| Posted: Thu Dec 11th, 2008 10:40 PM |
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LilMag
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Well, this is one I have thought about for several decades now. I seem to have always made an excuse for "not" building this particular caliber known as the .358-STA. It is made from the 8mm Remington magnum case, necked down to .358 caliber. I know that it is awesome on the big bears and the larger African plains game.
Anybody out their in wildcat land have one of thise .358-STA's in their gun cabinet or vault? Now has anybody on this forum ever hunted or killed any big game with this caliber? I'll have to check out Swift A Frame bullet company and Barnes Bullets to see what is available in bullet weight.
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| Posted: Fri Dec 12th, 2008 03:10 AM |
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Rockydog
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Hi-ball, Don't you mean necked UP to 358? An 8mm is .323. RD
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| Posted: Fri Dec 12th, 2008 04:27 AM |
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klallen
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I have a .358STA. It's built on a Ruger M77 Mark II action; 26 1/2" Douglas barrel. Got a brake on one end and a kickez pad on the other to tame things down a bit. You can load lighter bullets if you choose, but I went the heavy route. My handload uses a 280 gr. Swift A-Frame, Fed215 primers, fireformed Remington brass and 86 grs. of H4831 churning up around 2850 fps and nearly 5000 lbs of energy at the muzzle. Again, this is a MAX load, safe in MY rifle. Without the brake, this load in this light a sporter weight rifle is not in the least bit pleasant to shoot.
I had the rifle built expressly for elk sized game back in 2005. Having a hell of a time drawing tags, my brother and I booked hunts in the fall of 2007 for elk and some other exotics that were on this particular ranch just to test things out. This is the only animal my STA has taken. And it was a nice test-run. Quite successful. I was presented a broadside shot. Bullet hit high shouder taking both and spine out. It simply zipped in and out. .358 diameter hole in the hide on one side, slightly large on the other. Would have loved to have a little deeper angle of impact to maybe keep the bullet inside animal to recover and see expansion. Not ment to be, though. Certainly not enough mass to do so on a broadside shot, anyway. Old bull dropped where he was hit. Still eating steaks and roast and they're wonderful.
The STA's a great hammer cartridge. If ya want one, do it. You will not be disappointed.
Last edited on Fri Dec 12th, 2008 02:20 PM by klallen
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| Posted: Fri Dec 12th, 2008 02:01 PM |
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3006 user
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Klallen, very nice bull.. Looks like great hunting country... A puzzle--- You mentioned a 16 1/2" barrel... Sure looks longer than that.. Misprint?? Not being picky, just curious..
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| Posted: Fri Dec 12th, 2008 02:20 PM |
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klallen
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Good lord. You are correct, sir. 26 1/2" barrel. Will correct the post now.
The elk was shot in Nebraska. A ranch we'd been to before. Not a whole lot of forest in the state but this place we hunted is nestled right in where it should be. Nebraska's equivalent of mountains, I guess you'd say. Would be more like rolling hills or the front range to the Rockies up here in MT, but it was pretty and it served out purpose.
Later.
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| Posted: Tue Dec 16th, 2008 01:19 AM |
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LilMag
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Rockydog, Yes, Yes and Yes once again! Thank YOU for your observation sir, I did in fact mean "necking up" but sometimes my filngers get ahead of my eyes and brain. At least they seem to be working more to my satisfaction as of lately. Thank you!
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| Posted: Tue Dec 16th, 2008 01:24 AM |
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Rockydog
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Hi-ball, Sometimes I think my fingers are so far behind my brain that by the time my one fingered typing catches up I've forgotten what I already wrote. If that doesn't make sense it probably happened again. RD
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| Posted: Tue Dec 16th, 2008 01:29 AM |
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LilMag
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Klallen, you did shoot a very nice looking bull with your shoulder cannon! I was just thinking about using my .416 Remington mag but that rifle is heavy and don't wish to use it in the high country where every once you pack on means more to deal with under thin air conditions.
I don't take that thin air near as well as I did 35 years ago, it gets more and more harder to breath up high as my age climbs the ladder of life. I wanted a project for the winter months but have decided to back up and regroup just a bit Klallen. I already have a 338/06 in a lightweight rig, a couple of .338 Win mags and one in a semi-auto, also have that wildcat .338/300Ultra, I might just go ahead and install a brake on that rascal. It would solve my brittle bone problem as of lately.
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11th, 2009 12:52 PM |
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msisut
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I shoot a 358STA. I killed a bison with a head shot. The only movement he had was down to earth. All meat was saved. This seems to be a great 35 caliber rifle. I chambered mine in a Douglas barrel and a Remington 700 action. I shoot heavier calibers so the recoil of the cartridge does not seem excessive. I would highly recommend this cartridge for North American animals. This could also be used in Africa for plains game. Certainly for cats and crocs, but not for the other dangerous game animals. Just talking about this cartridge makes me want to get out this week end and kill a few paper targets.
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