.356 Winchester
Encyclopedia
The .356 Winchester is a semi-rimmed, bottle necked, centerfire rifle cartridge which was intended for use in lever action rifles. It was developed concurrently with the .307 Winchester which acted as the parent cartridge. Both cartridges were introduced in 1982 in the then new Model 94 XTR lever action rifle.
The .356 Winchester was developed using the case similar to that of the .308 winchester
but which featured a semi-rimmed design so as to operate through a lever action rifle. Hence the .358 Winchester
, which is essentially .308 Winchester necked up to accept a 0.358 in (9.1 mm) bullet is very similar to that of the .356 Winchester, the difference being the design of the rim.
Performance of the .356 Winchester is close to that of the .358 Winchester giving up only 50–100 ft/s (15.2–30.5 m/s) with any bullet weight. However, the .356 has a slightly less case capacity that the .358 winchester due to its thicker brass case. Furthermore, heavier bullet will need to be seated more deeply that in the .358 Winchester as the cartridge has to function reliably through a a lever rifles feeding mechanism. For these reasons the factory 250 gr bullet looses about 90 ft/s (27.4 m/s) to the .358 Winchester while the 200 gr factory load is only 30 ft/s (9.1 m/s) slower.
The Marlin Model 336ER
was offered in .356 Winchester for several years, but was discontinued in 1987. The same year, Winchester ceased production of their Model 94s chambered for .356 Winchester. It was brought back immediately in 1988, but was again discontinued in the mid-1990s.
Despite its nomenclature, the .356 Winchester actually uses a .358 caliber bullet. Olin engineers who developed the .356 Winchester advise against loading it with round-nose bullets.
The .356 Winchester was developed using the case similar to that of the .308 winchester
.308 Winchester
The .308 Winchester is a rifle cartridge and is the commercial cartridge upon which the military 7.62x51mm NATO centerfire cartridge is based. The .308 Winchester was introduced in 1952, two years prior to the NATO adoption of the 7.62x51mm NATO T65...
but which featured a semi-rimmed design so as to operate through a lever action rifle. Hence the .358 Winchester
.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:...
, which is essentially .308 Winchester necked up to accept a 0.358 in (9.1 mm) bullet is very similar to that of the .356 Winchester, the difference being the design of the rim.
Performance of the .356 Winchester is close to that of the .358 Winchester giving up only 50–100 ft/s (15.2–30.5 m/s) with any bullet weight. However, the .356 has a slightly less case capacity that the .358 winchester due to its thicker brass case. Furthermore, heavier bullet will need to be seated more deeply that in the .358 Winchester as the cartridge has to function reliably through a a lever rifles feeding mechanism. For these reasons the factory 250 gr bullet looses about 90 ft/s (27.4 m/s) to the .358 Winchester while the 200 gr factory load is only 30 ft/s (9.1 m/s) slower.
The Marlin Model 336ER
Marlin Model 336
The Marlin Model 336 is a lever-action carbine made by Marlin Firearms. It is most often chambered in .30-30 Winchester or .35 Remington, though it has also been chambered in several other cartridges over the years.-History:...
was offered in .356 Winchester for several years, but was discontinued in 1987. The same year, Winchester ceased production of their Model 94s chambered for .356 Winchester. It was brought back immediately in 1988, but was again discontinued in the mid-1990s.
Despite its nomenclature, the .356 Winchester actually uses a .358 caliber bullet. Olin engineers who developed the .356 Winchester advise against loading it with round-nose bullets.