358 blr

[Tatume]

Hi Folks,

Yesterday I took the new Browning 358 Winchester BLR to the range. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun with a rifle!

The gun is light and easy to handle, and perfectly balanced between the hands. Accuracy is very good. Using the factory open sights it will consistently put three shots touching at 50 yards. Five shot groups open a bit to around 1.5 inches, which may be attributable to barrel heating, or it may just be me. Groups were fired from the bench with elbows on the tabletop, but no bench rest apparatus. Once sighted in I took the gun to the 100 yard range and expended my supply of ammo on the six-inch swinging plate. Great fun! I missed it twice out of 30 shots fired.

The front sight is too tall, at 0.400” high. Brownells has a 0.327” Browning replacement part that I’m going to install. Right now I’m at max elevation with a perfectly centered 50 yard zero. I want to bring the rear sight down, and I want to be two inches high at 100 yards. I think I can accomplish both with the replacement front sight.

The rear sight on the BLR is quite nice. It appears to be a machined part, with screw adjustable elevation and opposing screws for windage adjustment. I don’t like stamped sheet metal sights, as come on many rifles. This sight has the appearance of quality construction, is low and well protected, and is easy to see. It is very nicely done.

The Browning literature says the magazine should hold four rounds, and it does, comfortably. However, The Davidson’s web site says that in 358 Winchester they recommend loading only three. This particular gun does not feed the first round well if four are loaded, but three feed smoothly and quietly. That is plenty for me, as I usually hunt with single shot rifles anyway.

My ammo was made from LC-88 cases and loaded with a starting charge of IMR4895 for Remington 180 gr HP and 200 gr RN bullets. They are leaving the muzzle at 2140 and 2100 fps, respectively. I’ve upped the charge two grains for my next range session, and I’ll chronograph those too. As soon as it gets warm enough I’ll cast a batch of bullets using the RCBS 35-200-FN mold, and load them using IMR4895 and IMR 7383. I’m certain the 4895 loads will perform well, and I’m anxious to see how the 7383 ammo does.

Overall I’m extremely pleased with the BLR.

Take care, Tom

P.s., I don't know why but the text editor will not allow the title I gave to this post (358 BLR). It changes the capitals to lower case.

[MT Gianni]

Glad it is working for you.

[35 shooter]

Tatume your killing me.lol I've been thinking about one in the take down version for quite some time. Don't know if it would shoot as well as the standard rifle but their just too cool. It's sounding like you've got a good one!:grin:

[dverna]

Tom,

Glad to hear your issues were sorted out. Good luck with the new toy.

Don Verna

[TXGunNut]

Sounds like you have a new hunting rifle that's fun to shoot as well, congrats.

[starmac]

Good report. I have been interested in trying a 358 for a while, and am a lever guy, but for some unknown, unexplained reason I just have never been drawn to the blr other than the 22. I like brownings too, I own bolts and like their shotguns, but for some reason never got into their lever guns, and the only ones I have shot were fine.

[Tatume]

Hi Folks,

It’s still early in my load development program, but I’m not getting anyway near the speeds published on the Hodgdon web site. I’m using Lake City 68 match cases for my brass and Remington 200 grain round nose bullets. Starting 10% below max I expected 2300 fps, but my average velocity was 2100 fps.

The second 50 rounds were loaded with two grains more IMR4895, and speed increased to 2225 fps, still well below the speed for starting loads at Hodgdon. Extreme spread was 79 fps, which is too much. Primers were nice and round, so I’ve increased the charge by one grain, in the hope of reducing the ES. I’ll consider this to be a max load for mil-surp cases, at two grains less than published max.

We had a nice day yesterday, and I cast some bullets from the RCBS 35-200-FN mold and an alloy of 17.5 pounds COWW, 0.5 pound 50/50 solder, and 1.0 pound linotype. The bullets were air cooled. They fit my gun very well; chambered rounds show a circumferential mark around the nose of the bullet where the bullet entered the throat. I’ve loaded a batch with a starting load of IMR4895 and another with the lightest of IMR7383 loads that I got from this board.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?52799-358-Winchester-IMR-7383

Accuracy has been good across the board. Also, 2200 fps is plenty for my initial uses, as it gives me plenty of speed to hunt hogs to 200 yards. Given that I’m using the barrel-mounted open sights, I don’t plan to shoot that far.

Thanks, Tom

[pietro]

.

I once had (in the mid-70's) the very early all-steel .358 BLR, with the funky magazine that reminded me of a SMLE's.

I mounted a Williams WGRS peep sight & a higher front sight on it - it was very accurate & smooth shooting.

The trouble, back then, was that I wasn't into reloading, and the factory ammo's J-word slugs would just pencil through big Maine whitetails, allowing them to run a country mile through deep swamps, etc, where they couldn'r be found/recovered.


.

[Tatume]

I'm surprised to hear that. My guess is you were using either the Remington Core Lokt or Winchester Silvertip, both of which are excellent bullets.

[Tatume]

Hello Folks,

The 358 Winchester Browning BLR continues to please me beyond description! The rifle is delightful. Today I shot ammo loaded with Remington 200 grain round nosed bullets and IMR 4895 loaded two grains less than the maximum on the Hodgdon web site, and attained 2300 fps. Since I’m using military (LC 68) cases, I consider this to be maximum. I’m satisfied, as accuracy is excellent.

After having fired a couple of hundred Remington 200 grain rifle bullets and 180 grain pistol bullets, there is no evidence of copper fouling. Barrels for the Browning BLR are air-gauged, and this one appears to be outstanding.

Bullets from my new RCBS 35-200-FN mold with the starting charge of 4895 yielded 2200 fps, and again accuracy was excellent. The same bullets with a charge of IMR7383 that filled the case to the bottom of the neck gave 1650 fps with excellent accuracy.

The IMR7383 load shoots too low to be practical. The factory barrel-mounted open rear sight is already adjusted to the top of its range. I have a Browning replacement front sight that is 1/10” shorter that I will install soon, but it will not be sufficient to center this load. The IMR4895 load will center though, and I expect this is going to be my final effort at load development. I see little room for improvement.

The cast bullet alloy is 17.5 pounds of clip-on wheel weight metal with 0.5 pound of 50/50 solder and 1.0 pound of linotype added. Bullets are air-cooled, and Hornady gas checks are used with LBT Blue Soft lube. There is not a trace of leading in the bore.

To say I’m pleased with this rifle would be an understatement.

Take care, Tom

[303carbine]

Hi Folks,

Yesterday I took the new Browning 358 Winchester BLR to the range. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun with a rifle!

The gun is light and easy to handle, and perfectly balanced between the hands. Accuracy is very good. Using the factory open sights it will consistently put three shots touching at 50 yards. Five shot groups open a bit to around 1.5 inches, which may be attributable to barrel heating, or it may just be me. Groups were fired from the bench with elbows on the tabletop, but no bench rest apparatus. Once sighted in I took the gun to the 100 yard range and expended my supply of ammo on the six-inch swinging plate. Great fun! I missed it twice out of 30 shots fired.

The front sight is too tall, at 0.400” high. Brownells has a 0.327” Browning replacement part that I’m going to install. Right now I’m at max elevation with a perfectly centered 50 yard zero. I want to bring the rear sight down, and I want to be two inches high at 100 yards. I think I can accomplish both with the replacement front sight.

The rear sight on the BLR is quite nice. It appears to be a machined part, with screw adjustable elevation and opposing screws for windage adjustment. I don’t like stamped sheet metal sights, as come on many rifles. This sight has the appearance of quality construction, is low and well protected, and is easy to see. It is very nicely done.

The Browning literature says the magazine should hold four rounds, and it does, comfortably. However, The Davidson’s web site says that in 358 Winchester they recommend loading only three. This particular gun does not feed the first round well if four are loaded, but three feed smoothly and quietly. That is plenty for me, as I usually hunt with single shot rifles anyway.

My ammo was made from LC-68 cases and loaded with a starting charge of IMR4895 for Remington 180 gr HP and 200 gr RN bullets. They are leaving the muzzle at 2140 and 2100 fps, respectively. I’ve upped the charge two grains for my next range session, and I’ll chronograph those too. As soon as it gets warm enough I’ll cast a batch of bullets using the RCBS 35-200-FN mold, and load them using IMR4895 and IMR 7383. I’m certain the 4895 loads will perform well, and I’m anxious to see how the 7383 ammo does.

Overall I’m extremely pleased with the BLR.

Take care, Tom

P.s., I don't know why but the text editor will not allow the title I gave to this post (358 BLR). It changes the capitals to lower case.



Hi Tom, I can get 2450 fps with 225 grain Sierra's out of the 358 BLR, IMR 4895 works very well in the 358.8-)

[Tatume]

Friday I shot more RCBS 35-200-FN bullets with an additional grain of IMR 4895, which is four grains below the max load for a 200 grain jacketed bullet on the Hodgdon web site. The average velocity at 20 yards was 2249 fps with an extreme spread of 7 fps. Accuracy was outstanding.

I also loaded and fired Remington 200 grain RN bullets with one grain less than the Hodgdon max for 2350 fps with 28 fps extreme spread. Again, accuracy was excellent.

I continue to be impressed with the quality of the Browning air-gauged barrel. So far there is not a trace of leading or copper fouling, and I've fired several hundred rounds.

For next weekend I loaded more of the above with the addition of some Sierra 225 SBT bullets. These are in Winchester cases. There is a considerable difference in case capacity as compared to the LC-68 military cases I've been using, and I expect speeds to drop somewhat in the more voluminous commercial case.

I also mounted a Leupold 2.5-8x VX III scope. It ruins the weight and balance, and the appearance as well. I'm going to remove it as soon as I'm done with accuracy testing. The appearance and balance are just wonderful with the barrel-mounted factory open iron sights, and they make for a nice sight picture too. I replaced the 0.405" brass bead front sight with a Browning 0.317" bead which brought the point of impact up where it should be, with the rear sight adjusted almost all the way down.

Thanks for listening, more later.

[Hickok]

Tatum, I previuosly owned a rifle just like yours. It shot very good, but had to let the barrel cool down as it was thin. One question, did you ever have any trouble with the magazines? My mags wanted to pop rounds out if carried in your pockets.

I did use mine for hog hunting, and it would really put a hog's nose in the dirt!:lol:

[Tatume]

Hi Hickok,

I've only had the rifle a few weeks and I only own one magazine, which stays in the gun. If it was convenient to thumb cartridges into the magazine I wouldn't remove it at all, but alas, that doesn't work well. So far I've not had any trouble with the magazine though.

Take care, Tom

[mogwai]

completely naive to cast in rifles here...jacketed and cast down the same pipe without serious cleaning between sounds like a problem. No?

[Tatume]

Hi Mogwai,

Nope, no problem whatsoever. Accuracy is excellent, and there is no leading or copper buildup. All is well with the world.

I attribute much of my success to 1) an excellent barrel, 2) a well-proportioned alloy of lead, antimony and tin (see above), and 3) LBT Soft Blue lube. Some may argue that other lubes are as good, but I've had excellent results with this one and will stick with it.

Take care, Tom

[Lever-man]

Glad to hear that you are having such good luck with your BLR. The one I got isn't so good. I have not shot any cast in it yet, but two or threes shots and as far as I can see down the muzzle looks like it has been copper plated! Accuracy is so-so. I'm planning on fire lapping it as soon as I have time........ cleaning copper every third shot is not going to work!!

[Tatume]

Hi Lever,

You might consider sending it back to Browning. They make high claims for the quality of their barrels, and they have a good reputation to protect. An air-gauged barrel shouldn't behave like what you're describing.

Take care, Tom

[GooseGestapo]

I too have a "steel" reciever BLR-81 in .358.
I've used reformed Winchester brass and several powders. To date #2520, IMR3031, and H4895 have given best performance with H4895 the very best. I get ~1.5moa at 100yds 5-shots with 48.0gr of H4895 for ~2,520fps. I went as high as 49.0 but accuracy fell off and extraction was "sticky".
When they become available, I'll try some Sierra 225gr BtSpt.

I plan also to get an RCBS 200 FNGC when they become available. I killed two deer Nov. 2012 with the Hornady 200gr Spt. One ran ~40yds and other was bang-flop.

[Speedo66]

I have an older Belgian BLR in .308, and love it. Shoots better than it has any right to, and for some reason, as light as it is (maybe it's the pad), recoil is negligible. It's been my hunting rifle for many years, has taken many deer, and I can't think of a better gun for the woods.

I put a small scope on it, Nikon ProStaff 2-7x32, which is small, light, and low enough not to overpower the gun, and works well for my purposes.

Good luck with yours.