i'm always thinkin n dreaming of a new barrel it's always hard deciding on EXACTLY what ya want.

gimme some velocities to look over, accuracy reports, n recoil abusiveness etc. tell me how much powder yer burnin to get there etc.

also having a hard time deciding if i want it in the contender or the encore. no money yet.....so i'm still in the dreaming stage. the perfect time to make decisions like these.

the ones i'm throwing around most are 358JDJ, or 358X444.....358 Bullberry, or .358x375win......possibly the .358win or .356win only in the encore.

could be a OTT custom barrel...........or could be tc fox ridge custom shop barrel.

the 350rem magnum would be a good choice for an encore, but i'm wanting no muzzle brake on this future barrel.

ok then.......are youins shootin any good .358's ya wanna tell me about?

I had the .358 JDJ in a Contender. I took an AK moose and a few other assorted animals with it. It worked great on all the game it touched. The moose took two rounds but never went over 10 yards. I'm not much into the big boomers so I sold or traded it a few years back. My bbl was a older 14" 35 rem. rechambered by JD. It had what he called an expantion chamber on it that tamed it quite a bit. I was able to get 1.25 - 1.50" most all of the time. It wasn't powder sensitive; it liked the ones you'd expect. I never got the speed out of the bullets that I see bantered about but everything that it touched died, guess that was good enough for me.
I'd recommend it in a heart beat if your going to hunt bear or other big game.

I've been playing with a blue 17" (counting brake) SSK 35 Whelen Encore barrel with the three ring long TSOB base for a few weeks now and finally made up my mind to keep it and paid for it yesterday....for all practical purposes it was new, it had a max. of two boxes of factory ammo shot through it before I got it.

Between Varget and IMR4895 I worked up ten different pet loads for it and 55.0grs of Varget under a Hornady 180gr bullet was the hands down winner.....the 100yd group was right at 1" and every bullet hole cut another one.

The recoil is not a bad as the 338-06 15" SSK barrel I played with for awhile but even with the brake you're certainly aware of when the hammer falls on the ole Whelen.

J.D. Jones is really proud of his barrels isn't he ? Just for the heck of it the first week I got the barrel I called SSK for a quote on the barrel and configured exactly as it is the cost is....are you sitting down ?

Barrel $405.00...base $99.00...brake $150.00...shipping $13.00, that comes to a grand total of $667.00 !

Do I like the barrel and cartridge ?....yes

Does it shoot any better than my TC off the rack Contender barrels, my Fox Ridge Encore barrels or my Bullberry Contender barrel ?....nope

Would I have paid anywhere near the $667.00 for it....nope, I'd have gone Fox Ridge or OTT for 1/2 the cost.

Before I get flamed let me say I'm in no way knocking SSK or any of J.D.'s products but comparing the downrange accuray to other mfgs. barrels I just personally feel SSK barrels are shall we say (trying to be tactful) a little over priced.

Later on I may try some bullets in the 200gr + weights in the Whelen and see how they do downrange but for now the 180's are looking real good.

Ike

Well, I had a 358JDJ and loved it.But, it was not one to not have a brake That's from a guy that shot a 300Win Mag with-out a brake...LOL Can't remember the velocity's off hand but, I would say it pushed a 200gr SP around 2200fps with 48 to 50 grains of powder. My XP-100 .35Rem is pushing a 200gr SP at 2195fps with only 39.3grs of powder not bad I guess.

no.......that ain't bad at all. i'm thinkin of something efficient, but yet powerful and without a brake.

my 2 best ideas are the 356win(basically a rimmed 358win i guess) in the encore..........OR a 375win case necked down to .358 for the contender.

ol "lonerider" shoots that 35bullberry and likes it pretty dang good. i guess one could use either 375win brass or 30-30 brass to get there.
i'm not sure on what dies would be best to size the .358x375win

contender .........encore oh i hate these decisions!

KYODE, You have already have a good cartridge fer that Encore(remember the 300WM). I think you should go with something in the Contender. I like the sound of the 358JDJ or the 35 Bullberry. But it's your choice. Ain't it fun having to make decisions. Just my 2 cents, though

KYODE, I had a 35 Remington (my first 150yd Elk kill with a 200 Hornady sp at 2100fps) and a 358JDJ that used to tear the hide off white-tails with 225gr balistic tips. The 358JDJ and 250's in a 14" barrel was terrible to shoot without a brake. It was every bit as bad as TonyV's 500 BFR! That's saying something. It was very manageable with a brake though. I sold that one. Consider the 375 winnie in factory form. I think is a real sleeper in the comparison you want. I also think your 300 winnie will do any and everything we need with the slugs. I, like you though, am always searching for the ultimate one. That's why I have too many to choose from!!! Actually, my 375H&H may be just the one I'm looking for, but I have to wait until I have teh 416 Rigby wrung out before I decide.

any more good suggestions or experiences?

ideally, i'd like to find a cheap barrel blank in .358 bull configuration and have OTT turn it into a TC barrel.

.356 win encore

.358x375win contender

One of each otta settle your cravings for a LITTLE while...maybe!! The 356 win in an Encore should keep pace with the 358JDJ in the contender and do it with a little less recoil and less powder I think. I had a 358JDJ for years and it was my go to gun for deer for a long time...Magman's friend Keith now owns it...he's a lot younger than I and still into that big recoil thing..My old bones can't take much of that anymore and the 358 Bullberry is just about right for me and the recoil is much more to my liking...kills things bang/flop out well past 200 yards if I do my thing correctly...I still have some old JDJ rounds and I fondle them now and then as they bring back good memories...perhaps some day a carbine in the big 358JDJ would be a fun experiment.

Kyode old buddy see now what you gone and done...Ya got ole lonerider a-thinkin...an thats bad doncha know

I think a .358Win in the Encore would be nice. Yep, that's what you need. Just don't tell the wife you charged it till you get it in your grubby hands...LOL

Hey PJ

I believe the old 358 Winnie is a much underrated round.Lotsa power for the short barrels.I had one in the Competitor for a while and it would shoot either the 358 Win or the 356 Win case..I think probably the Encore would do the same thing with an extractor swap...rimmed or rimmless depending on what brass one had availiable. That would be cool. Maybe OTT/Mike could do something like that.Factory ammo availiablity would be there for those that don't handload and the 358Winne can be made to "Dance with Moose" by the handloaders. It can be loaded down as well with the 357 pistol bullets for much versitility.

Good 35 caliber choice in the bigger Encore...recoil is still on par with the 358JDJ I think.

shortgun

yep.............i think mike can supply both extractors so a feller could use either the rimless .358 or the rimmed .356 in the encore. i'd have to ask him again to be sure. i'd think it'd be a dandy too, but i'm unsure if'n i could handle the recoil.

i could even make it about 17" long n possibly fluted. it could be the mate to my 300 win mag.

then on the other hand.............the 358x375win could be a neat lil efficient package in the contender, and a mate to my 30-30AI

aaaaaaaghhhhhh!......decisions!

In the Encore I don't think recoil would be that bad. I would go with the 358Win.

kyode, i don't have much experience with any of these cartridges . but i've been reading this post since you've put it up. and it seems you keep mentioning the 358x375win. now i'm not trying to be a psycho-doctor or something, but you may already have your answer. i know nothing of this one, but it seems to be very interesting to you and it seems that you are trying to repress your feelings for it . go with your gut on this one...or use the force...or flip a coin...or whatever!!! p.s. you'll be receiving my bill for this session . GOOD LUCK!!!

KYODE take a look at this one on gunbroker#32326611--since i have been reading these notes on 358s iam getting the ich to turn my 35 rem xp into a 358win the wife saya that since you started this you can pay for it to let me know how much i can spend

sure.........it's on me. just spend whatever it takes to git what ya need. LOL

My favorite is a 35 Whelen AI with muzzlebrake and 14.5 in. barrel from Bullberry. The recoil is less then my 15 in.30-06 encore barrel and I don't really notice the blast. It's very accurate and has flattened the deer that been in front of it. Fred lapped the barrel and sent two front ends. One was a temp. so I could scope it and start shooting to get ready for a hunt and the permanent one came in two days later. To form brass I fire 35 Whelens through it then reload. Deer load is a 225 gr. BT. and 58.5 gr. powder.

I think you ansewered your question in the first post Kyle.

GET THE 350 REM MAG!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can load it down for easy shooting and load it up for hunting. Really a break is not all that bad. Look at the OTT brake, you love it. Enough said??

good idea..........but i'm not really wantin "maximum horsepower" for this barrel. i think i have that in the 300 winchester.
i'm lookin for a larger bore dia than i have now..... reasonable recoil(sumthin fer extended fun shootin also)......sumthin very effective on deer n large game.......sumthin that will reach out to a couple hundred yards........sumthin that burns lesser amounts of powder.......sumthin that runs velocities that will make the 180gr hornady sspb and various 200gr roundnose 35 cal bullets work as they are designed........and sumthin that has components reasonably priced fer cheap shootin.

if i was wantin to push heavier bullets or get maximum range possible......i think the 350 rem mag would be super.....and a .356 or .358 winchester encore would be sweet as pie also.

i think i've decided on the .358 bullberry that lonerider/shortgun shoots. ........and i think i want it as a companion to my 30-30AI/G2/ 2x7 burris setup. this setup is "the best" as far as everyday packin n huntin deer period, imo......with ALL things considered.

burn small amounts of powder.........get good velocity out of those fewer gr's of powder........get good case life.......n have it all in lighter weight package that has tolerable recoil.

i'm a thinkin OTT 14" black matte finish .358 x375win contender barrel fer this one. the 38-55 and 30-30 cases could be interchanged as well.

the 358JDJ as i hear it will outrun it etc. etc., BUT at the expense of a LOT more powder.

not lookin to outdo anyone here, or have the biggest n baddest......just lookin for an effective, proven deer smasher in a small package.

can ya see whur i'm comin frum? LOL

as far my second go to choice.......it would be a .356win encore.

OK, you talked me into it, Now go get one!!!

well........i would right now, but funds are dang slow comin.....n dang fast goin.
may take me a while, and doubt if i can get one ready before november deer season

i was lookin around for 375 win brass to see how "available" it is. i did see it listed in a couple places such as graf n sons and midway, but both are outta stock.

bit confused on necessary dies also. i think i'd need a 357 herret full length die(backed out), and maybe a 375 win sizer for the base.

this fun stuff ain't so easy sometimes.

KYODE, et al. The 358x375 is merely a 357 Herrett loaded in a much stronger case than the traditional necked 30-30. I've been using 375 win brass in mine forever! 350 Rem mag is awesome in an Encore, but I really don't think there is alot of difference between the other 358's in the Encore, with some obviously giving a little more punch than the others. 35 Whelen and 358-06 are thumpers, but I really don't think any will out perform the 338-06!! Mine is extremely accurate and fast 200g@2650fps 15' muzzle and the brass still comes out very easy! How's that? I can long, sleek 250's at 2500 with no sweat, and recoil is very manageable!

Gerry

The cartridge we are discussing here(.358 Bullberry..aka 358x375) is not the 357 Herret in stronger cases. There is no trimming or shortening of the case length as in the Herret..it is just the 375 Win necked down to 35 cal and left full length...or the 30-30 case full length and necked up to 358. You ain't gonna get this to chamber in your Herret and it beats the herret by a good bit in all performance levels.

shortgun

well.........lonerider n pals, i've went n done it. i couldn't pass up a deal on a 14" 35remington with an older 2x burris scope w/AO n target turrets. the pics i got were real good lookin. i'll be mailin out a mo in the mornin. i was tryin to save up fer a custom 358, or one to rechamber........but, i'm weak er sumpin??

now.....i reckon the 35rem won't work for a rechamber to 358 bullberry(358x375w), but a 358 x444(JDJ) is a rechamber option.

heck..........i may just buy a couple boxes of factory 35 rem ammo n see if i like it as it is.
if TCnut is pushin 2200fps with 200gr bullets in his 35 rem xp, heck that ain't bad.

any good 35 rem or 358JDJ(reasonable recoil) loads to share?

i just got back from northern minnasota,i took the 35rem xp loaded with 180 hor ssp and h4895(2150fps) sat morning a sow came in with cubs,it was neat to watch.the only thing yhat i got to shoot was a russin boar at about 70 yrds,one shot took him down,right through both front shoulders ,he grunted once and that was it.. i think for a light non powder eating the 35 rem is a treat to have.you can load it light with 357 pistol bullets or load it up for bigger game