.358 Winchester

The .358 Winchester is a .35 caliber rifle cartridge based on a necked up .308 Winchester created by Winchester in 1955. The cartridge is also known in Europe as the 8.8x51mm.

History
This cartridge came over 30 years later than the .35 Whelen which is based on the .30-06 Springfield. The relationship in performance between the .358 Win and the .35 Whelen is similar to that between the .308 Win and the .30-06. It created a round more powerful than the .35 Remington and .348 Winchester.

Some think that the cartridge is only good as a short-range and woods round, but it is adequate for any North American big game, providing more energy than the .30-06 at close ranges. Another benefit is that this round can be loaded with very light loads for informal shooting using smaller powder charges and bullets designed for the .38 Special and .357 Magnum. If the 250 grain bullet is used, it is reliable against the great bears.

Popularity of this cartridge has dwindled but it is still available from Winchester Repeating Arms Company and Browning Arms Company. Noted web firearms author Chuck Hawks agrees with the Speer reloading manual that 'The .358 Winchester is one of the best woods cartridges ever designed.

Performance
Winchester currently offers one load for this cartridge; the Winchester Super-X Silvertip. It consists of a 200 gr pointed soft point bullet with an advertised muzzle velocity of 2490 ft/s, and an advertised muzzle energy of 2753 ft.lbf. Cartridge cases can be formed from .308 cases.