358 Winchester - too much for whitetail deer?

B

buckchaser

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
23   0   0
Location
Ottawa
A quick search of the site didn't turn up much on this exact topic so I have started a new thread.

As per my post below, seriously considering adding a 358 Winchester. I know it is a great caliber for larger game such as moose and elk - how does it perform on deer? I'm quite happy with the performance of my 7mm-08 and 308 on deer and don't need to be blowing massive holes through the deer I shoot.

Any real world experience out there?
 
I've owned a .358 but not shot a deer with it. Having said that, it won't blow a big hole in the deer. In my experience high velocity + bullets that fragment cause much more bloodshot + undesirable damage than a slower bullet that holds together. I also tend to shoot deer behind the shoulders and that shot placement doesn't usually ruin too much meat.
 
It is not uncommon to "eat to the hole" with big bores. I have used a 444 and amazed at how effective yet not overly destructive of meat. It was most effective with sturdy bullets. However your other two cartridges are real dandy for deer and moose capable.
 
The .358 with standard SP bullets of 200 - 250 grains is an excellent deer cartridge and certainly not overkill... no more damage than a 7-08 with a hot loaded 139.
 
A&Shuntr said:
One of the best and most under rated calibers out there, for deer and up.
Click to expand...
You're right!

200gr Hornady or Remington CoreLokt C&C bullets would be perfect for deer. No need for premium bullets here.

250s may be a bit much and better for bigger game but dead is dead.
 
.35 calibers all seem to have very impressive on game performance, from the .35 Remington on up, I think you would be hard pressed to find a better short action, medium range (300 yards and under)and medium bore thumper then the .358 for all hoofed game in NA. I can't say any of the deer I have seen shot with it had "massive holes blown through them" but none of the moderate velocity medium to big bore cartridges damage any more meet then small bore high velocity cartridges. The worst culprits for meet destruction in my experience is a shot directly to the shoulder blade of an animal and high velocity frangible bullet impacts at close range.
 
So called Premium bullets are a pure waist of money in the .358 I load 40 grains of IMR 4198 behind the Hornady 250 SP for my 16" barreled Ruger Frontier, groups are .5 moa and everything that get hits drops in its tracks, and on deer you can eat up to the bullet hole.
 
I whacked ( the sound ) a big muley last season with a 9.3 x 57, which is pretty much ballistic-ally the Norwegian twin to the 358...so it's been said anyhow.
Worked marvelous, very little wastage compared to the faster calibers. Nothing sadder than the backstrap or a rear quarter that is bloodshot jellied meat.
 
Nothing is really to big for whitetail haha. I got my deer this yeah with a 9.3x62 and the damage was no more or less than the .270
 
hoytcanon said:
The .358 with standard SP bullets of 200 - 250 grains is an excellent deer cartridge and certainly not overkill... no more damage than a 7-08 with a hot loaded 139.
Click to expand...
I'll second that,I used to load 200 gr. SP(Hornady mostly) bullets for a couple of guys who used them on whitetails with pretty good results out of Browning lever rifles.
 
tokguy said:
I whacked ( the sound ) a big muley last season with a 9.3 x 57, which is pretty much ballistic-ally the Norwegian twin to the 358...so it's been said anyhow.
Worked marvelous, very little wastage compared to the faster calibers. Nothing sadder than the backstrap or a rear quarter that is bloodshot jellied meat.
Click to expand...

Nope. It's German, adopted by Swedes. :p
 
358 Winchester - too much for whitetail deer?
Click to expand...
I say NO too.

Here's an interesting comment - "Mr. 270" (Jack O'Conner) in a 1962 article entitled Deer and Deer Rifles writes that he
"... regards the neglected and obsolescent .358 Winchester cartridge with its 200-grain bullet at 2,530 or its 250-grain bullet at 2,250 as probably the most deadly woods cartridge in existence, not only for deer but for elk and even moose. The .358 has the power and weight to drive deep on the rear-end shot, which the woods hunter all too often has to take."
Click to expand...
No one has to take the rear end shot IMO - and the 358 is not obsolescent exactly now - however his point on its effectiveness on deer is shared here.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom