Why No Love for 358 win?

[stagpanther]

I think it will likely remain "obscure"--sorta like the 41 mag in pistols--but I don't think it will ever vanish completely, simply because there will always be spare 308 brass lying around with people scratching their heads over what can be done with them

[mavracer]

I've always liked the 358 had a BLR for years, but the problem with it is the "answer in search of a question".
There really isn't any game where I say I need more than a .308 that doesn't have me wanting more than the advantages a 358 offers.

[GeauxTide]

Lovely build. I went with the 450 Bushmaster, but if I were to go the medium route, it would be the 338 Federal. I went through the 35vs338 debate when I had a .338-06 bolt built many years ago. Just better bullets in 338.

[Boogershooter]

I think cva, Henry, and t/c are missing a small niche crowd. Here in louisiana and in Mississippi single shot, exposed hammer rifles of .35 caliber or larger is legal. Many have swapped from the 45-70 to the 35 whelen. Then decide they don't like the recoil of the whelen. The 358 winchester would be a great option.

[dgludwig]

I have many different deer rifles chambered for many different cartridges but my favorite one is my Savage Model 99 Brush Gun, chambered in .358 Winchester, topped with a Williams FoolProof receiver sight. I don't find the recoil especially objectionable and whitetails don't travel far after being hit fairly with a 200 grain Silvertip.

[stagpanther]

I have pretty much decided that my hunting rifle is going to be a BLR in .358win.

Those BLR's sure look nice. I keep coming close to getting a stainless breakdown and then read somewhere where they are not all that accurate--then I read how accurate do you need to be for hunting anyway..then I look at the price and errrrrr. not quite. : )

[fourbore]

The 358 looks good to me in the ar10 or some other medium action only gun, like some of the levers. It makes a lot of sense if you are somehow limited to such a gun and are going beyond deer size game.

My issue, is I dont own or want an ar10 and I can easily step up to a 06 length bolt rifle. The 358 is way more gun that I would want for deer. I have a 30-06 already. If I was feeling the need for more than the 06, might as well go 9.3 or 375. (I do have a 375hh) That way, I am throwing 300 grains of lead with authority.

Staying in the north east, I get by with the 7mm-08. The bigger guns are for dream hunts that are never to be.

I dont see that much love for any 35 caliber these days. The 35 rem was a great deer round, but; nobody cares. The 358 and 358 whelen seem to be mostly loaded with light bullets. If I am going bigger than 30-06, I expect to see good 300 grain factory ammo. I do like the ballistics and power level of the 9.3x62. It is pretty close to a metric cousin of the whelen, but the factory loads it with heavy bullets. Different mentality or targeted game.

[Crankylove]

I love my .358. It's a Ruger Hawkeyes, but I'm planning an AR build as well.

I shoot, almost exclusively 250 grain Speer Hotcor out of it, they work great on elk, antelope, rabbits, and squirrels.

At a sedate 2,250 fps, my 250's are a bit slower than my .270 and '06, but they get the job done just fine, with mild recoil, and good accuracy.

And, part of the reason I bought mine, was that nobody else had one. I like the oddballs.

[stagpanther]

And, part of the reason I bought mine, was that nobody else had one. I like the oddballs.

Me too! ; )

I have fun working up new loads as well. 225 gamekings driven by 4320 in warm loads group very well out of my build--though I haven't lugged it into the woods (yet) I suspect it would be a good "bang-flop" game stopper.

[Old Stony]

It sort of seems to me that caliber trends sort of set standards that some people live by. For instance, I shot a .350 mag. for quite some time out of a Ruger 77, and it was a good substantial caliber for my uses, which included hogs, deer, and whatever needed a bullet. It was accurate for me and I enjoyed playing with the rifle.
If someone goes online singing the praises of such a caliber, some are quick to find reasons to find faults with it as compared to other calibers. For instance, the 35 Whelen has a large following and ballistics are almost identical to the 350 mag., but the Whelen is considered more trendy and fashionable I guess, so more people sing it's praises.
A person could shoot a .358 their entire life and be happy with it...providing you don't pay attention to all the trends that come and go.

[stagpanther]

A person could shoot a .358 their entire life and be happy with it...providing you don't pay attention to all the trends that come and go.

Or you could just be a hobby shooter--which is pretty much what I am. I always like to try new things and working up loads is part of the "getting to know you" process.

[Mobuck]

"I've always liked the 358 had a BLR for years, but the problem with it is the "answer in search of a question".
There really isn't any game where I say I need more than a .308 that doesn't have me wanting more than the advantages a 358 offers."

Basically my thoughts. The .358 is too much of a "niche cartridge" for my uses. It may be a champ in it's narrow application window but there just aren't enough users within that window.

[FrankenMauser]

If someone goes online singing the praises of such a caliber, some are quick to find reasons to find faults with it as compared to other calibers. For instance, the 35 Whelen has a large following and ballistics are almost identical to the 350 mag., but the Whelen is considered more trendy and fashionable I guess, so more people sing it's praises.

While I respect your view, I think you're skipping over several of the most basic reasons for .35 Whelen being more popular today:
--0. One can buy a brand new .35 Whelen, and used rifles are not terribly difficult to find. No one still chambers .350 RM, however; and used examples are few and far between. (I've seen one - ever.)
--1. A person can build a .35 Whelen on almost any standard .30-06 family bolt action, without the need for modification to get the rifle to feed and function.
--2. Standard bolt face. No bolt work is needed.
--3. Brass is cheap and readily available (unlike the $2 apiece .350 RM brass, or still expensive 7mm RM). Even if .35 Whelen brass is unavailable at any given time, .280 Rem, .270 Rem, and .30-06 is easy to neck up.
--4. Ammunition, while usually more expensive than ultra-popular cartridges like .30-06, is typically still cheaper than 'niche' cartridges like .444 Marlin, .358 Win, etc.; and far, far cheaper than .350 RM.
--5. The single-shot hunting seasons adopted in several states made H&R Handi-Rifles a hot commodity. At the time, the most popular 'big bore' chamberings were .444 Marlin, .500 S&W, and .35 Whelen. There was no option for .350 RM, .358 Win, etc.; and most people had no interest in the "anemic" .444 M, or the receiver-killing .500 S&W. So, .35 W won by default.

[dgludwig]

You talked me into it, FrankenMauser. My search for a nice rifle chambered in .350 Magnum starts today (though obviously very uncommon, I have seen way more than a couple of .350 Magnums at gun shows over the years).

[fourbore]

dgludwig

You need a copy of barnes, cartridges of the world. There are enough odd balls and obsoletes to satisfy a lifetime of collecting.

[stagpanther]

Sweet^^^^

Just be forewarned--you might actually end up liking it despite what everyone tells you.

[dgludwig]

dgludwig

You need a copy of barnes, cartridges of the world. There are enough odd balls and obsoletes to satisfy a lifetime of collecting.

I've had a copy for years, which might help explain my partial propensity for "odd ball and obsolete" cartridges. In addition to the .358 Winchester, I have rifles chambered in .257 Roberts, .45-70 Government, .220 Swift, .22 Hornet and, maybe my favorite, a Ruger Mark II chambered in 7x64 Brenneke. So, yeah, like Crankylove and others, "...part of the reason I bought mine was that nobody else had one. I like the odd balls".

[Old Stony]

As Frankenmauser stated, 35 Whelen guns are somewhat easier to find. I just did a quick search of Gunbroker bolt actions out of curiosity, and there were only 27 guns listed in 350 Mag, while there were 35 listed in 35 Whelen.
I never did propose to push one caliber over another, just wanted to express my feelings concerning using one caliber for about everything within reason you wanted to do with it. I'm sure there are probably still some folks that have a 32 Winchester special...or similar bygone caliber that can be called upon to perform various operations within reason. I have been known to sometimes grab a 32/40, 40/60 or some such obscure caliber out of a safe to do some shooting or hunting without worrying about being in a trendy groove with my shooting.
Just shoot and enjoy your 358 without worrying about it...

[FrankenMauser]

Understood.

Like most of us in this thread, I enjoy some oddballs and obscure options, as well. ...Mostly because they're odd, obscure, or unpopular.

[constructor]

Which length 358 Win barrel do you think would be most popular in a AR10? It might make a good hog gun where a 16-18" would be handy. I can't see anything over a 20" because it isn't a long range round.

[stagpanther]

Kurt at KAK I can vouch for makes excellent 358 win AR barrels. He makes 12.5, 16 and 19 inch barrels--my 19" shoots 250 gamekings very well.

[bfoosh006]

stagpanther and everyone else might find this interesting... 350 Legend from Winchester

This is just an FYI... please start another thread if anyone wants to discuss it.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/ar-15/35...er/121-735748/

[stagpanther]

stagpanther and everyone else might find this interesting... 350 Legend from Winchester

This is just an FYI... please start another thread if anyone wants to discuss it.

358 is actually a great bullet for a "slow fat boy"--I think tromix has also come up with a 358 socom--that's what I would get if I was doing an AR-15 based build and wanted a "big bore" cartridge for it. Tromix is top of the heap for this category of cartridges in my book. I already have a 458 socom and 358 win build--only reason I haven't done one.