I'm thinking of trying some 180 SSPB in my 358JDJ for deer. Has anyone else tried these? Im currently shooting 225 BT.

I had one for several years - Ye Ol Boltbreaker. I broke several handle bolts in mine before I inserted a hardened bolt.

Mine was very accurate with 225 Nosler BT. It may have been a bit hard for deer but it worked well. Interestingly I sold it to my uncle and on his maiden voyage shot at a doe and ended up killing 2 with one shot...... Good thing he had 2 tags.

If it were me, I'd be leery of using the 180 SSP at 358 vels. I've shot them in my 35 Rem Contender. They open pretty quick. If you want a lighter bullet, try the 180 Speer flat point. I shoot them in my current 35 Contender and they shoot well, open and penetrate well. I know guys that have also used them in their 35 Rem rifles using P+ loads with equal success.

Nosler has introduced a 35cal. 200gr Accubond that would be my first choice to try. Not sure of availability yet but they show them on their website. Supposedly designed for the 35 Whelen but ABs are designed to expand at around 1900fps maybe a little less. I think it would be possible to find a load that starts the bullet slightly over 2300fps so it should retain enough velocity to expand to at least 200yds. Don't know what ranges your looking for but again if I were hunting a new bullet this is where I would start. BTW I have a 358JDJ just seldom use it as I favor the 338JDJ#2 more. Hope this helps.

i use the 180gr hornady ssp in my 14" 35rem rimmed at 2150-2180fps. i've killed some deer at around 200yrds, but STILL have not shot one at close range with it. at 200 they worked great.

i'd have to think it would absolutely murder deer in a big 358!
what velocity will the 358 push 180's? you would not have to load max loads....for one thing.

I shoot the 180 gr Speer fp. in mine or the rem. 200 gr power point.
The speer is more accurate for me than the 180 sspb or rem.and works well even at close range .No recovered bullets yet and drt. deer.
Shots were from 35yds to 100yds.IT IS MY FAVORITE BULLET IN THE .358JDJ OR .35 REM.

Junebug,

what powder are you shooting in your 358?

I use RE 7 47 to 48 grns for 180 fp. When I got this barrel the data that came with it shows a 250 grn Nosler with 42 grs H322.
A 225 grn Sierra with 45 grns of H322,and a 225 grn Sierra with 48 grns of AA 2520 Haven't tried any of those yet though.

WG
I began with a 358 JDJ in 1995 and it has served me well for Hoosier whitetails. I’ve done extensive wet newsprint test and load testing over the years. Most of my base loads were developed using the Hornady 180gr Single Shot Pistol Bullet. However, when hunting I have used a 180gr x.025 Hawk flat point. The terminal performance has been outstanding most deer have travel less than 30 yards before tipping over. My pet load is 50.5 grains of N133 with an average velocity of 2303fs. - 14” bbl.
In other tests I found the Hornady 200gr SP to be rather hard and did not expand at the 358 JDJ velocities. Both the Speer 180gr FP and the Sierra 225gr SPBT showed good expansion and penetration.
In the 358 JDJ I would recommend the 180 x.25 Hawk, Hornady 180gr SSP or the Speer 180gr FP for use on whitetails and similar game.

I add this note as I have used the 180gr Hornady SSP but only in the 35-06 JDJ.

In 2010 I added a 35-06 JDJ on the Encore frame and that fall I used the Hornady 180gr SSP at 2680fs. Terminal performance was good with over 2 inches of internal damage on a 110 # whitetail doe. This was on par with my wet newsprint tests.

After the season I begun more testing with the Speer 180 & 220 flat points and find the hot-core design to be very much like that of a Nosler Partition, they expand fairly quickly double in size (~65 caliber) penetrate well while maintaining their mushroom like shape.

Good luck with your project.

B..

Thanks for the reply Buck. I think Im going to try both of the 180s in Speer and Hornady. From what Ive read the Speer is getting more nods than the Hornady's. I personally think both will be devastating on deer.