Thread: .338? .358?

Ok so I've got a Belgium Made Browning BLR in .243

Great little gun fast pointing fast shooting happy days

But......243 yes good caliber but for Europe and driven boar she's a no go as to small.

So a rebarrel is in order!

Now for the fun. I love my reloading

So what do I pick......the magazine fits .308 based rounds.

I've narrowed it down to the above title.

.358 Winchester which was invented in 1955, never really took off for a verity or reasons, but a good round by the looks of it

.338 Federal invented in 2006 looks also to be a good round.

Which would you pic OF THESE TWO.....please discuss

That should stop them ok...what weight projectiles are you looking at? The 338 would have reasonable ballistics out to 300m with a lighter bullet.

338 Fed. It's easy.

Looking to do something similar with my Brno 243. I'm gonna go 358 win as it has more surface area than the 338, cheap plinking pills are available in bulk and the 308 will shoot 180-240 grain pills anyway.

Originally Posted by Shearer

338 Fed. It's easy.

Why Shearer? I've read that the pills can be a lot harder and don't open out expand at close range.
Driven boar is close!

300_BLK I did not want to go 308....wanted something a little exotic
So that's why I'm looking at the .358 .338
Anyone know the recoil of the two? 2.8kg rifle there about.

Mystery of the .358 Winchester
I think recoil is embedded in here,you Prolly read it already

Go for the 358 Win, I am slightly biased the .358 is the magic calibre for cast bullets every bullet caster in the US of A either has one or wants one, it can shoot 110 grain pistol bullets great for Fox
up to 310 gr cast, the most popular cast bullets is the RCBS 200 grain FP every mould maker has it in their catalogue there is a least one mould maker in the UK so you don't have to set up casting
if you don't want to, cast and jacketed can be shot at the same velocity you can practise with cast and hunt with jacket keeps the price down.

Originally Posted by Sideshow

300_BLK I did not want to go 308....wanted something a little exotic
So that's why I'm looking at the .358 .338
Anyone know the recoil of the two? 2.8kg rifle there about.

Same reason I will be going with the 358 over the 338. Marked improvement over the 338 if your not running subs.

Originally Posted by Sideshow

Why Shearer? I've read that the pills can be a lot harder and don't open out expand at close range.
Driven boar is close!

All things being equal, a projectile will expand more readily at close range than it will at longer range as it will have a higher velocity.
Quite a range of styles and weights to choose from in .338 here from just this one manufacturer. Hornady Manufacturing Company :: Bullets :: Rifle :: Choose by Caliber :: .338 338 CAL. The FTX would be worth a look at lower velocities.
I don't think there is quite the range in .35 cal.

You say it fits 308 based rds
I know it isn't the choices but is there any reason not to go the obvious and rebarrel to a 308, unless I've missed something?

Hi, if you are based in the uk, I am sure you are aware of the minimum legal speed/ weight/ energy requirements regarding the type of deer your going to take and wether it is in England or Scotland . You have done your home work?

.358 Winchester.
Something different and by all accounts a hard hitter with usable trajectory to 200 yd. in a carbine setup.

Recoil-wise, the Fed has plenty of heave so the 358 version could be unpleasant in a light gun. I reload a Federal for a guy so have shot his a bit.

I had a newer alloy .358 in a blr for quite a while. Barrel contour is heavier than other skinny tube .308 based rounds so be aware that bit of work on the fore-end will be in order including sourcing another barrel band. Good luck with that now Numrich wont ship international. Hell of a good round though - I ended up using the 180gr Speer which is on the low end of the weight for .358 but worked so well on deer and was a real pussy cat recoil wise. Having said that you are not stuffing enough powder in the case to make any of the bullet weights a problem recoil wise really if your sissy pad is squishy enough.