The .358 Winchester is a .35 caliber

Caliber

In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....

 rifle

Rifle

A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...

 cartridge

Cartridge (firearms)

A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...

 based on a necked up .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...

 created by Winchester

Winchester Repeating Arms Company

The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating firearms, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The Winchester brand is today used under license by two subsidiaries of the Herstal Group, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium and the Browning Arms Company of Morgan, Utah.-...

 in 1955. The cartridge is also known in Europe as the 8.8x51mm.

History

This cartridge came over 30 years later than the .35 Whelen

.35 Whelen

The .35 Whelen is a powerful medium-bore rifle cartridge that does not require a magnum action or a magnum bolt-face. The parent of this cartridge is the .30-06 Springfield, which is necked-up to accept a bullet diameter of...

 which is based on the .30-06 Springfield

.30-06 Springfield

The .30-06 Springfield cartridge or 7.62×63mm in metric notation, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and standardized, and was in use until the 1960s and early 1970s. It replaced the .30-03, 6 mm Lee Navy, and .30 US Army...

. The relationship in performance between the .358 Win and the .35 Whelen is similar to that between the .308 Win and the .30-06. It created a round more powerful than the .35 Remington

.35 Remington

The .35 Remington is the only remaining cartridge from Remington's lineup of medium power rimless cartridges still in commercial production. Introduced in 1906, it was originally chambered for the Remington Model 8 semi-automatic rifle in 1908.-History:...

 and .348 Winchester

.348 Winchester

The .348 Winchester is an American rifle cartridge. It was introduced in 1936, and developed for the Winchester Model 71 lever rifle. The .348 was one of the most powerful rimmed rounds ever used in a lever rifle.-Performance:...

.

Some think that the cartridge is only good as a short-range and woods round, but it is adequate for any North American big game, providing more energy than the .30-06 at close ranges. Another benefit is that this round can be loaded

Handloading

Handloading or reloading is the process of loading firearm cartridges or shotgun shells by assembling the individual components , rather than purchasing completely assembled, factory-loaded cartridges...

 with very light loads for informal shooting using smaller powder charges and bullets designed for the .38 Special

.38 Special

The .38 Smith & Wesson Special is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & Wesson. It is most commonly used in revolvers, although some semi-automatic pistols and carbines also use this round...

 and .357 Magnum

.357 Magnum

The .357 S&W Magnum , or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...

. If the 250 grain bullet is used, it is reliable against the great bears.

Popularity of this cartridge has dwindled but it is still available from Winchester Repeating Arms Company

Winchester Repeating Arms Company

The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating firearms, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The Winchester brand is today used under license by two subsidiaries of the Herstal Group, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium and the Browning Arms Company of Morgan, Utah.-...

 and Browning Arms Company

Browning Arms Company

Browning Arms Company is a maker of firearms, bows and fishing gear. Founded in Utah in 1927, it offers a wide variety of firearms, including shotguns, rifles, pistols, and rimfire firearms and sport bows, as well as fishing rods and reels....

. Noted web firearms author Chuck Hawks agrees with the Speer reloading manual that The .358 Winchester is one of the best woods cartridges ever designed.

Performance

Winchester currently offers one load for this cartridge; the Winchester Super-X Silvertip. It consists of a 200 gr pointed soft point bullet with an advertised muzzle velocity of 2490 ft/s (759 m/s), and an advertised muzzle energy of 2753 ft.lbf.
Cartridge cases can be formed from .308 cases.

External links

• Winchester's Sleeper. . .358 WCF, by Paco Kelly
• .358 Winchester Reloading info from Accurate Arms.