyesight) to be able to use'em for up in Maine and here in PA during poor weather.

Could you explain your reply in greater detail please?

Because some one on the internet said so!! No need to touch either rifle

I really like my first model .358 BLR. I also had a 99 Savage in .358 but, when I got the BLR, the 99 went away. Yeah, I wish now some 30 years later that I'd kept the 99.

I just blasted a yote @ 105 yards this am w/my 1975 vintage BLR 243 win. w/2.5-8 vx3 w/B&C reticles. Loading a 87 berger @ 2900 FPS. tested reticles the other day out to 400 yards & dead on. Cool little back up rifle as my 2 yote rifles are gathering dust @ my gunsmith's!

I have an early 70's steel receiver BLR in 358 that always seems to head out the door with me. Lots of other rifles, but none seem to carry as easy as the BLR. And the deer don't like em at all! Just my 2 cents.

I love the BLR platform. For whatever reason, it seems that most folks associate lever operation with a 'carbine.' That draws them to the short actions. Personally, while I do appreciate the compactness and quick-handling of the short actions at times, I don't find it particularly different or more useful than a 'full-size' rifle for most of what I do. The BLR is still very quick and handy even in long-action chamberings (never handled a magnum-length BLR, though); quicker to operate than a bolt gun by quite a ways, IMO/E.

They're also super-strong of lock-up in their current form (lock up almost exactly like an AR), and the take-down models are super-cool.

Hi FNG,

What would be your intended use?

I like BLR's, although I don't own one. I saw a hunter using one this year. It looked to be a .308 Win, which would be a perfect BLR fit. For big game out to about 350 yards...probably farther, a .308 will get the job done.

I sure like my stainless laminate takedown BLR .358 Winchester, shown here with a Leupold 2.5x Scout scope -

I just reread this!! did not read it the way I meant it to read. I get a bug over guys making opinions with no experience.
I have a Win 100 and would love to get a 88 to match it. I have a couple of BLR s and cannot figure out why any one would have a negative opinion of them.

Had two BLR's in 358 and one in 308 win, sadly I sold them to fund another project. Really miss my short action .358 BLR and if I were buying one today it would be a 7mm-08 takedown!

The only issuse I know with BLR's is Browning trigger, but a trip to Neil Jones and they all work like a dream!

How are the triggers on these rifles? I've heard that they are on the heavy side and some smiths will not work on them.

Neil Jones in Erie PA is the only person I know that fixes BLR trigges.

While I enjoy my BLR .358 Win, I do not enjoy the stinking packing grease Browning slathers those things in. If you buy one, CLEAN all that gunk out that you can and then clean it 10 times more. In cold weather it can be a real game stopper. Beyond that, my trigger isn't a custom bolt gun's trigger yet it's not Mossberg shotgun's either. The accuracy is there and better with quality ammo. Stopping power hasn't been a issue, as you might would have guessed. The gun looks great, functions great (once the white snot grease is gone) and it's really a plesant gun to shoulder, shoot and hunt with (even though it is a pumpkin roller).

At a low point in my life �revenue wise� as a result of the loss of employment despite being a strong and successful contender as both an employer and an employee.. I sold my BLR 358.
What the heck was I thinking.. Or was I thinking? I know now that I rushed this move.
As it turned out the world did not come to an end however, I am currently without my early model 358 BLR
I would love to have my straight stocked 358 back in my hands.
In my opinion this is a great round and in the BLR a great riffle.
It was not necessarily great from an accuracy stand point but with its 4X leupold fixed power scope it was all I needed and provided for the quick harvest of game.

I've squeezed good ones, but many are bad. Some quite terrible. Mine was quite terrible. Cleaning all the crap off the hammer and sear, and some careful polishing with a hard Arkansas stone, made the trigger crisp and clean. I had talked to Jones, but didn't want the hassle of mail-order gunsmith-ery. Still heavier than many nowdays seem to prefer, but crisp letoff such that the pull weight is no biggie at all.

The intended use of this rifle will be elk hunting here in western Montana, of course some deer and other critters will die in the process. I've really gotten tired of carrying my M70 300wsm around, even though (after much effort) it is a great shooter. I've been carrying my Rossi 92 454 more and more lately (even thinking of scoping it), but I don't want to miss out on longer range opportunities. Hence my thought of a BLR. I have only handled a 7 mag, not shot it, and it felt unwieldy. I want to handle an 06 and a short action before making a purchase. Shooting a few options would greatly help me decide. Definitely not interested in one with a barrel band.

I have two of the BLR 81's with the pistol grip stock---not the straight stock. Both have the fairly stiff factory trigger, which I have not attempted to improve. One in .308 and the other in .270 WSM. Not a lot of experience with the latter (one WT buck) but the .308 has taken cow elk, mule deer, whitetails and antelope. I'm impressed with the accuracy and range of the little rifle in .308. My youngest killed a deer at 350 yards with it last week...far in excess of what I would have expected. It consistently performs well at 250 yards on large deer and cow elk.

Both are topped with an inexpensive Redfield 2x7 scope. Pretty happy with that too.

I bought the .270 WSM version because I wanted a lightweight fast rifle to hunt elk with. I have yet to try it in that application.

My son has an early BLR in .308 and has taken a muley buck so far with it. I used it to take a muley buck with it also. Nice rifle!

My dad has an early .358 that he really likes. Has taken deer with it also. Light, handy, accurate. I like the BLR.

I am not a big fan of the long action BLR's but I love the short action BLR's. Most owners I know also prefer the SA to the LA BLR.

Plainview,
I wasn't aware the '81 was ever offered with a pistol grip stock or chambered in any of the WSM cartridges? I would be interested in seeing a picture of a BLR '81 with a pistol grip stock.

finally handled a short action BLR. Now I understand most shooters' preference for the short action. It didn't even feel like the same rifle as a long action. It was a 300wsm, which is tempting since I already reload for that and have an abundance of components for it. I'm really thinking 308 at this point though. I'm not too recoil sensitive, but that thing is so little and light that I think the 308 would be more enjoyable than a hard pushing magnum.

SA BLR in 300wsm pushing 155 scenars could be a REALLY good time though...

You don't have one so, you obviously NEED one. RIGHT?

Not to hijack this thread but has anyone any experience with the Williams receiver sight for the blr/bar? Any info regarding front sight height and overall impressions of this sight would be greatly appreciated.

Ok, a couple questions for guys who shoot the 81. Does the barrel band seem to negatively affect accuracy? Also, much less important, does the straight stock increase felt recoil much?

I keep going back to the store and handling an 81 in 358win. I's lightly used for under $600. I'm really leaning toward the 308, but something about the 358 round gets the loony in me all jazzed up.

This rifle will be to fill the gap between my 454 model 92 and my 300wsm model 70.

The barrel band does not seem to effectaccuracy in my .358. It will put 3 225 Sierras into an inch at 100 yards, & 3 225 ParLettitions into 1 1/4 at the same distance. Let it cool a bit after 3 rounds.

If the recoil is bothersome, you can easily fit an after market pad.

The pistol grip stock would probably give you a bit more to hold onto, but really isn't necessary IMO.

A .358 will normally give you a complete pass through, open up a large wound channel, & is a lot flatter than you might expect.

Jim

That's a good deal!

I have one of the new model 81's in 358. The trigger pull is heavy and gritty, but I'll get that fixed and love this gun to the end of days.

I'm wondering what kind of in-fight ballistics you guys are seeing with the 358. What distance is your zero, and how much drop are you experiencing from there?

I'm really thinking 35 cal projectiles in the 225+ range are the perfect fit for the gap in my quiver I want to fill.

I have a steel framed, straight stock BLR in 358 ( ithink its the BLR 81) It have the williams WGRS on it and I think a .575 in the front and the rear sight is in the middle of its adjustment range. The sight is simple, seems rugged. I put a rifle shell carrier on it with a piece of 3/16 foam under it and it lines up very well for me. Its very shootable without the cheek pad but with the pad it mounts like a shotgun. BTW I found the stock too low with a scope in weaver lows too.

I have it zeroed with hornady 200's at 2400FPS ( its a bit under max) at 125 yds. Its a nice close range rifle and I have shot a number of deer with it.

do you practice much further than your zero? I want to get an idea of how she'll drop. I plan to scope it, maybe even scout mount, and would like to be able to go out to 250 or 300 without holding over fur. In reality, shots here are usually inside 150, but it can be tough to get close up in the alpine zone sometimes.

I'm thinking this should be a great deer, bear, elk round.

200 gr bullet at 2400 +/- fps, sighted in about 2.5" high at 100 yds. I figure this is point blank shooter out to 250 yds., maybe a bit farther.

My 225 Partition handload is just under max at about 2520 fps. I'm zeroed at 150. This puts me a hair over half an inch high at 50, just over an inch high at 100, 3 inches low at 200, & a little under 8 low at 250.
Jim

I shoot 225g Sierra's and partitions in my 358 at ~2400 fps. IIRC it is sighted in to be 2" high at 100 yards. Shot a deer 3 years ago with it at 180 yards dead-on hold on the shoulder. The bullet drilled him pretty much where I was holding.

Apparently I suffer from magnum-mania, as my ballistics charts number crunching has lessened my enthusiasm.

I guess I have some more thinking to do. I'm torn between the ideas of a .308 and 155 scenars (of which I have a good stock) or the .358 and a much heavier pill.

Either will obviously have terminal effects. The .308 would probably turn my m70 into a safe queen - which would be fine by me.

As you probably know, some guns shoot and kill better than their ballistic numbers would indicate. I think most of the 35s are in that category.