.358 winchester vs. .35 Whelen

[throttleman]

A friend of mine is considering the .358 in the BLR or the .35 in a 7600 or 700.  I love all of the above.  He is leaning toward the lever mainly for the action.  What are everyone's thoughts on these cartridges/rifles???  It will be mainly used for whitetail in the northern Minnesota woods.  Further, does anyone know of any other rifles chambered for these rounds?  Thanks much for the input.  

[Daveinthebush]

I have owned a 7600 in .35 Whelen for years, but for Minn. whitetails and bears I could not think of a nicer gun than a BLR in .358.

The .358 is highly underrated and is one excellent whitetail round for the distances he would be hunting.

[Ramrod]

I think the .358 is all anyone would need in the woods, even for moose. But, as far as actions go, the semi has a often overlooked advantage at close range. Deer will many times freeze at the sound of a shot, and look to see where it came from. So if you miss, (for whatever reason, deflected by a twig, misjudge range, ect. :wink: ) working the lever, or a bolt, or pumping a pump, ect gives you away and the deer will bolt, when you can usually get another shot with the auto. So in this case I would go with the Whelen. But damn, wouldn't a short light, .358 auto be a sweet gun!

[Harry Snippe]

I think the .358 is all anyone would need in the woods, even for moose. But, as far as actions go, the semi has a often overlooked advantage at close range. Deer will many times freeze at the sound of a shot, and look to see where it came from. So if you miss, (for whatever reason, deflected by a twig, misjudge range, ect. :wink: ) working the lever, or a bolt, or pumping a pump, ect gives you away and the deer will bolt, when you can usually get another shot with the auto. So in this case I would go with the Whelen. But damn, wouldn't a short light, .358 auto be a sweet gun!

I agree with you. Would it not be grand if one (Remington) reamed out a 308 to 358 W and offered it in the Auto.
I really love my 358W in my BLR browning ,but would grab an auto in a whelen just as fast. Just do not see any Remingtons in this calipier in Central Ontario. But the BLR 358 W sure has a good following.

[VFR]

The closest metric equivalent to the .358 would be the 9.3x57.  The Swedes find this to be a dandy close range moose gun.  I have a nice, light Husky M46 in this caliber.  Never been drilled for bases and I use it like a .30-30 with open sights, inside 100 yards.

[Tenspot]

I have a mauser action I rebarreled to 35 Whelen Ackley Imp - sweet!  The 358 is awsome and would hard to beat for N MN in  a lever.  

THe Whelen Imp will push 180 grn Barnes X at 3000 fps :eek:  Best part is it achieves just under MOA groups like that.  I also have about 600 pieces of the discontinued old Hornady 275grn RN - have not loaded any yet though.

[while99]

I have a Ruger 77 carbine in .358 Winchester.  I have not shot it very much but it seems to be very accurate.  The barrel is of stout diameter which I think contributes to its accuracy.  A couple of the things that I like about the .358 are that it will fit into a short action whereas the .35 Whelen needs a long action.  The .358 uses a 1 in 12" twist which I think helps stabilize long, heavy bullets, if needed.
Keep your gun-hand ready and your eyes peeled.

[msorenso]

I do not know much about the winchester how does i compare to the 350 REM?  Same power?

[while99]

The .350 Remington Magnum is more powerful than the .358 Winchester.  The .350 will approximate the power of a .35 Whelen but do it in a short action.  Of the three, I prefer the .358.

[Dand]

When Browning came out with the 30-06 length BLR I wondered why they didn't make it in a 35 Whelen. That would be a dandy gun.

[Harry Snippe]

The whelan is offered through remington and from what I hear is not a strong seller by far. You could have that ,06 bored out to .35

Why not go with the 325 WSM in the BLR. You got  the performance of the 338 Winchester.

I am waiting for the BLR to go with the 25 WSSM as the 358W otherwise suits my needs.

[Blackhawk44]

Dand, no 35 Whelen because the long action losses so much of it's handling qualities over the short action.  It becomes a "find a rest" rifle instead of an off hand piece.  Action much slower also.  Very different pieces.  The long one could make up into a really cool .458 though...

[Buckeye]

The biggest difference in the two is that the 35 Whelen can handle 250gr.ers better ,but with the 225gr.& 200gr. bullets the 358win. is close to the 35 Whelen .       (like 308 Win. V.S 30.06)

Personally I like the 9.3X57.

[Dand]

thanks, the only BLRs I've handled were the 308 and a 358 and they seemed real nice though I never shot them.  Would have liked to had the 358 but it was tied up in a messy estate and missing the clip. Didn't realize there was such a difference.

[sgtt]

I think the Sav 99 was chambered for the 358 for a while.  I once saw a 760 that had been rechambered for it.  I didn't buy it.  Prompted me to buy the BLR and I loved it.  I once had a Mauser in 35W.  Great round.  I can bear witness to the fact that the deer in the N. MN woods didn't care which one killed them.