|
|
Post by btmidwest on Sept 24, 2015 5:23:52 GMT -5
About a month ago I took a look at the Indiana legal 358 wildcats for the first time. To my surprise the Hoosier round seemed simple and straight forward; in some ways more of a well thought out mild cat. Checked out midway and found 358 win brass and some 200 gr FTX's available. Placed a call to Ben at Hornady and ordered dies. Deciding on the platform and finding a smith took a couple weeks but I sent it off last week. I should be getting my bolt rifle back in a couple of days. Hornady emailed yesterday saying the dies have shipped! It is all coming together pretty quick.
I want to thank everyone involved and this forum for all the information and heavy lifting you have done to make this possible. Being late getting to the party it is obvious that I am benefiting from all of your hard work. Thank You guys!
|
|
|
|
Post by omegahunter on Sept 24, 2015 8:55:33 GMT -5
Congrats on learning from the experience and mistakes of others. It just makes the road smoother for those following.
|
|
|
|
Post by HuntMeister on Sept 24, 2015 9:39:59 GMT -5
Congrats on the selection. The Hoosier may not be the fastest pony in the Indiana wildcat stable but IMHO it is the best choice.
Who did you choose for the build and what are you using to put it together with barrel and action wise?
|
|
|
|
Post by btmidwest on Sept 24, 2015 20:13:46 GMT -5
AJ Brown was uncomfortable working on my action. He was concerned about the barrel/receiver threads not being compatible with his equipment. I know Mark Penrod but I simply cannot afford his work. Been there and dreamed that dream ten years ago. I called a couple of other shops that are now pushing other wildcats. As I don't consider myself an advanced reloader and don't want to be tied to some ones custom brass I stayed with the Hoosier. Life is full of compromises isn't it? Using a workable parent case is important to me. Bob Fried in Corydon is doing the work and he is using a shilen barrel. My donor rifle is a like new Tikka T3 243 I already had. Maybe not a perfect choice but it locks up tight and Bob has built one using the Tikka action. I am selling a Ruger 44 mag. lever to help fund the project. That was a hard pill to swallow. I let a young man shoot the Ruger last Thanksgiving and the pleading for me to sell it began.
|
|
|
|
Post by btmidwest on Sept 24, 2015 20:19:10 GMT -5
Oh Omegahunter, Thanks for the past post on the mini chop saw and jig. Really saves time trimming the brass.
|
|
|
|
Post by btmidwest on Sept 26, 2015 18:46:31 GMT -5
I got the new dies and sizing wax out today and formed 50 Hoosier cases from 358 win brass. At this point I need to wait for the rifle to get here and see how the brass chambers before moving forward. I just finished trimming them again. They were pre cut to about 1.827 and are now at 1.795.
I am excited to have a bolt deer rifle to hunt with again. My encore is a good muzzleloader but I miss using a bolt action rifle. Please share any tips or advice you have at this stage of the process. Thanks again for all the posts and information on this round.
|
|
|
|
Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Sept 26, 2015 19:47:03 GMT -5
Sounds like it's gonna be a nice rifle, looking forward to seeing the pics when you get it back.
Any idea on what glass you're gonna put on it?
|
|
|
|
Post by btmidwest on Sept 26, 2015 20:43:09 GMT -5
I have a 2-10x42 weaver super slam that I hope will fit using medium rings. The eye piece is larger on that model scope and sometimes the bolt can hit. I'm also thinking about options for the mount and rings. The factory set up is a little different to me.
Bob was bluing the barrel when I spoke to Him on Thursday. Yeah I'm also curious how it's going to look and work out. I've have one re-bore job done this is my first rebarrel.
|
|
|
|
Post by HuntMeister on Sept 27, 2015 7:59:32 GMT -5
Looking forward to seeing your new toy, please post some photos. Sounds like everything is falling together nicely.
I would probably make a couple dummy rounds up for when the gun shows up.
I have not tried any bullets other than the Barnes in mine yet. Pretty amazed that you could find the components so easily but when I was looking it was near the peak of the Obama gun grab.
What powders are you thinking about trying?
|
|
|
|
Post by btmidwest on Sept 27, 2015 9:34:18 GMT -5
I agree. When I first started looking at the feasibility of the Hoosier I was surprised the components
of the project were availabile. Having read all the posts on the mixed availability of 358 win. brass and some bullets I realized the window may not stay open for long. I know Murphy well enough and don't like to take things for granted but appreciate it when things go well.
Thanks for the advice on the dummy rounds. I can do that while waiting on the rifle to come back.
Based on what I'm seeing posted I was thinking of using RL 7, H322 and 10X, try those before before looking elsewhere.
The posts here sure can fire a person up to try certain bullets. Funny thing is THOSE bullets are not available, at least where I know to look anyway. There is normally a reason those items are out of stock...
|
|
|
|
Post by bullseye69 on Sept 28, 2015 19:45:28 GMT -5
I like my 358 Hoosier and I'm not disappointed in it at all.
|
|
