Which bullet 180-200 grain for 358 Winchester?

Jevyod · October 10, 2017, 08:11 AM

I am trying to get some components together for when my 358 gets finished. I have never had a 358 before, and am thinking of loading 2 different types of rounds. The first I would like to load is a 180-200 grain bullet pushed pretty fast for whitetail. I am thinking in the 2600-2700 range. (Gun will have a 22 or 24 inch barrel). What bullets should I be looking at? I do not want something that breaks the bank. I was thinking of the Hornady FTX since I have used them with great success in my 35 Rem. But will they hold up at those speeds, or am I asking for jacket separation? or should I be looking at a more premium bullet like the Barnes TTSX? I have also read some good things about Speer 180 grain Hot-Cor bullets. The rifle is being built off a Mauser, so no need to worry about tubular magazines.

T. O'Heir · October 10, 2017, 12:18 PM

You don't need premium bullets in any calibre. For Bambi, a 180 will do nicely, but you'll have to take what you can get.
"... in my 35 Rem..." I'd use the same bullet.
"...thinking in the 2600-2700..." Max loads for either weight are slower than that. Around 2500. Except for IMR3031 that goes to a bit over 2600. Bambi wont know or care how fast the bullet was. Accuracy is far more important than velocity.
You have ammo and/or brass? Midway shows Hornady 200's or Buffalo Bore 225's as available. Every thing else is on Back Order or No Back Order.
$38.99 per 50 for Hornady brass at Graf's. $69.59 per 100 for Starline.

ShootistPRS · October 10, 2017, 12:57 PM

I shoot 158 grain Sierra JSP and Speer 180 grain JFP bullets. At 35 caliber the 158 grain bullets work well on deer up to mulies. I have no problem with jacket separation on either. The 180 grain is used on elk and bear but it is more than enough.
I am going to work up a load for the 180 grain Sierra pistol bullet because after talking to the bullet smiths at Sierra they should be as good or better than either bullet I am now using. You have to adjust the seating depth for pistol bullets to get them to feed from the magazine but they are as accurate as any other bullets I have tried.

Jevyod · October 10, 2017, 01:54 PM

I have 300 pieces of brass a friend gave me that was made from 308.

Don Fischer · October 10, 2017, 02:10 PM

Thinking about it, I don't think I'd use a jacketed bullet in a 358 if I had one. They are not a particularly fast shooting cartridge in the first place and with that size a jacketed bullet, recoil will go up, how much? haven't a clue. I've used a 308 for a lot of years but just got a new one that don't plan on shooting anything other than cast bullet's in. Every other rifle I have will shoot flatter than the 308! So I worked up a load with a 180gr cast bullet and it shoot's fine for a hunting cartridge at closer range. At 1800 fps it has max point blank range of only 150 yds but I don't plan on ever shooting it more than 100-125 yds. It will shoot 1 1/2" at 100 yds so miserable as that seem's to me, it's good enough for what I want it to do. I've often thought about doing this same thing to an older cartridge not made any more, 30 Rem. I think at one time Remington made a 35 Rem, think that's what it was.

The deal for me with a 358 is that I can reach jacketed bullet velocities with much less expensive bullet's that should recoil less and work as well as the cast bullet. The only thing that keep's me from it actually is is using more lead for the 200 gr bullet, I could do that with the 308! I'm not cheap, I'm thrifty!

Crankylove · October 10, 2017, 10:25 PM

I use 250 grain Speer Hot Cor almost exclusively in my .358. I've tried 200 gr RN and spitzer, 220 spitzer, 225 FN, and the 250's. I decided on the 250's for two reasons.

#1, the shorter OAL with the lighter weight bullets made feeding a pain in my Ruger bolt action. Most of the lighter bullets are made for the 35 Rem, and are a bit short for my gun. I played around with seating depths, and while I got them to work, I gave up and went the the 250's, partly because it was easier, and partly for reason #2.

#2, in addition to the .358, I have a 7.62x54R, .270 Win, and a .30-'06 (as well as a .375 H&H if I want even heavier). If I want lighter than the 250 in the .358, I go to a 180 in the '06, or a 140 in the .270 and gain some velocity, and a flatter trajectory.

ShootistPRS · October 11, 2017, 01:14 PM

I found, that for me, the 358 Winchester shoots the 180grain bullets at the same velocity as the 3006. I have my loads for the '06 and they are accurate and good hunting bullets for deer up to and including elk. The 358 handles the 180 grain bullets very well and they are accurate and great hunting rounds for larger game.The two guns are very close ballistically with bullets of the same weight within the ranges I use in hunting. With the heavier bullets the 358 out performs the '06.

October 10, 2017, 10:25 PM	#6
Crankylove Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2008 Location: 8B ID Posts: 1,753	I use 250 grain Speer Hot Cor almost exclusively in my .358. I've tried 200 gr RN and spitzer, 220 spitzer, 225 FN, and the 250's. I decided on the 250's for two reasons. #1, the shorter OAL with the lighter weight bullets made feeding a pain in my Ruger bolt action. Most of the lighter bullets are made for the 35 Rem, and are a bit short for my gun. I played around with seating depths, and while I got them to work, I gave up and went the the 250's, partly because it was easier, and partly for reason #2. #2, in addition to the .358, I have a 7.62x54R, .270 Win, and a .30-'06 (as well as a .375 H&H if I want even heavier). If I want lighter than the 250 in the .358, I go to a 180 in the '06, or a 140 in the .270 and gain some velocity, and a flatter trajectory. __________________ The answer to 1984 is 1776

October 10, 2017, 08:11 AM	#1
Jevyod Senior Member Join Date: May 5, 2012 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 172	Which bullet 180-200 grain for 358 Winchester? I am trying to get some components together for when my 358 gets finished. I have never had a 358 before, and am thinking of loading 2 different types of rounds. The first I would like to load is a 180-200 grain bullet pushed pretty fast for whitetail. I am thinking in the 2600-2700 range. (Gun will have a 22 or 24 inch barrel). What bullets should I be looking at? I do not want something that breaks the bank. I was thinking of the Hornady FTX since I have used them with great success in my 35 Rem. But will they hold up at those speeds, or am I asking for jacket separation? or should I be looking at a more premium bullet like the Barnes TTSX? I have also read some good things about Speer 180 grain Hot-Cor bullets. The rifle is being built off a Mauser, so no need to worry about tubular magazines.

October 10, 2017, 12:18 PM	#2
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	You don't need premium bullets in any calibre. For Bambi, a 180 will do nicely, but you'll have to take what you can get. "... in my 35 Rem..." I'd use the same bullet. "...thinking in the 2600-2700..." Max loads for either weight are slower than that. Around 2500. Except for IMR3031 that goes to a bit over 2600. Bambi wont know or care how fast the bullet was. Accuracy is far more important than velocity. You have ammo and/or brass? Midway shows Hornady 200's or Buffalo Bore 225's as available. Every thing else is on Back Order or No Back Order. $38.99 per 50 for Hornady brass at Graf's. $69.59 per 100 for Starline. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

October 10, 2017, 12:57 PM	#3
ShootistPRS Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2017 Posts: 1,583	I shoot 158 grain Sierra JSP and Speer 180 grain JFP bullets. At 35 caliber the 158 grain bullets work well on deer up to mulies. I have no problem with jacket separation on either. The 180 grain is used on elk and bear but it is more than enough. I am going to work up a load for the 180 grain Sierra pistol bullet because after talking to the bullet smiths at Sierra they should be as good or better than either bullet I am now using. You have to adjust the seating depth for pistol bullets to get them to feed from the magazine but they are as accurate as any other bullets I have tried.

October 10, 2017, 01:54 PM	#4
Jevyod Senior Member Join Date: May 5, 2012 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 172	I have 300 pieces of brass a friend gave me that was made from 308.

October 10, 2017, 02:10 PM	#5
Don Fischer Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2017 Posts: 1,868	Thinking about it, I don't think I'd use a jacketed bullet in a 358 if I had one. They are not a particularly fast shooting cartridge in the first place and with that size a jacketed bullet, recoil will go up, how much? haven't a clue. I've used a 308 for a lot of years but just got a new one that don't plan on shooting anything other than cast bullet's in. Every other rifle I have will shoot flatter than the 308! So I worked up a load with a 180gr cast bullet and it shoot's fine for a hunting cartridge at closer range. At 1800 fps it has max point blank range of only 150 yds but I don't plan on ever shooting it more than 100-125 yds. It will shoot 1 1/2" at 100 yds so miserable as that seem's to me, it's good enough for what I want it to do. I've often thought about doing this same thing to an older cartridge not made any more, 30 Rem. I think at one time Remington made a 35 Rem, think that's what it was. The deal for me with a 358 is that I can reach jacketed bullet velocities with much less expensive bullet's that should recoil less and work as well as the cast bullet. The only thing that keep's me from it actually is is using more lead for the 200 gr bullet, I could do that with the 308! I'm not cheap, I'm thrifty!

October 11, 2017, 01:14 PM	#7
ShootistPRS Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2017 Posts: 1,583	I found, that for me, the 358 Winchester shoots the 180grain bullets at the same velocity as the 3006. I have my loads for the '06 and they are accurate and good hunting bullets for deer up to and including elk. The 358 handles the 180 grain bullets very well and they are accurate and great hunting rounds for larger game.The two guns are very close ballistically with bullets of the same weight within the ranges I use in hunting. With the heavier bullets the 358 out performs the '06.