358 Winchester
- Thread starter jethunter
- Start date
Thanks for that. I'm fairly well set for loading kit and components to get started. I have a small variety of bullets here that can give me an idea in which way to go. One bullet I always had good results with was the 250gr Speer SP.
Reread article about Uber light 358 that was on rockslide other day and got me thinking again. With tikka ranch rifle in 308 years itās 16ā brl and send it away to be rebored to 358 and put it in a pr precision folding stock, it would be a nice compact unit with light scope be around 7# loaded up to hunt
I like the concept. It seems to have similar killing power to a 30-06 but with harder to find and more expensive ammo so I havenāt pursued it for my bear hunting.
Itās a great cartridge though. It just seems like a lot of trouble to go through to save half an inch from a rifle that performs similarly to a 30-06.
If someone gave me one Iād use it next season though and Iād have fun reloading for it. 308 brass is plentiful and for a handloader who hunts bear it would be well suited to the task.
I donāt think so because Iāve never hunted with him, or found any knowledgeable hunting periodicals authored by that guy.
I was just making more of a general statement rather that an actual real experience-based comment, as Iāve never personally shot anything with a 358. I havenāt shot any bear further than a stones toss away, so it wouldnāt affect my situation whether I used a 308/30-06. I guess at my distance and with the average sized ones Iāve taken, it probably wouldnāt have made a difference whether I was using a 30-06 or a lawn dart or a nail gun.
It isnāt that I think the 358 is a bad idea; I do like them. I like a lot of things more than the 06 but it ends up more trouble finding whatās required (rifle, specific choice of bullet, cheaper factory ammo to get brass, etc). If I had my druthers Iād love a 260 for whitetail and a 35 Whelen for bears. But I just keep using the affordable Swiss-Army-Knife caliber because itās been the most accessible.
Nothing wrong with a 358 at all - I just couldnāt find an affordable one for sale when I was looking for one myself so just moved to the next item. Itās worked on the bears Iāve eaten and so far. I actually would love to see more medium bores in general, and bullets/ammo/brass for them.
The 30-06 is far more versatile than a 358 winchester.
In general that is true...
But... If you have never seen a shootable animal beyond 300 yards, or just don't shoot beyond 300 yards, the .358 is the better option... particularly for those who do 95% of their shooting under 200 yards. Hunting bigger crop fields or cuts, the .30/06 is a better overall choice... but the decision doesn't always come down to the imperical numbers.
Exactly . I own both , but the vast majority of my shots on game are under 100 yrds , let alone 200 . The 06 is one of the most versatile cartridges out there , but I just enjoy hunting with a 358 .................. don't get me started on why I pack an 1871 Mauser around for White-Tails lol .
