Rather than being a ridiculous expense, it can actually be cheaper, if the used options are being priced high. Find an inexpensive but solid donor and pop on the barrel, good barrels can still be had for $500, spinning it on and chambering is not exorbitant, probably a $1500 project to get exactly what you want... hardly out of reach
The 358 Norma Magnum.
- Thread starter Why not?
- Start date
Ted, I have shot several bears and possibly a moose (memory ain't so great anymore) with that bullet, 250 SP/RP, with good results... good penetration and good weight retention, but that was at a little lower speed from .350 Rem Mag's and Whelen's. I preferred the 250 RN, as it was always accurate for me and was terrific on game, but alas, they discontinued it. The 200 RN's are great in .358 Win rifles.
that will work. Send me a PM.Not used the 35cal 250g interlock but used interlock in 338wmg at 2600-2700 fps for moose and elk and odd deer. Also used it in340 wby at 2900-3000 fps on elk and deer. Sometimes core and jacket separate at close range in 340 but still had enough penetration
Hunted with mine for the first time in 8 years, I was hoping to perforate a cow elk ( or whitetail buck during the 4 days of season overlap) with a Nosler 225 Ballistic Tip this fall but no such luck. See how cold the late season in january is....
CoryTheCowboy
CGN Regular
I was once convinced by a fine fellow that I needed (not want, but actually needed) to rebarrel a Sako L61r to The Big Swede. So I scraped and saved my pennies and sent off a blank and the rifle to the gunsmith and soon received the rifle back. I scrounged up a set of dies and even acquired some Norma brass. I was on the path to success.
Then I wondered what I needed a .358 for in Northern Ontario when moose tags are harder to get than a date with Scarlett Johansson, so put it on the trade block without even firing a shot
Funnily enough, the fine fellow who convinced me I needed it in the first place ended up with it. Sometimes I wonder if he was playing the long game the whole time...
Cory
Then I wondered what I needed a .358 for in Northern Ontario when moose tags are harder to get than a date with Scarlett Johansson, so put it on the trade block without even firing a shot
Funnily enough, the fine fellow who convinced me I needed it in the first place ended up with it. Sometimes I wonder if he was playing the long game the whole time...
Cory
I don’t need a date with anyone other than my lovely wife of 57 years. Have actually been thinking of another 358 though, since the one we were shooting last week went home with my friend’s grandson.
Anyone got a 358 Norma die set they aren’t using?
Ted
Anyone got a 358 Norma die set they aren’t using?
Ted
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Did you buy that off of the late Al Baker?
He had several from his days at Allsports.
Not that rifle, but I bought a few things from Al over the years. He was a good guy. As for why the 358 NM exists, it was a medium caliber magnum, predating the 338 WM by a few years, i believe. NM already had the 308 NM, so necking it up to 35 was an easy call. I like it, but you don't spend the day at the bench with one. Although years back I knew a guy with a huge bench gun (probably weighed about 25 pounds) chambered in the round. No idea why, but it was very cool. - dan
tactical lever
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I read about it once, and I think they had a rifle out before ammo was very available, or maybe it was the other way around? And I think the .338 WM was introduced at around the same time. But with more factory support. The .358 just never got the traction it should have. 35 cal is underappreciated as it is.
I kind of feel the .358 NM should have been the popular gun across North America for heavy game. The 358 with 250 gr seems like a more meaningful step up than the .338 and the lighter 200 gr bullets that worked better in it, at least according to what I've read at the time.
Probably it's different now, and the .338 has a lot of different choices. Not quite as wide a bullet selection in .358, but there are lighter lever gun bullets for more explosive performance, and some guns have success with .357 pistol bullets in other .358 bore rifles.
I kind of feel the .358 NM should have been the popular gun across North America for heavy game. The 358 with 250 gr seems like a more meaningful step up than the .338 and the lighter 200 gr bullets that worked better in it, at least according to what I've read at the time.
Probably it's different now, and the .338 has a lot of different choices. Not quite as wide a bullet selection in .358, but there are lighter lever gun bullets for more explosive performance, and some guns have success with .357 pistol bullets in other .358 bore rifles.
Think it was ammo before gun. It was all before my time, I heard about it from my elders. I've used the 358 NM and the 338 WM on game, the 358 is a better killer in my experience. - dan
One of my favourite calibers. I found a Remington M1917 action with .358 norma barrel 25 years ago on Vancouver Island. Took it to Bill Leaper and he did his usual magic and turned into great hunting rifle. I shoot 200 grain Barnes TTSX bullets at 3000FPS one of the most accurate rifles I own. My winter project is to build a .308 norma on a M98 action so I can have a pair of Swedish magnums.
Ted, you are the first person I heard talking about the big Swede (and the 9.3x62!) and I decided I had to have one. Through a chance encounter my dad stumbled on this one that actually spent most of its life guiding in the Yukon. It’s a custom Brazilian 1908 Mauser built by Frank Magro and wood by Otto Bates.
