Reloading the .358win

[CT Dave]

I have posted before of the frustration of loading for my .358 some powder are most definitely "Compressed " weather it is meant to be or not . I have found myself loading BL-c[2] just this weekend and I liked so far it seems perfect for this cartridge . I have just picked up my re-barreled Mod 99 22" in .358 . I was shooting Sierra 225 over 47.0 gr of BL-c{2] W /CCI 200 primers .Sierra book shows that load to be 2450 perfect !!! but if I go to the Hodgdon web site it shows 51.0 gr @ 2431fps WOW that's a big difference , how can there be such a difference, any ideas ?? just trying to get it right.

 

[troy fairweather]

Loading data is just to get you started, you should do your own workup. I'd not go crazy on that 99, somewhere in the middle is all you need.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I have posted before of the frustration of loading for my .358 some powder are most definitely "Compressed " weather it is meant to be or not . I have found myself loading BL-c[2] just this weekend and I liked so far it seems perfect for this cartridge . I have just picked up my re-barreled Mod 99 22" in .358 . I was shooting Sierra 225 over 47.0 gr of BL-c{2] W /CCI 200 primers .Sierra book shows that load to be 2450 perfect !!! but if I go to the Hodgdon web site it shows 51.0 gr @ 2431fps WOW that's a big difference , how can there be such a difference, any ideas ?? just trying to get it right.

What are you hunting and at what range - max/min/avg? I load for a BLR-81 for Florida whitetail over clear cut. All I need out of a 210gr LRN-GC is 1800fps to get my 200yd kill so I might not be much help. But I can try.

 

[PapaG]

Who did the rebarrel and what was the ballpark cost.

 

[CT Dave]

1st I hunt with a Ruger M-77 in .358win , 2nd the Mod 99 is a project gun . I love to hunt with a lever gun my 1st deer rifle is a Marlin 336 in .35Rem love it for thick woods in NY state. BUT as we know you can't just have 1 rifle . I am a .30cal man my son & I got bored and wanted a bigger bore enter the .358 I have not taken a deer with it yet but have taken 2 wild bore with it 1 shot apeice both in the head and like they say" dead right there " off to pig heaven . The Savage started out as a .308win it is a non fancy 1967 "E" model so I did not loose a piece of history , I took it to my gunsmith for reboring during the process the reamer snapped in the barrel [ Good luck finding another ] I found on line PAC-NOR in Oregon for $ 350.00 . PAC-NOR sent to us in the "White" The gunsmith cut it to length 22" ,Threaded ,Chambered , Blued and put the original sights on it for the cost of the re-bore job $300.00 long story short I have been trying it out at the range . 1st time out it would not eject at all no matter what charge I tried they got stuck in the chamber . Back to the Gunsmith for more chamber polishing now it works great only 2 out of 30 rounds fired got it sighted 3" @100yrds 1" or so . I am shooting Sierra GK.225 over 47.0 gr of BL-c[2] 1st time using that powder also used CCI 200 primers not the 250that is why I was asking about the difference load data sorry I took the long way to the point .

 

[CT Dave]

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

1st I hunt with a Ruger M-77 in .358win , 2nd the Mod 99 is a project gun . I love to hunt with a lever gun my 1st deer rifle is a Marlin 336 in .35Rem love it for thick woods in NY state. BUT as we know you can't just have 1 rifle . I am a .30cal man my son & I got bored and wanted a bigger bore enter the .358 I have not taken a deer with it yet but have taken 2 wild bore with it 1 shot apeice both in the head and like they say" dead right there " off to pig heaven . The Savage started out as a .308win it is a non fancy 1967 "E" model so I did not loose a piece of history , I took it to my gunsmith for reboring during the process the reamer snapped in the barrel [ Good luck finding another ] I found on line PAC-NOR in Oregon for $ 350.00 . PAC-NOR sent to us in the "White" The gunsmith cut it to length 22" ,Threaded ,Chambered , Blued and put the original sights on it for the cost of the re-bore job $300.00 long story short I have been trying it out at the range . 1st time out it would not eject at all no matter what charge I tried they got stuck in the chamber . Back to the Gunsmith for more chamber polishing now it works great only 2 out of 30 rounds fired got it sighted 3" @100yrds 1" or so . I am shooting Sierra GK.225 over 47.0 gr of BL-c[2] 1st time using that powder also used CCI 200 primers not the 250that is why I was asking about the difference load data sorry I took the long way to the point .

Since you're only shooting out to 100yds, have you considered shooting cast? A few companies sell 200+ gr. hardened lead, Lintoype, and #2 Alloy rifle bullets in .359" for rifles. It's a heck of a lot cheaper and just as accurate. Plus you can run the same bullet out to 200yds for deer. Look for 18-22BHN and gas-checked. Lyman's manuals dating back to the mid-60's have loading data but newer is better. These two have been good to do business for me:
https://shop.reedsammo.com/35-Caliber-245g-Long-Round-Nose-Gas-Checked-50-Cast35245LRNGC.htm
https://www.gtbullets.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=86

That 200gr. from GT doesn't need a lot of speed to do it's job. I'd use a 25gr. starting load of IMR 4227 for around 1800-2000fps from your 22" barrel for dense woods. With a 200yd zero my BLR hits about 6" high at 100yds and about 20" low at 300. With as 100yd zero, it's only 12" low at 200yds - forget 300 yds, you're holding on the moon to hit the horizon. But, I don't take 300yd shots with a .358Win - a .30-06, sure, a .35Whelen maybe, but a .35Rem or .358Win? nope.

If you know what hunting over clear-cut's like, you know it's pretty rare to get a shot under 150yds but 300yds happens. I used to load Speer 220gr. JSP using IMR 3031 and it did a good job but that's a pricey bullet. I tried the 250gr. Speer over IMR 4895 when I got a good deal from Midway but what I found is, there's no real advantage at the short ranges I hunt to those jacketed bullets, the .358Win really doesn't do a lot that a .35Rem won't, I have a .35Whelen if I really need a bigger bullet than a .30 at 300yds, and I just don't need the BLR to do much more than handle good and put meat in the freezer. A hard cast gas checked flat point or hollow point will do all of the above just as well as a jacketed soft point at lower velocity, with less noise, at lower cost, and with almost no recoil.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[CT Dave]

I am learning how to put pictures up sorry they are disconnected

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

View attachment 1034102 I am learning how to put pictures up sorry they are disconnected

Better'n me!

That's real purty! Your gunsmith did a nice job.

 

[CT Dave]

I took the last pig with the 220 FNSP @60yrds I recovered the bullet , the jacket separated

 

[CT Dave]

Mitch just did the barrel work , I found that gun in that condition ,NO crack in the stock it was standing upright so long there was a ton of dust on the bolt face I picked it off with my finger, no ****

 

[GooseGestapo]

The three best powders I’ve found for the .358 are H4895, Acc2520, and TAC.

My BLR81 shoots best with 48.0gr of H4895 at 2.830” with a Hornady 200gr JSP.
IT gets 2500fps and is about 1.5moa. Ken Waters in “Pet Loads” came to the same conclusion.

John Barsness claims 2,600fps with TAC, but with a bolt action rifle, so I don’t know if my BLR will handle that load.

For cast bullets, I prefer my Marlin M336 in .35 REM.
For jacketed in the .35, the Sierra 200RN is the best available at this time.
The .35’s are superlative killers of game...