Rebarrel 338 federal or 358 win ?

[mahony1977]

Hey all , I have a nice m77 ultralight chambered in 243 win I’m considering as candidate for a rebarrel . I’m kinda on the fence over what caliber .. balisticly 338 is the downrange winner but I’ve never had a 35 before I’m looking for dramatic terminal performance at inside of 150 yrds .just wondering what your experiences were in terms of bullet performance , expansion bullet preferences and pet loads between these two .. I’ve seen what a 180 grn ballistic tip will do out of a 338 win on whitetail although it’s not available anymore..
And I’ve dropped white tails in thier tracks with the 243 before but the exit wounds are never impressive and due to hunting overgrown brushy pasture land and evident blood trail would be nice .and I gusse I’ve got the gun bug , haven’t been handloading or trading guns in a few years

 

[blargon]

Ruger chambered the M77 in both .338 Fed and .358 win. I'd try trading for one first, and save $800+

 

[chappy]

i have had both the 358 and 338 fed. currently quite happy with the fed. loaded with a hornady 200 grain sp at 2600+ fps its quite effective. any 200 grn soft point works great at that speed and are quite cheap too. i love the 200 grn noz bt too but i'm saving my last three boxes for my 338 06 as it loves the bullet and is deadly on game. the fed is a little faster than the 358 and the bullet selection and sd better as well.

 

[shotcup]

I chose to re-barrel to 358 Winchester, it is the most popular 35 and does hit with dramatic terminal performance. Deer, wild boar and bear I have shot with it, all under 100 yards, have not made it beyond 30 yards, most often they get knocked down and dramatically die where they were hit.

Pet loads are 200 grain Hornady SP with 52 grains of Win 748, the one I use the most.

And 200 grain Barnes TSX FB with 49.5 grains of Ramshot TAC.

 

[Suther]

What bullets are you using in the 243? That is often a bigger factor in exit wound size than caliber.

 

[mikeyb]

I'm secretly in love with the .338 Federal, seems like it would be a lot of fun in a lightweight carbine. I'm also a fan of the 210gr Partition from my .338-06 stint, so that's my vote for a rebarrel. Seems like plenty of schwack out to normal ranges.

 

[jbmauser]

.338 Federal with the 210gr TSX has taken a lot of elk and deer for me. Nothing goes far hit with that.

 

[mahony1977]

Suther , It came with 4 boxes of factory rem core Lokt witch have always preformed well in my 30 calls when shot into media and I’ve toyed with the idea of trying some Berger vlds in it .. but I’m leaning towards doing a build.

Blargon I get what your saying but seems like a square trade would be a long shot , and I already have this.

 

[hoytcanon]

I have two Ruger M77 Carbines in .358... they are my favourite hunting rifles and have taken truck loads of game. The second and fourth rifles in the picture.

 

[mahony1977]

I have two Ruger M77 Carbines in .358... they are my favourite hunting rifles and have taken truck loads of game. The second and fourth rifles in the picture.

Beauitiful.... I’m aiming for the latter

 

[time4t]

,,,,,,,,

 

[kamlooky]

358 win made the grizzly caliber, just.

 

[remington jim]

I had Both the 338 Fed and 358 Win ! I Still Have the 338 Fed as it’s ballistically SUPERIOR to the 358 Win with a BETTER range of bullet selection and weights ! JMO RJ

 

[brybenn]

The fed has had my interest for awhile. Once I get too bored of my current 308 it will get a new barrel in the fed

 

[medvedqc]

I have two Ruger M77 Carbines in .358... they are my favourite hunting rifles and have taken truck loads of game. The second and fourth rifles in the picture.

why ruger did not bring all of those from the factory in left hand ... btw nice rifles.

 

[Peecos]

358 for me. This is exactly what it will look like. My 77 358 tang safety in an ultralight stock

 

[Warden70]

I'm partial to 35 cal. Large bullet, large wound channel. Ballistic effects of various 35 cal. rifles are well documented, from 35 Rem all the way to 358 Norma. I picked the middle-ground and built a semi-custom 35 Whelen. Model 70 PF action, HS Precision stock, KS Arms barrel cut to 21" 1:14 twist. I wanted a little more reach and punch than the 358 Win could provide, but didn't want to get punished by anything in Magnum territory. I shoot 180 and 200 Barnes TTSX. It's a handy and comfortable rifle to shoot and carry. The 358 gets my vote.

 

[savage express]

I’ve got a Ruger frontier stainless laminate in 358 that I would horse trade for the same in 338 federal. Since my TC encore with a 19” barrel in .338 federal has proven to be a great cartridge

 

[Slimbo]

I had Both the 338 Fed and 358 Win ! I Still Have the 338 Fed as it’s ballistically SUPERIOR to the 358 Win with a BETTER range of bullet selection and weights ! JMO RJ

Yes 90 to 310 grains for 358…..what a poor selection of bullet weights

 

[Jimbobob08]

Suther , It came with 4 boxes of factory rem core Lokt witch have always preformed well in my 30 calls when shot into media and I’ve toyed with the idea of trying some Berger vlds in it .. but I’m leaning towards doing a build.

Blargon I get what your saying but seems like a square trade would be a long shot , and I already have this.

Only deer I’ve seen hit with a core-lokt was 30-06 180gr factory loaded. Had an exit hole so small it required 3 sets of eyes doing a triple check to find it. Under 20 yards, broadside, far back under spine, above guts. I’ve seen similar hit with a 100g tsx from 257bee that left a golf ball sized exit hole. My guess, the corelokt is loaded too mild to expand when no resistance is met.

No personal experience yet with 24cal, but 95 NBT wound channels and exit holes would probably have much better results.