Why not the .358 Winchester for Iowa Whitetails?

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

True. Also remember that a break action is shorter than a bolt gun or ar already. My contenders with a 20” barrel are about the same or shorter than an 18” ar. You will be 200 fps or more slower than the whelen, but still a step up from a 350l. A 360 Buckhammer would also be in the mid ish 2000’s with a 20” barrel. I have a 360 bh pistol and it’s only 200 fps slower than box at 14”, if I remember right it pushes a 180g to 2200 fps.

Encores are now back in production, so T/C would be an option instead of a CVA, but double the cash.

I owned the stainless/braked CVA in 35 whelen. I killed one average Iowa buck with it and Barnes 180. I was likely expecting way too much from it, but the terminal performance at 75 yards was virtually the same as a slug or muzzleloader. Hit the deer behind the shoulder, it ran about 75 yards. The bullet performed decent with the "petals" blooming inside and one breaking off and creating a separate wound cavity.

I sold the rifle as the performance wasn't a huge improvement, but most importantly the muzzle blast was absolutely ridiculous (I know, I know, I should've expected that with the brake). Shooting it at the range in the neighbors shooting house with it out the window still rattled the windows and you needed plugs and muffs to be "comfortable".

My ideal Iowa whitetail rifle at this point would likely be a suppressed 18" Tikka in .358 with a SWFA 6x. Simple, short, and deadly. If Iowa every gets with the program and opens up cartridge selection to bottlenecks less than .35, my suppressed 18" Tikka 7-08 would be the automatic choice. Stupid accurate, virtually zero recoil, and 162 ELDx.

 

[rking453]

I own a Ruger M77 Hawkeye in .358 Win, shooting 178 gr. Hammer Bullets with handloads around 2,750 FPS. Of all the cartridge and bullet combinations I have tried, I have never found anything that kills as well as this rifle. Almost every whitetail I have shot with it dropped as if the hand of God struck it down. I have had a couple deer run 40-50 yards, all left a blood trail a blind man could follow. Very little meat loss typically. I tried 225 gr. TTSXs when I first got they rifle. They worked okay, but nothing spectacular.

 

[bdg848]

I owned the stainless/braked CVA in 35 whelen. I killed one average Iowa buck with it and Barnes 180. I was likely expecting way too much from it, but the terminal performance at 75 yards was virtually the same as a slug or muzzleloader. Hit the deer behind the shoulder, it ran about 75 yards. The bullet performed decent with the "petals" blooming inside and one breaking off and creating a separate wound cavity.

I sold the rifle as the performance wasn't a huge improvement, but most importantly the muzzle blast was absolutely ridiculous (I know, I know, I should've expected that with the brake). Shooting it at the range in the neighbors shooting house with it out the window still rattled the windows and you needed plugs and muffs to be "comfortable".

My ideal Iowa whitetail rifle at this point would likely be a suppressed 18" Tikka in .358 with a SWFA 6x. Simple, short, and deadly. If Iowa every gets with the program and opens up cartridge selection to bottlenecks less than .35, my suppressed 18" Tikka 7-08 would be the automatic choice. Stupid accurate, virtually zero recoil, and 162 ELDx.

My take on the 35 Whelen in Iowa is that it isnt to kill them better at 75 yards, rather, its for killing them the same at 400yds lol

That said, A short, suppressed 358 like you described sounds like a sweet little Iowa deer gun. I'd make mine a Ruger No. 1 and make the overall length that much shorter.