How about that .358 Norma Magnum?

[Slooshark1]

How much more performance can you get over the .35 Whelen with this calibre and is it really worth it to have a rifle chambered for this calibre? Can you bore out a .338 Winchester Magnum to .358 Norma Magnum? Can you resize .338 Winchester Magnum brass to .358 Norma Magnum?

Best regards,

Slooshark1

 

[dan belisle]

200 fps, yes it's worth it, yes you can bore out a 338, yes you can open up the necks and fireform 338's to 358 (they end up a little short, but not a big deal). It's a great round that suffers from not as many available bullets as the 33's. - dan

 

[RickF]

Dan of course covered it. With my 23 1/2" Norma I get an easy 2800 fps with 250 grainers. It's a great round.

I'm not absolutely convinced it offers much that a 338 doesn't, but the larger bore does make me feel good while hunting in grizzly country.

 

[milo]

I'm partial to the oddballs like that but you sure limit your selection of bullets and brass when you move from 338 to 35. I don't really think there are very many real world situations where the 338 win would be unable to do a job just as well as a 358 Norma. I think the real issue is that the Norma is unusual and different, more of an expression of individuality than practicality.

 

[RickF]

I will add...there are plenty of great bullets available in 358 cal. 20 years ago it was a problem, not today.

The only bullet I would like to try that is not produced in 35 cal is the now-discontinued fail safe. But I can get the triple shock, the standard X, the NP and a host of others. So what am I really missing?

 

[Sgt. Rock]

Drop the coin and get a 358 STA built. I say this because I don't have the coin to drop but it would top the cool factor.

 

[dan belisle]

Had one of those too Sgt, the recoil jump is pretty substantial. Working on a 35-378 Wby now. Should get the fillings moving. - dan

 

[Sgt. Rock]

Dan, I would have no need for one of them in ON but that only makes me want to have one more. Give us the report on the 35-378 when it comes together.

 

[River Rat]

358 Norma is a great Cartrige,I have owned one for 35 years and have done most of my hunting with it.I have shot lots of moose,goat sheep caribou and bears all with very impressive results.Mine is built on a 1903A3 Springfield and a Douglas 22" tube.I don't have any trouble getting 2850 with 250 grain bullets.As far as bullets go i used to try a diff bullet every season just to see how it worked,but when it all boils down the 250 Speer hot core works as good as any.I have a whole can full of recovered bullets from my 358 as i hardly ever passes through the animal.But boy do they go down in a hurry,i acn remember mabey 2 times I had to use a second shot.

 

[Takujualuk]

I like the Norma well enough to own two! The power factor is there and a whelan can be rechambered as long as you also get the bolt face expanded.

As for bullet performance here is an article I wrote that also contains some of riverrats recovered bullets and a fancy bullet from Rick too I believe. Enjoy

http://www.35cal.com/35bullet_study/35bullet_study1.html

 

[Rick]

It's a great round that suffers from not as many available bullets as the 33's. - dan

Well, I can definitely agree that there aren't as many hunting bullets available for it as the .33's. I can't agree with the "suffers" bit.

Barnes makes the 180 grainer for those who want screaming fast, not to mention their 200 gr. 225, and 250 X-bullets. There's the new 200 and 225 grain Triple Shock.

Nosler makes their 225 grain ballistic tip, the 225 and 250 grain Partition.

There's the Swift A-Frame in 225, 250, and 280...

Speer has the 180, 220, and 250 grain Hot-Cor, the 250 grain Grand Slam, and the 300 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw,

Woodleigh makes the 225, 250, and 310 grain bullets - along with a 310 grain solid.

So anyways, yeah, not as many choices as a .338 - but if you can't find what you need in that list, I'm not sure what you'll find in a .338 that will fill the gap. I guess I've never understood the comment that the .35's "suffer" from a lack of bullets to choose from. Most guys buying Norma Mags aren't deer hunters to begin with...

Additionally, there is also the small matter of the availability of lighter, handgun hunting bullets. These, loaded to 30-30 velocities make a great starter load for the wife and kids, or for an evening walk by the local waterhole in hopes of ambushing a careless whitetail - you don't have to shoot rhino rollers out of a .358 ALL the time...

As far as that goes, bulk purchases of cheap handgun bullets make for very cheap plinking with a .358 - something you won't be doing with a .338...

 

[buckbrush]

Takalulalk, great article and research, you should write more, your better than most of the gun mag profesionals.

 

[Takujualuk]

Takalulalk, great article and research, you should write more, your better than most of the gun mag profesionals.

Thank-You very much. In actuality I find writing to be a painful experience and it takes me a lot of editing to actually say what I want to say.

It's fun doing the research though and killing wet phone books is more fun than you'd think.

 

[gunster-old]

.360 Imperial Magnum

For you .358 fans, check out the .360 Imperial Magnum. It was based on the .404 Jeffrey case and delivers 250 gr bullets @ 3076 fps. It was developed in Canada in the early 1990's. Sako made a short production run of rifles chambered for the .360 and the other Imperial Magnum calibers. It was and is a great performer.

 

[Sasquatch]

Yes the .360 Imperial Magnum interested me at the time, unfortunately it went defunct before I could get one and try it.

Ah well.....such is life.

 

[gunster-old]

Sasquatch, I have reamers, brass and loading data if it still interests you.

 

[Sasquatch]

I will PM you.

 

[Rick]

For you .358 fans, check out the .360 Imperial Magnum. It was based on the .404 Jeffrey case and delivers 250 gr bullets @ 3076 fps. It was developed in Canada in the early 1990's. Sako made a short production run of rifles chambered for the .360 and the other Imperial Magnum calibers. It was and is a great performer.

Aubrey White was the man behind the Imperial line of cartridges. Nobby Uno made up the first Imperial rifles, and then Aubrey went looking for a manufacturer.

Aubrey's original manufacturing agreement was with Kimber; shortly thereafter Kimber declared bankrupcy, and Aubrey managed to rescue only a few of his finished rifles before the rest were snapped up by creditors. I believe Aubrey sold one of these original rifles in .360 Imperial at the Calgary gun show about two years ago.

After that Aubrey approached Dakota. They had no interest in making the rifles for him - but amazingly, came out with an almost identical line of cartridges shortly thereafterwards.

Aubrey finally came to an agreement with Sako - Sako did not make runs of Imperial chamberings as their own, they were specifically made for and shipped to Aubrey and he sold them from there. I went out to the range with Aubrey several times, and to the best of my knowledge he test fired every rifle to ensure it met the accuracy standards he had specified.

The imperial line was a retirement project for Aubrey after he retired from the RCMP. I don't know when he quit marketing the Imperial line, but I would suspect it was when it got to be a hassle rather than fun. Aubrey was still quite active in long range shooting the last time I saw him, and was still making precision rifles at the last gun show I saw him at.

The .360 Imperial - like the 35 Mashburn Magnum wildcat it closely resembles - is heavily overbore. You will burn one hell of a lot more extra powder to get that last extra 200 fps of velocity - which translates into a whole bunch more recoil. But if you need every little bit of velocity, then the STA or the Imperial are what you're looking for.

I always figured that a 250 grain bullet at 2900 fps was all I needed. The 358 Norma is just about optimal for maximum efficiency with the .35's.