.358 barrel length question?

[kooz]

I have been looking at picking up a .358 rifle. I am on the fence between the Frontier with 16" bbl or taking a standard Hawkeye and shortening the bbl to 19 or 20" and shortening the stock an inch or so. Not much difference in price as the Hawkeye is cheaper than the two Frontiers that I have found by atleast $100, and I would think that the weight would be pretty close between the two also. Looking for something with a little more punch than my .308 compact , but not a lot bigger. I was wondering if those of you who load for or are familiar with the .358 Win round would weigh in with your opinion on optimum bbl length or if the 16 bbl is to short for an already fairly slow moving bullet. Thanks

 

[Boxhead]

For me the very short barrels just do not hold and swing right. I had a Browning BLR (20") and a pre-64 M70 Featherweight (22") both in 358 Win and both felt right with the contour they had. I would not go shorter than 20" in either action. Ballistically the 2" meant zero as either gun shot very near the same velocity using the 225 gr Partition, the only bullet I used. My two bits...

 

[mcvictory]

hi kooz,

my 358 load of 200 gr. hornady interlock over 40 gr. of imr 4198 chronos @ 2520 fps.

2 in. high @ 100 yd., on @200, and -13 @ 300.

this is from my stubby little frontier.

if there is a handier gun for the northeast woods, i haven't found it!

it's short, light, fast, and easy for an old man to carry all day.

my 2 cents.. enjoy that great combo. you need another gun!

mcv.

 

[Bigboreshooter]

My 358 is a Browning BBR with a 21" E.R. Shaw barrel. I don't think I would want a barrel shorter than 20" on a 358, but that's just me.

 

[kooz]

hi kooz,

my 358 load of 200 gr. hornady interlock over 40 gr. of imr 4198 chronos @ 2520 fps.

2 in. high @ 100 yd., on @200, and -13 @ 300.

this is from my stubby little frontier.

if there is a handier gun for the northeast woods, i haven't found it!

it's short, light, fast, and easy for an old man to carry all day.

my 2 cents.. enjoy that great combo. you need another gun!

mcv.

Thanks for the input, what kind of speeds are you getting with the 220 and 225gr bullets ?

 

[Boxhead]

I used 48 grs of IMR-4320 with the 225 gr Partition for a bit over 2400 fps in my BLR. A year or two ago John Barsness wrote an article in Handloader on the 358 Win and 338 Federal and IIRC used TAC to get another 100 fps.

 

[mcvictory]

hey kooz,

225 nosler part. best load for my frontier..39.0 @ 2500fps.
this is a stiff load with slight primer flattening, so "start lower & work up"

my favorite load, mentioned in first post, is also one of the slowest, BUT..
accuracy is superb.

probably no deer or bear have noticed that it was only 2500 f.p.s. that hit them!!

mcv

 

[mcvictory]

that's 39.0 gr. IMR 4198 with nosler part 225.

forgot to proofread my last post!

mcv

 

[kooz]

That's more velocity than I figured the 16" bbl would give. Very good info, I can't find any actual chrono results from the .358 Frontier anywhere, really appreciate your input. Have you had any problems with feeding ? I thought I read somewhere that the .358 Frontier will not feed some makers bullets. Thanks

 

[Black Frog]

I've got the 358 Frontier, all I've used in it so far is factory Winchester 200gr silvertips.

No feeding issues with that ammo that I've seen.

 

[mcvictory]

kooz,

no issues of any kind, feeding or otherwise, with my frontier.

i have about a gazillion guns, (need just one more), and i find myself using the frontier whenever the weather is wet, or whenever it's a long walk involved.

it has turned into my favorite rifle to carry. and carry..

have a 2x leupold EER mounted on the barrel mount, and it lets you wrap your hand around the reciever nicely for carry.

sort of like having a winchester 94 on steroids!!

i agree there hasn't been much good reloading info for the 358 in the past, but that is changing with the renewed interest in this caliber.

try RELOADERSNEST.COM for detailed info.

of course, ruger has, in their infinite marketing wisdom, discontinued the frontier, but they are still out there, although they are getting a bit pricey, already!

mcv

 

[Trey Whitley]

I thought I read somewhere that the .358 Frontier will not feed some makers bullets. Thanks

The 225-grain Nosler Accubond results in a cartridge OAL that is longer than spec (2.82" I think) but I've never had any trouble getting them to feed in my Frontier.

To answer your original question: if you don't have a need for a scout scope set-up, then you might be better off with the Hawkeye (though I suspect your cost will be more than buying the Frontier if you end up cutting and re-crowning the barrel). I have a 358 Frontier rigged with a Leupold 2.5x IER scope and I highly recommend it for close-in hunting, especially on moving targets. Mine is a dedicated hog gun that sometimes gets toted around during deer season and I love it...extremely compact, handy, swings well, plenty accurate, and hard hitting.

The forward-mounted scope also allows the rifle to be carried and loaded easier than one with a scope mounted in the standard over-the-action location.

 

[bigbore45colt]

Kooz,

I like short barrels (16-20") on rifles. I have a Marlin 30-30 with a 16" bbl and had my Remington 7600 35 Whelen cut down to 18". I just recently picked up a Hawkeye Compact (16.5" bbl) in 7.62x39. I just like them better...they handle better.

That being said, I picked up a 358 Win Hawkeye (all-weather version) in the Spring and have been very happy with the 22" bbl. I settled on a load with the 225 gr Sierra bullet and 43.0 gr of IMR3031. I haven't chronographed it yet but it is giving me excellent accuracy.

I don't know how much difference 2" of bbl would make for you, though. I do know that, for me, 22" is OK. I wouldn't want anything longer, though.

BB5C

 

[kooz]

To answer your original question: if you don't have a need for a scout scope set-up, then you might be better off with the Hawkeye.

That's where I am stuck at right now, do I cut up a Hawkeye or buy the Frontier ? I can get a Frontier for about $700 out the door and can get the Hawkeye for about $600. The smith will cut and crown the bbl for $60 and cut the stock back for another $60, so about the same price. I like the idea of a bbl a couple inches longer for this round, but after looking at the figures from mcvictory, I am not so sure that is necesarry. One of my biggest concerns is for keeping it lite and short as I will use this as a late season elk rifle here in Colorado in some very rugged steep terrain and want to keep this as small a package as possible.

 

[firecaptain]

To answer your original question: if you don't have a need for a scout scope set-up, then you might be better off with the Hawkeye.

That's where I am stuck at right now, do I cut up a Hawkeye or buy the Frontier ? I can get a Frontier for about $700 out the door and can get the Hawkeye for about $600. The smith will cut and crown the bbl for $60 and cut the stock back for another $60, so about the same price. I like the idea of a bbl a couple inches longer for this round, but after looking at the figures from mcvictory, I am not so sure that is necesarry. One of my biggest concerns is for keeping it lite and short as I will use this as a late season elk rifle here in Colorado in some very rugged steep terrain and want to keep this as small a package as possible.

I have a Frontier in 358 and chose to mount the scope in the conventional manner. I love it. Short, handy woods rifle. Scope is a Leupold 1.5-5. You have to be a little careful about eye relief but is is not too bad. There is a 358 Frontier on Gunbroker right not.

 

[jn 41]

kooz, buy the hawkeye, stainless synthetic, don't cut it! mount a 2x7 scope and shoot it. Once you handle it and shoot it, you will not care about barrel length. Weight between it and the frontier are about the same. Mine shoots inch groups at 100 yds with 225 gr sierra and 43 grs 3031 or 44grs TAC. Cannot give you velocity but at 50 yds it will go thru an elk shoulder and exit the other side.

 

[bigbore45colt]

I couldn't agree with jn 41 more. I am getting the same accuracy with the exact same load of 43 gr IMR3031 and the same Sierra bullet, in the same gun.

BB45C