Converting .308 Winchester brass to .358 Winchester

David Sinko · Apr 30, 2009

I am seriously considering a rifle in .358 Winchester but do not have any brass for it. On the other hand, I have lots of once fired .308 Winchester. What is needed to convert the brass from .308 to .358? Would there be one or two intermediate steps? Are there any special die sets for this?

Dave Sinko

David Sinko · Apr 30, 2009

I am seriously considering a rifle in .358 Winchester but do not have any brass for it. On the other hand, I have lots of once fired .308 Winchester. What is needed to convert the brass from .308 to .358? Would there be one or two intermediate steps? Are there any special die sets for this?

Dave Sinko

walnutred · Apr 30, 2009

Have you looked into fire forming?

2152hq · Apr 30, 2009

The cases are identicle I believe except of course for the neck diameter. You should be able to form 308 into 358 in one step in a 358 sizer die the same as I and others form 30-06 into 35Whelen in one step in a 35Whelen sizer die.

Lube the case up including the inside of the neck,,but not the case shoulder.

I anneal any brass that is more than once fired or any military brass that I try and form. I trim everything to a uniform length afterwards.

Watch and make sure you have an acceptable headspace arrangement betw your new cases and the rifles chamber. A light load on first fireing will fireform the case to the chamber, then neck size only afterwards will keep headspace dimentions intact.

Once in a while in forming cases,,pulling the expander button back up thru the neck will pull the shoulder of the case forward a couple of .000". To get the new cases to chamber easily, you have to resize them again to bump the shoulder back into position.

Paul5388 · Apr 30, 2009

My Whelen dies are from either 1968 or 1970 and as far as I know, there isn't anything special about them. It's just a straightforward one step process that works with .30-06 brass or once fired Whelen brass. I even made Whelen brass out of some .270 brass, but it wasn't as easy as making it from .30-06 brass.

The .358 Win would be a good choice, even if factory brass becomes unavailable.

mississippi revolverman · Apr 30, 2009

Paul 5388/ 2152hg sorry for interupting the thread but thanks for the 35 Whelden info. I am thinking of getting one and didn't know resizing was. I have a set of old RCBS 0-06 already.

Thanks again

NFrameFred · Apr 30, 2009

I've been on the lookout for some time for a suitable 358 bolt gun I could afford. I hunt with a .35 Whelen Remington 700 Classic and love it; but I would dearly love to have a Remington model 7 in .358 Winchester.

Yeah, I know, they offered the model 7 in 350 Rem Mag, but that's a different animule altogether and you can't make the brass from .308's. I just like having something useful that's a little off the wall that everybody else doesn't have. It's a shame the .358 never caught on. It's a fine round.

TSQUARED · Apr 30, 2009

Aneal thje enck of the cases by placoing them in a pan of water and only heasting the case mouth. The slowly increase the neck diameter with 32, and 33 cal Luman M-die neck expanders (also a 348 if available) before the final expansion with alyman 35 cal expander. Fulls length resize and trim case.
At one tiome it was recommended to put ca 5 grain of a fast burning powder such as Bullseye, followed by a tuft of tissue paper and fill the case up with Cream of Wheat. Fire forming the case - I have tried this with old black powder cases but not with 308 to 358.

David Sinko · Apr 30, 2009

I had figured that running a .308 into a .358 die would be too much for one single step. I guess I was wrong. Sometimes it's good to be wrong.

I could go on about .358 rifles. I would really like a Savage 99 but they are hard to find. If they work as well as my 99 .300 Savage, I'd be willing to pay the bucks for one. Ruger makes the 77 Hawkeye in .358 but of course they had to discontinue the Frontier version. Rugers are nice, but Ruger is very arrogant when it comes to servicing custom guns. As for custom propositions, I am wondering if it's possible to make one on a CZ 555 action. That question may be worthy of another thread.

Dave Sinko

tdan · Apr 30, 2009

I personally favor the .338-08 which is now produced as the .338 Federal. You get a better selection of bullets, plus it is more efficient than the .358 Win. Better yet is a rifle in 338-06!

Paul5388 · Apr 30, 2009

You get a better selection of bullets,

I never have figured that statement out. I can use anything from a 105 gr SWC to 300+ gr in my .35 Whelen, which sounds like a lot more selection than an odd caliber like a .338 anything has.

2152hq · May 1, 2009

I think they made the Winchester lever action model 88 in 358 too. Might be a pricy item on todays market though just because of the Big Red W name.

Why is everything expensive after it's discontinued because no one wanted it to begin with.

If you're going custom, just about any intermediate length 98 Mauser action or a Sako will make up a nice rifle. Shilen, Pacnor, Krieger, etc will barrel it for you. Choose a commercial 98 and you avoid the problems of the bolt & safety alterations for a scope. Even an older Ruger 77 bought at a decent price because of condition could be rebarreled to 358 and refinished.

David Sinko · May 1, 2009

OK Paul5388, now you got me thinking about the .35 Whelen. I have a good supply of .30-06 brass too that could be converted to that cartridge. Is this just as simple? Do the .357 revolver bullets work well in .35 Whelen too? So many possibilities here!

Dave Sinko

2152hq · May 1, 2009

FWIW I probably shoot more 158gr Lead SWC in my old Mannlicher in 35Whelen than anything else. It was originally in 9mm Mauser caliber and was rechambered to 35Whelen at some point.
I use 12gr of RedDot for a nice accurate 75yrd range load that is easy on the 1909 rifle and me.
I'm a little newer than 1909

Still using up some old stock 200gr bullets originally intended for the 35Remington that I had at one time. Lots of bullets around for the 35's.
I don't hunt anymore so anything I do is strictly on the range.

I use Lee 35 Whelen dies. They have a long tapered expander. It seems they figured most folks would be expanding '06 brass and the tapered expander makes the job that much easier than a blunt one.

Paul5388 · May 1, 2009

David,

Work well is a relative term, since it depends on what you determine well is. I normally use jacketed bullets for hunting loads. However, I wanted the Whelen just in case I needed to expand my bullet choice. I think I have some cast bullets loaded somewhere that I never have gotten around to shooting.

If you're referring to the diameter supposedly being smaller on a pistol bullet, I size my pistol bullets at .359", so that really isn't too much concern.

BUFF · May 1, 2009

I have had both Remington 600 and 700 rifles in .350 Rem Magnum, but not a .358 Winchester. I am thinking about rebarreling one of my FN-FAL type rifles to .358 Win.

Yes, you can shoot .357-.358" pistol bullets in a .358 Win or Rem Mag. If you are doing it for any practical purpose, keep the velocities down to 1,800 fps or less. If you shoot them fast, they tend to come apart, sometimes in the air between the muzzle and the target. Especially jacketed pistol bullets.

Converting .308 Winchester brass to .358 Winchester

David Sinko

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