Ruger American in 358 winchester

jerry w

Member
Just wanted to pass along that Grice's had a run of 300 Ruger Americans made in 358 winchester, they still have plenty in stock. If it shoots anywhere near as well as my Ruger American Ranchrifle in 7.62x39 it will be a keeper. I just ordered 2, one for me and 1 for my father in law so we should see them this coming week sometime.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
that's about 200$ cheaper than their Hawkeye in 358 was when new, I hear they are more like 1200$ on the open market now.
 

Rootmanslim

Banned
Guess I'd but a TC Compass in 308 and have JES rebore it , $500 total, IF I had any use for a 358.

As long as I have my 35 Whelens and 9.3s, I'll pass.
 

jerry w

Member
A lot better than the model 77 they have listed @ $1,300! I will still have it in hand for less than $450, I have been tempted to have one of the little American RanchRifles in 7.62x39 bored out to 35cal and chambered for 35 Grendel.
 

jerry w

Member
I still haven't seen one in X39 yet, I'd grab it up in a heartbeat.
That ranch rifle in 7.62x39 has become one of my favorite rifles, feeds the bluntest bullets like the RD designs or 314440 with out a hitch and is really accurate. Shoots everything well, jacketed, cast, cheap russian imports, mine has seen mostly cast full power loads. I really like the mini 30 mags, they are a proven and rugged design that works well. Is it perfect, nope, but for the price it is hard to beat. I have two of the Zastava mini mausers, a ruger hawk eye 77 compact and this little ranch rifle all chambered for the x39 and out of those four the ranch rifle shoots them best and carries extremely well.
 

Elkins45

Active Member
that's about 200$ cheaper than their Hawkeye in 358 was when new, I hear they are more like 1200$ on the open market now.

I got real excited when I saw this. I bought one on closeout for $450 and would be happy to let it go at a profit. Alas, the $1200 guns on GunBroker are part of a limited run with fancy walnut stocks. Mine was from an earlier run of stainless synthetic guns.

I would be happy to trade it for an American, if they made it in left hand. Hmmm...wonder how hard it is to swap barrels between a LH and RH American?
 

jerry w

Member
Got the new 358 in hand and loaded a few rounds to see how it did, it really liked the powder coated 230gr Ranchdog with 1.6cc (20gr) of IMR 4227. It did OK with the same powder charge and the 190gr Ranchdogs but really seemed to prefer the heavier bullet. I also loaded some 200gr hollow pointed 358315's, these shoot really well in my 357 handirifle but i was getting some flyers in this rifle, tried 1.6cc of Data 68 as well as 1.0cc of Bluedot. All in all i was pretty pleased, there was no load development, simply grabbed what i had for bullets on the bench and chose a few powders that had worked well in the past for medium loads. Going to form some more cases and try loading some really light loads with powder coated 158gr pistol bullets along with a full power load with the 230gr RD & some 3031.
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fiver

Well-Known Member
do I see a little instability or maybe a soft backer to the target?

you might like that full power load, but I wouldn't be afraid to try a slower powder either.
something like RL-19 or 4831 in the 48-50gr area would get you up there with a softish acceleration might be worth trying too if you have some.
 

harrympope

Active Member
I've had a few 358's and for $400 that seems like a deal.all if them never saw a jacketed bullet.The RCBS 250sp is the bullet I used the most in them.
 

jerry w

Member
do I see a little instability or maybe a soft backer to the target?

you might like that full power load, but I wouldn't be afraid to try a slower powder either.
something like RL-19 or 4831 in the 48-50gr area would get you up there with a softish acceleration might be worth trying too if you have some.
Old cardboard box for a backer, no sign of instability seen. I may try the slower powder approach, i have had good luck with a case full of RL19 or Data 85 in both the 348 Win and the 35 Whelen. Got a lot of the Data 85 so may try that first, pretty close to Ramshot big game powder.
 

jerry w

Member
i attached a copy of the load data that Ranchdog worked up for his 230gr bullet in the 358, pretty extensive list of powders he used.
 

Attachments

  • ranchdog 358 230gr.pdf
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jerry w

Member
Old cardboard box for a backer, no sign of instability seen. I may try the slower powder approach, i have had good luck with a case full of RL19 or Data 85 in both the 348 Win and the 35 Whelen. Got a lot of the Data 85 so may try that first, pretty close to Ramshot big game powder.
i misspoke above, the Data 85 is comparable to Ramshot Hunter not Big Game as i previously mentioned
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
the box would do it that's why I asked.

either one of them would be a good candidate.
I started with RL-19 mostly because that's what was in the powder hopper.
it worked so easy I never left it.