Nosler Reloading Guide
Number 4
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358 Norma Magnum By Paul G. Dressel, Jr.
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In the early `70s, I was quite involved in gun trading. After a hot and heavy encount-er, involving several guns and related items,
I was the proud owner of 20 boxes of Nor-
ma .358 Norma Mag. ammo. According to my calculations, I had little or nothing invested in it.
The fact that this ammo was kicking around at gun shows at very reasonable prices indicated, even then, that this car-tridge that originated in 1958, had never really been accepted by the American
public and hunters. There were very few factory rifles available then, and none now, that I'm aware of. I will add, though, that cases are easily formed from .338 Win. Mag. brass. Bullet selection was quite limited. The combination of all these pretty well brought about the demise of a fine cartridge.
The legitimizing of the .35 Whelen to a factory available caliber sparked a new interest in .35 calibers. All of a sudden, there was an available source of good bullets. Nosler's 225- and 250- grain Partition
gave the .35s a new lease on life.
Going back to those 20 boxes of ammo,
I did the only normal thing a handloader
and hunter could do.
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As of late, I've seen a
renewed interest in the
.358 Norma Mag.
I rationalized that I could afford to build a rifle for it, shoot up the factory ammo, and have enough component brass to last me the rest of my life. I rounded up a Savage 110 L.H. action, a 24-inch 1-12 twist barrel from Douglas, a chamber reamer and a stock, and put a rifle together.
My experience up till then with magnum cartridges was limited to .300 Win. Mag. In test firings at the range, I was immediately impresssed by the bullets this big going that fast. I took this rifle to British Columbia that same fall season. I shot a big moose at approximately 200 yards, a beautiful black wolf at approximately 175 yards, a double shovel mountain caribou at about 200 yards...each with one shot.
If you have interest in .35 cal., you could do far worse than to own or build a .358 Norma Mag. It will do everything the .338 Win. Mag. will do and maybe a bit better in the heavier bullets. For a medium to long range big game rifle, it will hold its own in
any crowd.
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 Paul is a noted custom gunmaker
and avid big game hunter from
Yakima, WA.
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