Pet loads for the .356 Win?
- Thread starter Bishopus
- Start date
I load for 35 Rem, 356, 358 (about the same as the 356) and the 35 Whelen. Shot a deer with 35 Rem and a Moose with the 35 Whelen. Both did the job well.
My 356 is a Winchester. I got very good results with 4895 and RL15. I am sure Varget would work well, too.
As you know, the tubular magazine dictates a round or flat nose bullet.
The best results I got were with the 220gr Speer. Good hunting bullet, good accuracy and cycled through the rifle just fine.
My log says 44 gr of 4895 and 47 RL15.
I also shoot the 200 TMJ (Total metal Jacket pistol bullet) for plinking practice. I used 42 gr of 4895. Any of the 357 pistol bullets will work just fine. In my 35 Rem I have shot a lot of 158 gr lead bullets over Unique power. Real cheap plinking.
I installed a a bright red lightgathering front sight and a Williams peep. Zeroed at 150 yards. 2" hi at 100 and 4.5" low at 200.
A real handy and powerful rifle. Look forward to getting something with it.
My 356 is a Winchester. I got very good results with 4895 and RL15. I am sure Varget would work well, too.
As you know, the tubular magazine dictates a round or flat nose bullet.
The best results I got were with the 220gr Speer. Good hunting bullet, good accuracy and cycled through the rifle just fine.
My log says 44 gr of 4895 and 47 RL15.
I also shoot the 200 TMJ (Total metal Jacket pistol bullet) for plinking practice. I used 42 gr of 4895. Any of the 357 pistol bullets will work just fine. In my 35 Rem I have shot a lot of 158 gr lead bullets over Unique power. Real cheap plinking.
I installed a a bright red lightgathering front sight and a Williams peep. Zeroed at 150 yards. 2" hi at 100 and 4.5" low at 200.
A real handy and powerful rifle. Look forward to getting something with it.
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Loving this rifle so far; have stretched load development out 'cause it's just so fun to shoot!
My only lever gun experience before this '94 was with a Guide Gun, which didn't fit me right and banged my knuckles like a nun with a ruler. The 94 by contrast is deadly accurate, fits my shoulder (longer LOP) and has a better trigger. I'm quickly coming over to the lever gun side of the fence...
With the 180 grain Speer FP I'm getting best accuracy with a close-to-max charge of Reloder 7, which only gives it about 2550--it's fun for plinking, but not where I'd want it for hunting.
With the 200 grain Sierra RN she seems to prefer a hot load of IMR-3031, and velocity just north of 2500. WinLR primers and a stout crimp do the trick.
I have yet to do development with the 220 Speer--saving those for last...
My only lever gun experience before this '94 was with a Guide Gun, which didn't fit me right and banged my knuckles like a nun with a ruler. The 94 by contrast is deadly accurate, fits my shoulder (longer LOP) and has a better trigger. I'm quickly coming over to the lever gun side of the fence...
With the 180 grain Speer FP I'm getting best accuracy with a close-to-max charge of Reloder 7, which only gives it about 2550--it's fun for plinking, but not where I'd want it for hunting.
With the 200 grain Sierra RN she seems to prefer a hot load of IMR-3031, and velocity just north of 2500. WinLR primers and a stout crimp do the trick.
I have yet to do development with the 220 Speer--saving those for last...
- Location
- Saskatchewan
Glad to hear you are enjoying the rifle Bishopus, hope you get to punch more than paper with it this fall! One word of caution, Winchester did not recommend the use of RN bullets in this rifle and caliber, flatnose only. Seems overly paranoid, but recoil COULD possibly cause a bullet tip to fire a primer in the magazine. For that reason I have only used the Speer 180 & 220FP or RCBS 200FPGC cast bullets in that rifle. When I once did try 2 rounds of Remington 200 RN handloads they were too long to feed when seated to the cannelure.
Loving it--thanks Longwalker;-) I'm planning to take it with me up near Athabasca this season, do some still hunting for that big whitetail buck that's been taunting me for years.
I am familiar with the warning about using only FP bullets, but these Sierra RN are extremely blunt, far 'flatter' than the Hornady or Rem RN bullets, and just don't look like a problem to me. There's probably a very small risk, but I'll live with it.
These Sierras also crimp precisely to the COL, and feed like a fat kid at a pancake breakfast. What they _don't_ do is soar majestically--the BC is a dismal .148.
I'd prefer using the Speer 220 flat point, but I've only got one box, and can't find more anywhere. I've called all over the country, with no luck. If anybody has a stash, let me know...
I am familiar with the warning about using only FP bullets, but these Sierra RN are extremely blunt, far 'flatter' than the Hornady or Rem RN bullets, and just don't look like a problem to me. There's probably a very small risk, but I'll live with it.
These Sierras also crimp precisely to the COL, and feed like a fat kid at a pancake breakfast. What they _don't_ do is soar majestically--the BC is a dismal .148.
I'd prefer using the Speer 220 flat point, but I've only got one box, and can't find more anywhere. I've called all over the country, with no luck. If anybody has a stash, let me know...
I have not had time to unpack my reloading stuff, but I might have a partial box of the 220's. I might also have some reloading info from when I briefly owned a 356win. The accuracy wasn't spectacular, but it was decent enough for hunting. I decided to stick with my bolt 358win.
I'll send you a pm if I uncover anything in the next few days.
James
I've loaded for my 94 .356 for several years, and have pretty much settled on the 180 Speer with 42gr of H4198, for about 2600 fps. I've achieved 2750 fps with max loads, but don't feel I need to push the gun that hard. I've had my best accuracy with a 220 Speer with 38gr of H4198, for 2400fps. The 220 will keep right around an inch consistently, while the 180's shoot around 1.5. I have found the 180's to give me better terminal results on deer, though I've only shot one with the 220's. It seems a touch hard for deer, while the 180's gave perfect results. Good luck, I'm sure you'll have fun with this one.
An alternative for hunting bigger game is cutting back the tip to FN configuration on the 250Speer Hotcore. You can easily duplicate the factory FN that is found on the 220SpeerFN since there is a fair bit of lead exposed. You can use nail clippers, a utilty knife and a file to touch em up - or whatever. I usually get around 246grains or so left after surgery. I've used em in close on black bear at around 2100MV. It only takes one as a rule to make them lie down for keeps. Here are a few of my 356Win loads - http://www.35cal.com/loading.html#336er
