i finally broke down an ordered a .358winchester in a browning model 81lever.
i am kind of enambered of .35 caliber rifles.
Anybody ever use this?
I was with a guy that used a browning in this caliber on a deer.
it was pretty much a big hole on the other side coming out.

The thought of using handgun projectiles as well as up to 250grain rifle projectiles appeals to me. too.
thoughts?

I had a Savage 99 Series A in .358 Win for awhile. I never could get it to shoot the way I wanted, and I didn't want to mess with it so I let it go. I had a sub MOA .35 Whelen as well so it wasn't hard to say goodbye to the .358. Now I don't have any .35 calibers as I went a year without work because of an injury and I needed cash so the Whelen went down the road.

I never shot handgun bullets in either of my .35's but I did shoot some cast bullets. I pretty much stuck to 225 grain bullets mainly Hornady, but I never took any game with either. I'll have a .35 caliber again some day and it's kind of a toss up between the .358 Win and.358 Norma.

I have a 35remington, a 350rem mag, and the 358norma mag. But no Whelen.
I was debating about going for the browning, but i think it can be loaded pretty close to the whelen, and the lever attracted me being left handed.
that deer i saw get plugged a couple years ago he had a 225grain hornady in it. I think you could have passed a football out the other side of the deer, it really wacked it.

i have 35 rem, 350 rem and 35 whelen. big fan of the 35's. my little 77rs carbine 358 is a serious shooter with hornady factory or the old silver tips. and deer never take a step. that blr outta be quite a dandy.

Im hopeing that Henry will chamber the 358 Winchester,in there new levergun ( looks like the BLR )

158 RP JSP flatten woods deer at 2,000. Milk jugs vaporized at 3k mv at 200yd.

225 Sierra 150-300 yds on deer etc

Would use 225 PTs or Barnes in anything nasty. And Elk

I put together a cute little 358 carbine with a 16" barrel for bear. I love how it handles. Top gun.

i subscribe to the loaddata website. found a load for the lyman cast 358156 which i have powder coated.
kind of wondering on say a xtp 158grain how it would hold up at those high velocities?

I have a.358 Win in a Mod 88 Winchester. I think you will like the caliber. The deer I have shot with it have had holes out of both sides no matter the angle. The holes going out were like a cookie cutter was used to cut the hide out. Plenty of blood loss. I use it where there is thick brush.

My first deer rifle 33 years ago was a BLR 358. I've loved 35s ever since. I do find I favor the 336 ER in 356 slightly, over the BLR, and have never warmed up to the 99, in looks or it's limitations. 200/225gr Accubonds are fun bullets in either. The truth is that loading all sorts of stuff to see what all a 356/358 can do can keep you busy for a long time. Nothing has ever walked away from mine...Not far, anyway.

Three for me, the 99 shown below on my back porch, a Ruger Hawkeye, and a Ruger 77. Any used .358 production rifle in decent shape (other than the BLR) is worth at least $1K. For factory rifles the BLR is the most common. Ammo can be hard to come by, but it is out there...

I have a Pre-64 Model 70 FWT in 358 Win.

Unfortunately, I have never shot a deer with it.

donsm70

The 358 Winchester has been my primary deer and big game cartridge since 1966 when I got my first one, a Savage 99F.

I have a few rifles so chambered in the M70 & Mannlicher.

I've been wanting one for several months. My plan is to use a Kimber 84M and have the barrel cut to 20" so I can have JES bore it out.

I've been talking with a guy on here that cut one down even more but he assures me there is enough metal at 20" for Jes to bore it out. I just haven't completely decided if I want the Montana or a blued and walnut version.

The 358 win seems like such a classic caliber that I might go walnut and blued.I'll add a Leupold 1.5-5 with heavy duplex to hunt the thick stuff on the river bottoms.

I'll get it done but i have to save a while first. I've bought another rifle and am scoping it now with my limited funds.

18" isn't too short for a 356/358....They're more efficient than any other 308-based cartridge I know of for barrel length

Have two 358 win ......rem 7600 carbine which shoots 200 gr very well.....rem 700 AI which prefers 225 gr slugs .......locate JB's article on the 358 and TAC POWDER and don't look. further , velocity and accuracy .

Have killed multiple deer and bear and wished had found the 35 caliber in my younger years I might have killed more .

Also 35 Whelan with 250 gr slugs an RL15 is my moose rifle for multiple hunts.

Good hunting

I've owned a .358W BLR and own two Savage 99 .358Ws. I use 225 gr PTs and 250 gr Hawk bullets on everything, much better than 200 gr Silvertips. W748 or W760 seem to do the trick, but will try TAC. My hunting loads are 1-1.5 MOA. This is a great cartridge for deer, black bears, wild boar, and it would suffice for elk and moose. I love this rifle for hunting the thick stuff, but an open country rifle it is not, I consider 250-300 yards it's outer limit. A lighter Barnes might change that a bit, but I much prefer bonded bullets. Also, they are scoped with 1.5-5x Leupolds, although I have used the iron sights quite a bit as well.

Mine is an Interarms Mk X action re-barreled by pac-nor in 358. Puts the 200 gr. Hornady's in itty-bitty groups and hammers deer.

I've had .358's for about 40 years, 99s, BLRs, and a Model 70, which I have presently. Killed everything from coyotes to elk and never had to shoot more than once. Speer 250's were used on elk, Sierra 225 on most everything else and I don't remember using the 200 grain on any game.
I now use cast bullets mostly and the 358156 is such fun pushed along with 11 grains of Unique, I'm surprised it isn't illegal. I had a mold made that drops a 225 gr. FN for deer hunting but, darn deer hasn't cooperated.
I forgot to add that Model 70 has kept me from buying a 9.3x57 or 9.3x62 so it has saved me quite a bit of money.

I had a BLR twenty or so years ago. It shot pretty well even with a rather poor trigger. Never did kill anything with it. My current 358 is a custom on a pre-64 M70 action. This one has been to Africa taking a dozen critters with the 200 gr TTSX. Here's a nice hog I took with it.

i think i got a couple boxes of those hawk bullets. Is it true you should keep velocities down around 2000fps with them, or am i thinking of something else.

I have a bunch of those 358156 cast, with gas checks and powder coated. Just got to wait for the brass to come in.
glad to hear about the 11grains of unique, thought it had to be around there somewhere.

I shoot the 225 Sierra GK's and 225 Partition in mine.
Prefer less thump these days but can't bring myself to move it.

I love the 358 Win, but am primarily a bolt rifle user. I'd love to have a custom like EdM showed up above. In the meantime, I "settled" on a 338 Federal in a Sako Hunter. It pretty much does what a 358 will do, but ammo is available and cheap.

Well, best of luck with it. My 358 is a bolt rifle, but it barely works.



And even my 9 year-old, now 10, loves to shoot the little Model Seven (with a few grains of Blue Dot pushing a 200 grain Lyman cast bullet down the bore).

Moose, bear, rabbits, caribou... they tip over when she barks.

I've got a Browning BLR in 358 Win. My favorite load so far is Win 748 and a 225 Partition or Sierra. Runs about 2450 in my rifle and is pretty accurate.

I've got a 35 Rem, 358 Win, 2x 35 Whelens, 350 Rem Mag and a 35 Newton. I love the 358's.

Cool pictures fellas!

Nice moose Klikitarik and EdM, that's one ugly hog but, a pretty rifle!:-)

I have a supply of match lake city 7.62x51 brass i was thinking of cutting down and fireforming to .358. Anybody ever do this to get brass for the .358?

that picture is kind of what got me on the bandwagon. The thought of using 158grain handgun bullets, and a heavy grain for big animals.
We don't have moose in arizona, but of the four or five elk i have shot none have been beyond about 75yards.
I have a .375winchester, but hornady doesn't seem to want to make 225grain projectiles that i can run up to about 2300fps.
I am firing cast lead in that at about 1800fps with 240grain.
the .358 should give me a similar weight bullet at over the 1800fps comfortably.
I could accomplish almost the same thing in the 350rem mag, cepting it's not suppose to like to feed in a rem660 the 250grainers, and while i have proper brass for it, it's like finding hen's teeth to find it.

To answer the question on Hawk bullets, they are bonded, solid copper jackets and lead cores and they work great at standard velocities and can be ordered with different jacket thicknesses. The .358 250s stomp hard. I'm taking delivery of a 338 Federal Savage 99 custom that has been a long time coming, thinking it might extend the range a bit, but fully realize it's splitting hairs a bit from a hunting perspective. The 200 gr Northforks and 210 gr Scirocco should work great. Reports to follow receipt of rifle.

Don't have a BLR but do have a Ruger Frontier that is extremely accurate...





Got a MeHic mold and it works well...

50 yards..




100...







200...





I've killed deer with it using the 220 Speer flat point but with the short barrel there is no expansion...that is why I went to the cast...it has a HP...


Did you get the take-down? My friend was looking for a bear defense rifle for a light aircraft trip to remote strips in Alaska and I found him one... He made the case...

KillsAll...





I have thought about one like this but in the silver finish...just have not done it yet...

Bob

Hawk bullets are NOT bonded.

for my uses the simple sierra 200 grain round nose is all I will need for a deer. Think I am going to trade my ruger sr762 for the blr takedown in ss.

Roninphx , match brass work fine for the 358 . I resize and then for my 358AI fire form , will require a trim but is great brass . Remember for you existing loads you need to step down and work up , military brass has less case capacity .

Use military match brass for all of my wildcats , do not like head stamps on modified calibers

mine might be in tomorrow, monday. Funnypart is ordering through a lgs who calls davidsons warehouse in prescott which is maybe ten minutes from my house up there. It is not a breakdown, on hind sight i kind of wish i had went that way.
This .358 stuff all comes from a dead deer plugged by a friend of mine couple of years ago, it just was "awesome."

got a rather large supply of lake city circa i think without looking late 60's. it should last a long time i would think being heavier.
looking forward to it.

I have a pre-81 BLR and an early 60s Savage 99 in 358 Win. The BLR is the gun I use for black bear and I have taken several of them with this gun. I shoot 250 gr Hornady round nose over H335 in it and they have done well. The factory Silvertips have left me wanting on thetwo bears I have shot with them. Shooting over bait is a close range affair and the Silvertips seem to be a bit soft for the purpose. The bears did die but the blood trail was pretty poor and did not instill confidence when following in the dark.

The 99 isn't blooded yet, at least not by me. The Silvertips scattered all over the target in this gun and the Hornadys ran around 2" at one hundred yards. I saw Mule Deer's article on the 358 so picked up some 220 gr Speer and some 225 gr Sierras as well as TAC which I hope group better.

I had a 788 that someone had rebored. I loaded some 140 XTPs pretty fast in it and used it to turn varmints into clouds of hair drifting in the wind. I'd not recommend that load on deer but a 158 FP might be worth a try.

I always ended up leaving it home on my big game hunts because I mostly hunt southern Idaho and I always wanted to be prepared for a longish shot. A few years ago I got rid of most of my mid bores trying to simplify things. I always seemed to grab my 7-08 with 162's or my 260 or creedmoor when wanting light and handy. They kill well up close and give me more confidence out far. I unloaded my 35 whelen, 338 rcm, and my 358's but a 358 still appeals to me for some impractical reason. A clean 99 or browning may one day sneak into my safe if the opportunity presents. I could always use pistol bullets on rabbits again.

Bb

need has never had anything to do with why we buy rifles, I don't think I need a 358 to shoot 150-180 pound whitetail deer. I have killed big deer with a 223! However its kind of "why not" and I have never had a BLR. I don't know if the take down is a smart idea but its kind of double cool even if I don't need it. So with the .358 I will have 3 less popular calibers, 257 roberts, 6.8spc, and .358.

I bought a ruger hawkeye in 358 but had to send the thing back to them as it would not faithfully fire the cartridges. They had used 308 win dimensions on the chamber as far as I could determine measuring fired shells. It would ignite federal primers but it was not reliable. Really wanted that gun to work.

RJM, what brand front sight on your Frontier?

Williams... I have the short base on the .358 and the standard base on the .308. Both are LOW with a XS white line post front.

Ed. Nice M70. Specs?

I recall Rich at Sierra using H335 over their 225's....

Ron - I'd say your XTP would do fine at the 357 rifle speeds aka 2k. At 3k they would be a bomb on broadside lung shots.

My feelings are this round dotes on 225's for big game - better BC than 200's and likely penetration. Better trajectory than 250's.

If not mentioned:

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/358_wcf.htm

i don't even have the rifle yet, but so far two orders from midway.
last night it was a lee 200grain mold, gas checks and one of those push sizers dies.
I am going to powder coat them after putting on gas checks.

I believe a 22 and a 35 Cal could be a full battery for most of us. A 25-20, and 30-35 cal, plus something black powder is better for the hand loader. I don't follow my own advice however.

d

NECG rear?

I bought the rifle from the guy that was opening a large shop that I cannot recall. He sells the Ruger #1 safeties... He listed it and dropped it every 30 minutes IIRC. He was gearing up to open his business and I was home from my 28/28 Kazakhstan assignment but middle of the night, for me. The clocks aligned... He has offered to buy it back...

I love 358's, here's my old one, model 88 22" shilen, Roosevelt bull here in wa....

I had to kind of laugh yesterday, picking up the browning.
Counterguy was running me through the 4473, and had to list the caliber.
Looked at me and asked whats a .358 winchester?
Shouldn't be surprised, the wall behind him had every black rifle known to mankind, but no traditional type rifles.

i should add that blr is a really neat little rifle.

Yes they are. IMO, you'll be happier in the long run than trying to find a 99 to spend too much $ on, only to realize you got nothing as good as that BLR or any decent bolt gun, save possibly some prettier wood or case hardening on a lever. Also, I noticed a comment about the 220 FPs and short barrels vs expansion. IME, those Speer FP pills are hard to get to expand, period. The factory Hornady and Winchester loads are better loads.

I wouldn't go that far, at least not concerning the BLR/99 comparison.

Gears don't make a BLR better and you just try and pull one apart and put it back together.

I sent my Kimber Montana .308 win off to JES to be rebored and cut back to 16".

Here it is put back together after I got it back from JES reboring (my Kimber 338-06 below it):




Here is my Kimber Montana .358 win cut back to 16" after some fancy metal work simply for style points.



Shooting 110 XTPs sub sonic is a ball and even my buddy's 7 year old couldn't get enough of plinking with it. Recoil was nil.

Got 160 Cutting Edge Raptors going 2810 fps and 225 partitions doing 2420 fps which isn't too shabby for a 16".

Gonna test the Cutting Edge raptors on some Sitka deer and a caribou this fall and maybe even a grizzly bear this summmer.

Certainly a fun gun to carry and now that its ported recoil is less than it was when it was a .308.

Coveting that great little Montana!

i loaded my first batch of ammo today using 200gr hornady interlocks. I have some 250grainers to load tomorrow, same bullet, then some 158grain pistol cast lead powdercoated.
I got to do some research pretty quick wondering on those 250's what the minimum velocity is to open up.

I can't tell you that, but can absolutely tell you they just about explode at 2400. The Speer and Nosler 250s are much better in my experience.

I have in my notes at 1600 fps the 250 RN would have reliable expansion. This is from Hornady, not experience.

Tell us the load you are using to get 2400fps from a 250 gr bullet in a 358?

Heck, Buffalo Bore used to sell 250s at over 2400.....I've still got some somewhere. No problems running 225s well past 2500, either.....At least in most of my 358s. I consider my 225gr NAB at 2400-2450 to be fairly copacetic and good to 500yards....If ever needed.

Hey now my little 358 win has to work at it to get 2400 fps with its 16" barrel

I bet. 20" seems about optimum, at least to wring out what it can do....Plus, one of mine has no constraints on mag length and has a loong throat. Seated way out and 20+" of barrel is different to work with than a 16" short boxed repeater, LOL

I killed a bunch of stuff with a 35 Whelen YEARS ago with 250's doing what I assumed was 2500fps (before I bought a chronograph).

Come to find out that years later those 250's were doing 2250

Actually, I vary my loads downward or to more reasonable loads for my uses....Don't have to start a 225gr accubond much above 2250, to keep it above 1800 to 300.....And it's way more fun to shoot in a light gun. LOL

For sure an extra 4" would give me an extra 100 fps but I am fine with the shorty. 160s at 2800 fps is flat enough to 400 and if I wanted to shoot further than that I gave other rifles I can use for that application.

Something about a 34" rifle that's only 4.25 pounds that makes it oh so nice to carry in my hands or in my pack.

I agree though if one wanted to take full advantage of the cartridge a 20-22" barrel would be optimum certainly.

As is it has the same trajectory to 300 yards with similar weight bullets as my 308 did but with 4" less barrel.

JB's load using TAC from his article in Rifle or Handloader. My hawkeye likes it.

My encore with a 20" 356/358 barrel fits near that niche for me....I also have a 16.25" 357 Max that's even handier....But I'm still jonesin for an 18" full stocked 358 bolt gun, to go with everthin else 35 I have.

That would be a sweet little gun for sure!! Its a 358 win so I have no illusions about being a 500 yard plinker so I am good with giving up 100 fps to get 4" shorter rifle for the close range stuff.

I feel that same way about my 35 Whelen. The guys who are hung up on 30-06 just don't know what they are missing.
whelennut

`

Ain't that the truth.
Paul B.

thanks!

another reason for me to buy a .358, I have 10 pounds of TAC I bought during the recent presidents attempts at gun control.

I wish Remington made the Model Seven MS (custom shop) in 358Winchester.

That would be one sweet rifle!

Don't have a .358 but I do have a Model 7 in .350 Rem.Mag with a 20 barrel. It is is a beautiful rifle and handles great.

I will get up more pics when I get the chance, but I also like .358W.

Built two Remington 700s in the caliber, as well as an AR-10 (18") and a spare short (10" barrel) AR-10 upper (yes, I have a tax stamp for the SBR).

The 10" version is MOA+, but looses some velocity... the other three are now at 1/2" MOA without the can. MOA with the can.

48gr BL-C(2) at 2510fps... Nosler 225s (6 round group at 3 o'clock... 100 yards)

Early load development (4 ladders tested) on new GM barrel in one of the R700s (6 round groups w/ 2-10 Minox ZA duplex).

Disregard notes on the paper (that was a different gun).

Small black dot (aiming point) at 3 o'clock is 3/4".

Who made those AR .358 barrels?

I bought a BLR 358 a year ago March. It will shoot 200 or 250 grain bullets, jacketed or cast, very well if I use IMR 3031 powder. No other powder I've tried is as accurate. A Hornady 200gr FTX and 48gr 3031 killed a respectable whitetail buck last November. It's nice not being wrist deep in blood when dressing out the deer. But if I measure the barrel according to RCMP instructions, it's only 19 inches long. I think that's too short for a foreigner to take hunting in Canada.

TAC is the [bleep] for 225's on up and JB is forever sainted in my book for telling us so. Prior, I fought great battles with powder compression... no more.

I tried to get him to try RL7 for lighter bullets (up to 200 grains) in .358 in that article but he did not. If you try RL7 it'll blow your mind. 2675 fps w/200's easily from my 20" tube, brass life is forever, no pressure signs... just sayin

Really liking the sounds and all the reviews I have read lately on the 358 win. Has anyone used the starline brass in their 358? I have a line on a cz550 fs in 243 and I'm thinking about buying it and having JES do the rebore. I can't decide if the full stock is something I want to keep or not is my biggest dilemma at the moment!

The .358 Win walks on water.

Thor wants one desperately.

First .358 Win was a Ruger 77RS Carbine; second was a Tikka 595 in .308 re-barreled by Pac-Nor, and last was a Ruger Hawkeye. My first is still my favorite.

I have a Smith in SC that makes them for me. I drop ship the blank (GM) and the extension (Lilja), email him specs. Get the barrel back in about a week. $125 plus shipping to me. PM me if you need more details.

In some cases he already has the reamer... in the case of .358W I had 4D drop ship him the reamer (rental was $33). I already had Go No-Go .308 gauges.

I have an old style Remington 760 that was rechambered to .358. Shoots well for now having only played with Hornady factory ammo. I think I'm going to head down the Model 7 route with a 16" barrel. Love the .35's. Have 2 Whelens, my 760 358 and a Remington 141 .35 remington. All kill PA and NY deer well

Around 1995, I bought a new BLR in .358 Winchester. It was the steel receiver with a straight stock. It was that or a new Win 94 chambered in .356 Win. I shot a few deer with it and 200 gr Hornady SP's. Ended up selling it and almost 20 years later picked up a Ruger Hawkeye syn/ss on closeout for only $399. Loaded with 180 gr TTSX's & Viht N133, I shot a couple of very nice does back to back one morning during the rifle season here in Kansas. There were four does in a group and they were running from something & stopped about 40 yds from my treestand in a wooded area. I shot the biggest one, it took one step and dropped, the rest of the deer confused actually came back toward me and I shot another that only went about 10 yards and quickly expired. Both shots were behind the shoulder and made nice big exit holes. This year I'm thinking about trying out the Speer 180 gr bullet. The .358 Win really thumps 'em!!

I have 3. Just about the perfect combination in short handy rifles for tree stand hunting. BLR, TC Encore 20 inch barrel, and a ER Shaw 20 inch barrel. Of the 3 the Encore is my go to gun. It's about 34 inches. Just real handy and fine for the distances I hunt. Most shots being less than a 100 yards. Still don't hesitate to use it for bean field hunting up to 250 yards. Everything I shot with it dropped in its tracks. Kind of a 35 cal fan! Seems to drop deer with authority without a lot meat damage.

I have a couple of 35 Whelens. Old age and back injuries are making the recoil of full power loads of 225 grain Barnes TSX painful. I reduced the load down to 358 Winchester levels. Feel like I have lost very little in ability to take down game and it is much easier to shoot.. The Encore with the recoil reducing stock and 26" barrel is especially nice.

I really like these as a great combo of lever guns. Really like the little bear gun - jealous...

Been using Barnes 200g TTSX in my 358s. Forr next season, have loaded up some 225g SGKs. The SGKs shoot better in my BLR. Just haven't seen how they perform on deer, yet.

One of mine is a 20" encore with a long throat, also. Even mild 225gr ABs can have plenty of steam to way out there. I find I do carry my levers about as much. If I need really handy, my 16.25" 357 Max goes up trees and into packs well. I'd still love a mannlicher bolt gun in 358.

I've had a rebored Win 88, one of the fish belly BLRs and a rechambered Rem 760.. My current collection includes a newer BLR 81 and a rebarreled Savage 110LH. The 24" barrel on that Savage will probably shrink 4" before long.

I had this Savage LWH rebored by JES to 358 Win and cut to 16.25", boresighted it and these were the first three shots. Ran out of time to fine tune it, but it will get there.
Used factory Hornady ammo. Scope is a Leupold 2.5 Ultralight. With walnut stock the rifle and scope comes in right at 6 lbs empty.

IMR 3031 is what I've used to date as well in my BLR and shooting Hornady 200 gr Interlocks. Haven't tried 250's or 225's yet.

What stock is that? You got me thinking about my 243 LWH. LOL

It's a walnut stock off of a Savage 11 LWH.... Actually from a 243...

The ,358 Winchester has been my primary woods cartridge since 1966. I have taken many deer since then with my handloads. I shoot the 200 gr. Silvertip over 3031 out of my Savage 99F and other rifles.



The bottom two rifles are both .358's

358 is a hammer.....

This one looks FUN!!!

3,310 FPS in your .358W

http://www.laddata.se/load/358-winchester-remington-golden-saber-125-grs-vihtavuori-n120-50-grs