I have seen the Dakota 76 in the classifieds and own a 358 Win in a Pre-64 Model 70, but I would like to know, from a practical standpoint, what you hunt with this cartridge.

It seems pretty "middle of the road" to be really good at anything?

Just looking for some input.

donsm70

I hunt deer in thick eastern mountainsides with a .358. Have killed a couple of coyotes with it as well but they were just targets of opportunity. Mine has been very accurate, excellent performance with cup/core (on deer), recoil isn't bad with 200's. Kills quickly with cup/core 200's and usually has a exit with EXCELLENT blood trails. I like the little .358 at 200 yards and under.

I can echo what JCM said.

Typical area I'll use the .358 for deer - panorama is a bit deceiving in that shots are much closer than they appear - mostly 150 yards and under (though I think the .358 is capable of 300 yards). I've used it on a couple of black bears as well. There are a plethora of chamberings that would work just as well, they're just not named .358 Winchester. *grins*

Hi Don,
I have used the .358 in levers and bolts for over 30 years. I do reload for it and have found the 180 Barnes X kills very fast on deer. Have also used 200 Hornady with great results. Remember reading a Clay Harvey article on the 358 where he used it on Mule deer in a Savage 99 @ 275 yards and was impressed.(I know all the bad Clay stories).
Anyway it is a good choice most for N.A. game if one does his part to know its drop at the ranges he might be shooting. Jay

By the same standard,middle of the road,couldn't you say that it could be used for anything?

I have used reloads with the Hornady 250 gr RN. Knocks deer dead on impact. Outstanding accuracy and not bad recoil at all in my BLR.

Killed my first grizzly with a 99 in 358 along with a half dozen moose.
back then we didn't have squat for bullets as they were mostly designed for
35 Remington but Norma had a 250gr with a copper/nickel finish that killed well.

I run a 200 gr RN at Max velocity.
Pretty sure anything that roams my part of the US wouldn't survive a solid hit.

been REALLY thinking about a rebore to .358! to me it would be an IDEAL cartridge for the "one gun man". it would be outstanding supressed with a subsonic HEAVY lead bullet. it could also be loaded to 1000fps with a light pistol bullet and be an ideal practice or small game getter. a FAST 180 would be great for deer and a 225 at 2600 should knock the snot out of the big stuff.

Deer and black bear in the east, but have yet to take a bear with it.

Gotta be rough on swine...

It seems that everyone wants a long range gun, but if I'm not mistaken more game is taken under 300 yards than over. I know where I live,I would guess 90% of deer are taken under 150 yards. At those ranges the 358 should excel as a big game caliber.

I've wanted to make a Kimber Montana into one for a while now. With the barrel cut to 20" and an illuminated 1-4 or 1-6 power scope,it would be an ideal rifle for the thick stuff I hunt along the creek bottoms. It would be ideal not because the caliber would bust through brush ,but because it would be short,light,and fast handling and should put any deer or hog down fairly quick before it could get lost in the thick stuff.or at least knock a big enough hole all the way through as to have a good blood trail.

I have taken deer and elk with the .358 without any complaints and it makes a great cast bullet gun. 250 grain Speer Hot Cor does an excellent job on elk while the 225 Sierra GK gets the job done on deer.

Short of shooting across the canyon, I want to know what it isn't good for? I love my three.

Shot a black bear this year that fell on its face with a 358 in Savage 99

Couple of whitetail and a couple of Axis does and three axis bucks. Add in a half dozen feral pigs. Biggest animal was one of the axis at 300 lbs live weight. Biggest pig was about 225. Boring cartridge really. I shot more shots finding a load than I had to take the game listed.

I've 'tried' to take it out to 500 yards. Never hit the 18" plate but I've scared it pretty well

I agree. While I have some LR guns I really like the little 358 win. Its plenty capable even to 300 yards with its 16" barrel. Like you said by far more game is killed sub 300 yards than over.

If you do go 1-4 illuminated skip right over the 1-4 SWFA....mine died in less than 30 rounds under my 358 win so now it wears a (gasp) Leupold VX-2 2-7

Great cartridge. I shot a doe at about 200 yards with the 200 Hornady and TAC. In behind the ribs and out the opposite shoulder...was hoping to catch the bullet but no such luck. Nothing in NA I'd be hesitant to take with it. I'd like to give either the 180 or 200 TTSX a run but haven't gotten around to it.

I was fortunate to get one of the Kimber Montanas in 338 Federal.......5# 4oz with scope......carries oh so nice and groups very well.

Some day I'll put one together. I've heard about the same on the 1-4 SWFA. Something like the new 1-8 Nightforce NXS at 17 ounces would be just about right if low light performance and eye box is good. I really wish they would have made it with a 32mm objective with a larger exit pupil and made sure illumination is low enough for low light. Talk about a perfect hunting scope, that could be it.

True I think its a neat little scope for sure. For me though I think there a lot better options for a lightweight scope that will work plenty far as I would ever plan to shoot with a 358 win that cost a heck of a lot less. A NXS just seems like such overkll.

I hear that for sure!! My 358 win is almost exactly 1 pound lighter than that with the Leupold 2-7 on it, oh so nice to carry and still shoots 1-1.5" groups which is plenty good for me with that rifle.

You really need to stop reading

Only thing it will do is knock the snot out of whatever you shoot with it. Excellent hunting round.

I have both the .358 and .356 Wins. I use the .358 where the shot will be under 250 yards normally, but I bet it will go 300 no problem. It gets the call in brush country where a good blood trail is nice to have. The only deer I have shot with it have been in MN where if a deer gets out of site it is almost impossible to find them. First one left a blood trail a blind man could follow the other dropped in its tracks. Had the same results with the .356 in MT. First one died in its track next one turned the snow crimson for 50 yards in thick timber so was easy to find.

The biggest animal I've taken with mine was a WT buck at around 50 yards or so. But it has gone elk hunting in CO several times, just never had an opportunity to take one. I've shot deer with my 25-06 and 300 wm all at distances of less than 200 yards. The buck taken with the 358 Winnie dropped quicker than anyone I've ever taken. The little 358 is a real thumper at reasonable distances. My personal limit for large game is 300 yards but I try and keep my 358 around 250 or so. I normally reload using 225 gr. NP's over Ramshot TAC but, will be trying 225 gr. Sierra GK's that I have ready for the range.

The 358 is quite a cartridge for whitetail deer; that I know for a fact. I haven't carried either one of mine in a few years but past experiences have proved its worth to me. I have a left-hand Remington 788 that was rebored to 358Winchester without marking the change on the barrel.(story for another day) The other is a Browning BLR-81that I really like to hunt with. I've had very satisfying results sigh the 200gr Hornady RN and the 225gr Nosler Partition. Whi!e the Partition isn't necessary for the whitetails I hunt, it does an excellent job at it. If I absolutely had to kill a deer no matter the shot angle I know it will do the job. I've taken 15-20 deer with the 358 and the most common result at the pull of the trigger is for the deer to collapse. Examining the wound while dressing the animal clearly shows that the Partition begins to expand immediately and that it always exits. The Hornady RN has always given an exit but damage is not quite as severe as the Nosler. In the future I hope to try the 225gr Sierra just to see how it performs. My load with the Hornady is really mild but gives outstanding accuracy in both rifles.

I really don't understand why the 358 hasn't got the attention it deserves. I think it is a great round for anyone that hunts in both the thick stuff or broken areas of cover where a shot could be right under your nose or across a clear cut. I would love to have something like the old Remington 600 or 660, or the original Remington Model 7 or a Ruger M-77 compact or even a Number One RSI with its beautiful Mannlicher stock. But I shoot left handed and the only way I can get a compact rifle in 358 is to build one, rebore one, re-barrel one or continue to use the BLR-81. Thankfully I like my BLR, it is an older model with an all steel receiver. I have had a 2.5-8x Leupold on it from the start and it is a perfect match for the rifle and me.

Love the classic 358! I'm having Jim Kobe build me a 20" carbine in 358 on a Sako action, with NECG sights. Can't wait :-)

358 Win, would be an excellent heavy knock’m down caliber for any medium to large game animal at reasonable distances. One of my hunting buds uses a 348 Win as his timber gun for elk. It seems to be impervious to small twigs and light brush in the way of an elk. He’s piled up several with one shot. 358 Win would do the same.

A few .358 victims. This little rifle has killed a lot of deer. Several rounds would work about as well but for still hunting mountain sides I've not found anything I like as well. Stainless M7, stainless 21" Douglas #3 1/12 twist, edge fill Mt. Rifle stock. It kills stuff pretty dead.

Thanks for the input, guys.

Those critters look pretty dead to me.

donsm70

I sent my .308 Montana to JES Reboring yesterday with instruction to shorten the 22" barrel by 2.5 inches and bore to .358. If JES is as quick as he was with my last rebore I should be shooting my 19.5 inch barreled .358 Montana in 3 weeks!

Mine went to Africa in 2012 with my middle son using it and myself on a few critters. It worked well on kudu, gemsbuck, three wart hogs, nyala, bushbuck, wildebeest, impala, springbuck and blesbuck. WE used the 200 gr TTSX.

Please post about it when it's done. Good luck!

Nice man!!! I bet you'll end up liking it a lot. 160 raptors at 2800, 200 TTSX at 2600, and 225 NPT at 2400 is what I was getting out of my 16" 358 win Montana...with the extra 3.5" you should be able to easily eclipse that.

I have taken black bears,,several big hogs and a few smaller pigs 100-200 pounders and deer.
I have NEVER had to trail an animal for a very long distance.All but the huge boar I shot fell on the spot and the big boar dropped just 20-25 feet after being hit.
I have shot black bears with a 300 win mag that ran all over the country when hit but with a 358 they mostly fall where hit.
One of the best rounds in the 35 cal line up.

What bullet are you running in that useful little hammer?

X-VERMINATOR

200 grain hornady spire point. It's a great fit for the .358 at modest speeds, no need to push it.

I've got some 200 TTSX that I've thought about working up a speedy (relative) load for but I never followed through as I haven't been able to find fault in the 200 grain spire point.

200 gr TTSX's at 2700 fps will handle any and all conus and African plains game animals out to an easy 350 yards.

I have a Savage 99 and a BLR in 358 that I use this for black bears over bait in the fall. I shoot 250 gr Hornady bullets in the BLR with a max load of H335 which have worked well and leave a good blood trail. They are surprisingly accurate in that gun. The factory 200 gr Silver-tips grouped poorly and did not exit the one bear I shot with them. The Savage doesn't like either load and may go down the road if I don't find something promising.

I recently rebarreled a Savage 16 to 358 but haven't shot it yet. it will be my go to bear gun once I get the barrel channel enlarged and a load it likes.

I built mine on a Mark X long action, added a BC stock and cerokoted it. Does this with some Hornady 200 gr Spire points at 2500 or so.



And works like this - first time out.



And looks like this

Mine went 2600 fps with TAC in my 21" barreled pre-64 M70. I "stretched" it to 250 yards to take a pretty nice pig.

I've always liked that rifle Ed, my little Ruger stainless Hawkeye is too ugly to take to Africa, it's 22" barrel with RL-10 under the 200 gr TTSX's is a very accurate load at 2700, brass lasts forever too, bet that warthog didn't go far either.

My 99 does well with 200 gr Hornady's and IMR 4320. IMR4064 works too but I don't like the big sticks of powder. FWIW,

Dale

I really like that color combo!

Also thinking - wonder if a Kimber Montana 308 has enough meat in the barrel to do a JES re-bore? That would make a handy little carbine.

Man, you need to stop!
It's bad enough knowing that's out there without having to see it again.

Beautiful rifle!

For the guys with 358 in a savage 99 what is the best round you have found for it?

Edm,
That sweet little 'safari style' .358win looks a real delight.

Bang flop.

People call me crazy Ed, but 35 cals are some quick killing sombucks, have seen it too many times.

I just recently found a pre 81 BLR in 358, I have hunted Missouri Whitetail with a 35 Remington for years and cant wait to connect with one with this 358. I will probably stick with the 200 grain round nose for deer but if I get a change to go for Elk may look into the pointed bullets.