[John S]

I will become the second owner of a Model 99 this Saturday.
The rifle has been fired very little, never hunted and is in .358 Winchester.

I need advise on which bullet & bullet weight I should be shooting and what velocities to look for. It will be use to shoot the 200 yard gong at the rifle range and to hunt hogs at a much closer range. I do mean pigs not groundhogs

75 degrees here today

Thanks.

 

[moose]

Lucky you!!! What a fine rifle and cartridge. I'm loading for Winchester's rimmed version which is the same. I would try BB's cast bullets at full velocity, leaning towards the 250 grain. Should slap some hogs pretty hard. Maybe start with Re7 or V V 133 or even V V 140. Re15 might even work but I doubt you'll get full velocity. I shot a 243 as a kid in Texas but when the barrel was burned out the rifle got rebarreled to 358. Elmer Keith was/ is correct as usual. Didn't have BB bullets in those days or as good a selection of powder as we have now. anyway load 'er up and enjoy.

 

[maurice jurena]

I also have a 358 Winchester in the 1970's model Ruger 77. This seems like an idea cast bullet gun. Marshall do you have any recommended loads with the 200 or 215 grain BB?

Maurice

 

[Marshall Stanton]

Reloader,

I posted this on the other thread you started, thought I'd recopy it here so that you don't miss my answer.  Hope it helps!

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Maurice,

Sorry for not having gotten back to you... somehow missed the post!

Well, the .358 Winchester is a great cast bullet gun, especially in the M77 Ruger.   The throat is such that bullets over the 215 grain threshold won't work the best due to the bullet necessarily having to be seated deeper than the bottom of the case neck in order to chamber properly.

However, you did ask about the 200 and 215 grain bullets specifically, and they are the ones you want for your .358 Winchester.

Try these loads... they are good ones!

BTB .359"-200g FNGC/42.0g AA#2015/WLRP/Win Brass/2530 fps

BTB .359"-200g FNGC/46.0g AA#2520/WLRP/Win Brass/2540 fps.

BTB .359"-200g FNGC/40.9g H4198/WLRP/Win Brass/2480 fps

BTB .359"-215g LFNGC/48.2g H335/WLRP/Win Brass/2475 fps

BTB .359"-215g LFNGC/40.8g H4198/WLRP/Win Brass/2525 fps.

BTB .359"-215g LFNGC/46.2g AA#2495/WLRP/Win Brass/2485 fps.

I assume you wanted pretty much full throttle loads. Hope these help!

God Bless

Marshall