Don't like Rugers much had my fill of them and now they are gone down the road. Your rifle is your most important hunting tool, and knowing how to properly clean and store it when hunting season comes to a close is critical in keeping it in tip-top shape. Of the three, only the .358 Norma has not become a standard chambering. Its still a fine choice, but I dont have a .338 right now. Mention the Rigby name to any rifle aficionado, and odds are that the famous .416 Rigby cartridge will come quickly to mind, and with good reason; it is an undeniable classic. Mark Bansner is making one for me: synthetic stock on a left-hand Sako action. Make no mistake, the .30-06 is a powerful cartridge, but it doesnt beat you to death and can be built in the seven- to eight-pound range. of energy at the muzzle. They are a little short initially and after two firings they were just fine. The quest for an acceptable .35 has inspired such impotent wastes as the .35 Winchester Self Loader, once labeled a candidate for the title: Worlds Most Useless Center-Fire Rifle Cartridge.. Throw a belt on the .35 Newton and you couldnt tell the difference three feet away. The origins of the .35 Whelen are controversial even today. Head to the range this week with American Rifleman staff as they discuss a trim little repeater from Savage Arms that comes chambered for the .22 WMR cartridge. In both cartridges, versatility is limited more by the narrow range of bullets available than by any other factor. The Newton was supposedly loaded, by Western Cartridge, to 2,975 fps with a 250-grain bullet, but I, for one, would want to see the chronograph reading. Particularly when you consider that every one of those newer short magnum cartridges burns more powder to achieve less killing power than the .350 Rem. At the same time, it will do almost everything the .375 will but with vastly more versatility. Every time I use it I ask myself, Whats not to like? Beats me, but nobody liked it enough to keep it in production. Heeding the advice of American friends, Kvale worked on what would become the .358 Norma Magnum. The body of the .350 Magnum measures 0.517 inches at the base, smaller than the 0.589-inch base of the .416 Rigby. Just have it rebarreled to 9.3X62, and you will have a 358 Norma with five in the magazine! and the 6.5 mm Rem. The .358 Win. A 358Norma is a good fit for this action. But in those countries where the lighter cartridges are legal for the cats, the .350 Rigby Magnum is just about perfect. Folks who live in elk country may consciously seek a cow for the freezer. Norma Projektilfabrik answered Winchesters designs with a pair of their own: the .308 Norma Magnum and its slightly older brother, the .358 Norma Magnum. Shortening the 2.85-inches long .375 H&H case wasnt exactly a revolutionary ideathat little-known .275 H&H so closely resembles the design of the half-century younger 7mm Remington Magnum that its uncannybut with the Winchester marketing machine the concept was brought to the forefront. Copyright 2000-2023 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The 338/06 when compared to the .35 Whelen only beats it with the lighter bullets and not by much. The norma would cost more if I had to open the bolt face. The experimentation with the H&H cases, first by Weatherby and later by Winchester and Remington, certainly changed the way we hunted and made our purchases; magnum mania definitely took root. The .35's are just plain superior for CXP3 class game. I own several rifles in this cartridge and all my .35 Whelen rifles are accurate. With such a variety of bullets, you would think the skys the limit in terms of different loads, but there are other factors to consider. This stumpy little cartridge was introduced to the hunting public in 1908 and is the only surviving member of the early class of Remington rimless cartridges. The main problem with such potent cartridges is that they kick hard in rifles light enough to carry all day in steep places. Customer experience was, and still is, the primary focus, a key to the firms longevity and success. Kevin Steele of Petersen's HUNTING is with Dawn Wehunt of Rock River Arms INC. learning about the new Ascendant platform. factory load is a 250-grain Oryx bullet listed with a muzzle velocity of 2723 f.p.s. to achieve its potential. Today the .35 caliber family, at least in North America, includes the .357 Magnum, .35 Remington, .356 Winchester, .358 Winchester, .35 Whelen, .350 Remington Magnum and .358 Norma Magnum. Elk bullets must be tough enough to provide adequate penetration. From there, you can work up until you find a load that gives you the accuracy and velocity you want. I believe it never will. None of this can be said for either the .338 Winchester Magnum or the .375 H&H. So while some of my rifle choices may have been oddball, none of the rifles Ive used for elk have been exactly wrong. The .356 Win. Mag. THe 35 whelen did have a little more power than the 358. The major problem with light loads is getting enough pressure to provide a good gas seal. Winchester and Hornady both offer 200-grain loads at 2475 f.p.s. I would never argue that a .243 Winchester with a good bullet placed well, or certainly a .25-06 with a tough, heavy bullet, cant do the job. of muzzle energy. The .35 Win., .35 Newton and .350 Griffin & Howe Mag. The .35-caliber cartridges usually top out at 250 grains, though if a 300-grain bullet at a slightly faster twist rate were employed, it would certainly be in the same class as the .375 Holland & Holland. Kevin Steele from Petersen's HUNTING speaks to Jordan Egli of Burris Optics about the all-new Veracity PH Riflescope. Theres also a mindset difference. Copyright 2023 National Rifle Association, Bertram Brass from Australia is a good source when you can get it, and Quality Cartridge makes a run of .350 Rigby every few years, but you could be waiting a considerable amount of time. This load uses a 200 grain Flex-Tip spitzer bullet and delivers a MV of 2225 fps and ME of 2198 ft. lbs. Shaw rifles 24-inch barrel. Introducing the Veracity PH from Burris, the perfect combination of reliability, quality, and technology delivering a simple aiming solutiona tool for the hunter that just works. Avoid quick-opening bullets, especially match bullets; instead, choose controlled-expansion designs intended for hunting larger game. My favorite hunting round. I have used this cartridge on moose with excellent results. If we compare the .300 Win. While I generally prefer the former over the latter, I think that both choices are effective. The ammunition situation is a little better than the rifles. The .35 Rem. At 300 yds., the .358 Norma impacts only 0.96" lower than the .300 Win. It, as you know, can be loadeddown to be a 35 Whelen but the reverse is not true. Most ammunition makers have a 200-grain load, and Remington also has a 150-grain load with a muzzle velocity of 2300 f.p.s. Why cant we love the .35? The .35 Whelen is a powerful medium-bore rifle cartridge that does not require a magnum action or a magnum bolt-face. The .35 (.358) caliber has never really gotten a serious toehold here, although the occasional item like the .35 Whelen, .350 Remington Magnum, or .358 Winchester roils the waters every now and again. Thier wouldn't be any action mods required to do the Whelen,just rebarrel and enjoy. Compare the Queen of the .35's, the .350 Remington Magnum--the original short (.308 length) magnum cartridge--with the new generation of short action magnums. That version is in some dispute, with evidence that Whelen himself developed the cartridge or at least worked with Howe on its development. There was a time when I questioned the adequacy of the .270 for elk. Any of these will handle just about any big game one might hunt with a .358 Norma, where you want to employ its ample knockdown power. You can start with the 6.5mms. The Hornady Superformance load for the .35 Whelen launches a 200-grain bullet at a blistering. Also, the 35 Whelen will not do much that your 350 and 358 already do, if anything. This wonderful efficiency of the .35 calibers is especially remarkable when one considers that most all of these rounds are verging on obsolescence today. Synthetic stocks arent always lighter than wood, but they are stronger and more stable, and elk hunting can be hard on rifles. But there is another Rigby cartridge, vastly overlooked even among rifle cranks, but which was at one time as popular as the .375 H&H Magnum: the .350 Rigby Magnum. Barnes has a Vor-TX load with a 180-grain TSX bullet and a muzzle velocity of 2900 f.p.s. Todays Norma factory ammunition is loaded with the companys excellent bonded-core 250-grain Oryx. My .375 H&H seemed quite adequate. Even the obscure .358 Norma Magnum is the most efficient of the belted-magnum cartridges [note - by the author's own data the 350 Remington Magnum bests the 358 Norma]. Quite a difference! Right now, I think that the Browning BLR lever-action rifle is the only production gun left on the market in .358 Win. It has never failed me. Essentially the .338 Winchester Magnum necked up to hold .358-inch bullets, the .358 Norma Magnum made all sorts of sense to a hunter in pursuit of large game, such as elk, moose and the great bears of the north. [quote=encorerbHmmm, makes me wonder. The trouble is, they didnt sell. 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It shoots well and is light and easy to carry while hunting. And Barnes makes a 200-grain TSX bullet designed for this cartridge that, when handloaded to 2850 f.p.s., allows the .350 Rem. Any desire to hunt African dangerous game with your medium bore? The .357 Magnum is ideal for light game like javelina and will do for the smaller species of deer and antelope at short range. So if you have a .375 (or larger) and a yen to take it elk hunting, be my guest. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction; that is one of the physical laws of our universe. Subscriber Services. I've owned several Magnum Mediums338 RUM, 340WBY, 375 H&H, 375 WBY, 358NM, 338WM. a good brush buster and good to 300 yards. This standard (.30-06) length magnum cartridge drives a 250 grain bullet at a muzzle velocity (MV) of 2799 fps with 4350 ft. lbs. So, I've hunted elk with less ambitious rounds. The case capacity of the .350 Rigby is very similar to that of the .358 Norma Magnum, and the performance is likewise similar. offered the performance level of the .358 Win. And the hunter must have full confidence in his or her choice. This year, H&R announced an expansion of its AR-15 lineup, bringing additional "retro" models to the market, including a 9 mm Luger-chambered Colt SMG clone, an M16A2-styled rifle and the carbine-size 723. With modern powders the muzzle velocities can certainly beat those of the Cordite loads a century ago, especially in a modern rifle. In many areas a 100-pound deer might be normal, but mule deer and whitetail bucks exist that are triple that size. In an age of ultra-specializatio in every field, and especially rifles, such versatility is almost an anachronism. in its NoslerCustom line with a 225-grain Partition bullet at 2550 f.p.s. Cartridges that in many cases cannot match the killing power, at normal hunting ranges, of comparable .35's. The Norma factory load, with Normas own 250-grain bullet, performed poorly, coming apart in the chest cavity. Even so, most experienced deer hunters have pretty good ideas on appropriate rifles. . Here in North America, you could take the .350 Rigby anywhere youd take the .35 Whelen or .358 Norma Magnum, and that includes north to Alaska for the great bears. If you happen to have a .35 and don't mind the extra recoil, there is no denying that it will flat get the job done. I am often criticized for following the Elmer Keith school in suggesting powerful cartridges. But there is no compelling reason to consider a caliber larger than .35. The .35 Caliber Cartridge Family(.357 Mag., .35 Remington, .356 Winchester, .358 Winchester, .35 Whelen, .350 Rem. Another vote for something different.The 358 STA would be the one. I am also looking at building a 358 Norma Mag on a model 110 Savage action, formerly a 300 Win mag, and start from scratch with the stock ( bedding and pillar) and make it a tolerable shooter even if a bit heavy. The .35 Whelen is a necked up medium bore wildcat cartridge that was created by necking up a .30-06 Springfield case which is famously overpowered for the 30-caliber bullet it propels. was included in that party is a mystery, as it had no Winchester counterpart. Equal in importance is that you can hit the elk. Can this be made into a .358 Norma Mag or must I do a .35 Whelen. Many western hunters annually take elk with 6mms and .25s. Not necessarily top dollar everything. At 300 yards, it has 19 percent more energy than the .300 Win. Hornady has a Superformance load with a 200-grain SP at 2910 f.p.s. As well, most bullet manufacturers produce soft, 200-grain roundnosed bullets intended for the .35 Remington, and these fit a wide range of uses. To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine. This is in sharp contrast to the overwhelming success of the .357/9mm handgun cartridges, whose popularity dates right to the beginning of the self-contained cartridge era. The bullet went in behind the near shoulder, struck the far shoulder from the inside, and the blue bull hit the ground with a thud. This new model featured two new cartridges, the .350 Rem. First, it will do everything the .338 will, and a bit more. and .358 Norma Mag.). The sad truth is that the active list of current .35-caliber rifles and cartridges is tragically short. We argue cartridges and calibers endlessly, but bullet choice matters. Its often thought that if they had it would have gained popularity over the .338 Win. Hunting Shack 358NORMA2N Game King 358 Norma 225 gr Sierra GameKing Spitzer Boat-Tail - 20rd Box. Honestly, Ive taken as many elk with the .30-06 as with any other cartridge, and the farthest at 350 yards was no problem. It arrived with three other cartridges designed to compete with Winchesters popular lever-action lineup. Follow along to see exactly how. The long accepted story was that James V. Howe developed the cartridge in 1922 and named it in honor of his friend, gunwriter Col. Townsend Whelen. Elk Venison and Root Vegetable Stew Recipe, Best New Thermal Optics from the 2022 SHOT Show, Venison Backstrap with Sweet & Spicy Peach Relish Recipe, Tested Tough - Modern Zeiss Sports Optics. loaded with a 180-grain Oryx bullet to the .358 Norma Mag. Heres how to avoid the poseurs and choose the right one. I am not into the current long-range fad, especially on powerful animals like elk. Food for thought, is it not? Think of the .358 Norma Magnum as the chunky cousin of the .338 Winchester Magnum; not quite as svelte or popular, but equally effective in a fight.