.356 Winchester

Last updated
.356 Winchester
356 Winchester cartridge 3D.jpg
TypeRifle
Place of originUnited States
Production history
Designer Winchester
Designed1982
Manufacturer Winchester
Produced1982–present
Specifications
Parent case.307 Winchester
Case typeSemi-rimmed, bottleneck
Bullet diameter.358 in (9.1 mm)
Land diameter.350 in (8.9 mm)
Neck diameter.388 in (9.9 mm)
Shoulder diameter.454 in (11.5 mm)
Base diameter.4703 in (11.95 mm)
Rim diameter.506 in (12.9 mm)
Rim thickness.048 in (1.2 mm)
Case length2.015 in (51.2 mm)
Overall length2.56 in (65 mm)
Rifling twist1-12" [1]
Maximum CUP52,000 [2] CUP

The .356 Winchester (9.1x65mmSR) is a semi-rimmed, bottle-necked, centerfire rifle cartridge which was designed for use in lever-action rifles. It was developed concurrently with the .307 Winchester which acted as the parent cartridge. Both cartridges were introduced in 1982 in the then-new Model 94 XTR lever-action rifle.

Contents

Description

The .356 Winchester cartridge. 356 Winchester cartridge metallic.jpg
The .356 Winchester cartridge.

The .356 Winchester was developed using the case similar to that of the .308 Winchester but which featured a semi-rimmed design so as to operate through a lever-action rifle. Hence the .358 Winchester, which is essentially .308 Winchester necked up to accept a .358 in (9.1 mm) bullet, is very similar to that of the .356 Winchester, with the only difference being the design of the rim.

Performance of the .356 Winchester is close to that of the .358 Winchester giving up only 50–100 ft/s (15–30 m/s) with any bullet weight. However, the .356 has slightly less case capacity than the .358 Winchester due to its thicker brass case. Furthermore, heavier bullets will need to be seated more deeply than in the .358 Winchester as the cartridge has to function reliably through a lever rifle's feeding mechanism. For these reasons the factory 250 gr (16 g) bullet loses about 90 ft/s (27 m/s) to the .358 Winchester while the 200 gr (13 g) factory load is only 30 ft/s (9.1 m/s) slower.

The Marlin Model 336ER was offered in .356 Winchester for several years, but was discontinued in 1987. The same year, Winchester ceased production of their Model 94s chambered for .356 Winchester. It was brought back immediately in 1988, but was again discontinued in the mid-1990s.

Despite its nomenclature, .356 Winchester actually uses a .358 caliber bullet. Olin engineers who developed the .356 Winchester advise against loading it with anything other than flat-nose or Hornady Leverevolution bullets for use in a tubular-magazine lever action rifle. If being loaded for use in single-shot, double-rifle, or most bolt action rifles, any bullet type could be used.

Dimensions

356 Winchester dimensions sketch.jpg

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.308 Winchester</span> Rimless, centerfire, bottlenecked rifle cartridge

The .308 Winchester is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge widely used for hunting, target shooting, police, military, and personal protection applications globally. It is similar, but not identical, to the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.32-20 Winchester</span> American rimmed rifle/pistol cartridge

The .32-20 Winchester / 7.94x33mmR, also known as .32 WCF , was the first small-game lever-action intermediate cartridge that Winchester produced. It was initially introduced as a black-powder cartridge in 1882 for small-game, varmint hunting, and deer. Colt produced a single-action revolver chambered for this cartridge a few years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildcat cartridge</span> Custom cartridge for firearms

A wildcat cartridge, often shortened to wildcat, is a custom-made cartridge for which ammunition and/or firearms are not mass-produced. These cartridges are often created as experimental variants to optimize a certain ballistic performance characteristic of an existing commercial cartridge, or may merely be intended as novelty items.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.243 Winchester</span> Rifle cartridge

The .243 Winchester (6×52mm) is a popular sporting rifle cartridge. Developed as a versatile short action cartridge to hunt both medium game and small game alike, it "took whitetail hunting by storm" when introduced in 1955, and remains one of the most popular whitetail deer cartridges. It is also commonly used for harvesting blacktail deer, pronghorns and mule deer with heavier rounds, and is equally suited to varmint hunting with lighter rounds. The .243 is based on a necked down .308 Winchester, introduced only three years earlier. Expanding monolithic copper bullets of approximately 80 to 85 grains or traditional lead rounds of 90 to 105 grains with controlled expansion designs are best suited for hunting medium game, while lighter rounds are intended for varmints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7mm-08 Remington</span> Necked down .308Win

The 7mm-08 Remington is a rifle cartridge that is almost a direct copy of a wildcat cartridge developed around 1958 known as the 7mm/308. As these names would suggest, it is the .308 Winchester case necked down to accept 7 mm (.284) bullets with a small increase in case length. Of cartridges based upon the .308, it is the second most popular behind only the .243 Winchester. However, the .308 is more popular than both. In 1980, the Remington Arms company popularized the cartridge by applying its own name and offering it as a chambering for their Model 788 and Model 700 rifles, along with a limited-run series within their Model 7600 pump-action rifles during the early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.30-30 Winchester</span> Rifle cartridge designed by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company

The .30-30 Winchester / 7.8x51mmR cartridge was first marketed for the Winchester Model 1894 lever-action rifle in 1895. The .30-30, as it is most commonly known, along with the .25-35 Winchester, was offered that year as the United States' first small-bore sporting rifle cartridges designed for smokeless powder. Since its introduction, it has been utilized alongside the development of flatter shooting cartridges, most prominently those derived from designs subsidized by interest in military expenditures. The .30-30 has remained in widespread use almost entirely because of reliable effectiveness in civilian applications, and has put food on the table for millions of people in hunting situations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.300 Winchester Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .300 Winchester Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked magnum rifle cartridge that was introduced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1963. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a magnum cartridge designed to fit in a standard rifle action. It is based on the .375 H&H Magnum, which has been blown out, shortened, and necked down to accept a .30 caliber (7.62 mm) bullet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.220 Swift</span> Rifle cartridge

The .220 Swift (5.56×56mmSR) is a semi-rimmed rifle cartridge developed by Winchester and introduced in 1935 for small game and varmint hunting. It was the first factory-loaded rifle cartridge with a muzzle velocity of over 1,200 m/s (4,000 ft/s).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.25-20 Winchester</span> Rifle cartridge

The .25-20 Winchester / 6.6x33mmR, or WCF, intermediate cartridge was developed around 1895 for the Winchester Model 1892 lever action rifle. It was based on necking down the .32-20 Winchester. In the early 20th century, it was a popular small game and varmint round, developing around 1,460 ft/s with 86-grain bullets. But two years earlier Marlin Firearms Co. had already necked down the .32-20 Winchester, and called it the .25-20 Marlin. It was first chambered in Model 1889 lever action Marlins long before Winchester did the same thing and put their name on the .25-20.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.308 Marlin Express</span> Firearm cartridge

The .308 Marlin Express is a cartridge developed in 2007 by Marlin Firearms and Hornady. It is based on the .307 Winchester with a goal to duplicate .308 Winchester performance. The cartridge uses a slightly shorter, semi-rimmed case similar to that of the .220 Swift to function in lever-action rifles. As introduced in Hornady's LEVERevolution line of cartridges, it is the highest velocity production cartridge designed for lever action rifles with tubular magazines. It is chambered in Marlin's Model 308MX and 308MXLR rifles using the Marlin Model 336 action.

The .260 Remington cartridge was introduced by Remington in 1997. Many wildcat cartridges based on the .308 Winchester case had existed for years before Remington standardized this round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.416 Remington Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .416 Remington Magnum is a .416 caliber (10.57 mm) cartridge of belted bottlenecked design. The cartridge was intended as a dangerous game hunting cartridge and released to the public in 1989. The cartridge uses the case of the 8 mm Remington Magnum as a parent cartridge. When the cartridge was released in 1988, author Frank C. Barnes considered the .416 Remington Magnum to be the "most outstanding factory cartridge introduced in decades".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.307 Winchester</span> Rifle cartridge

The .307 Winchester cartridge was introduced by Winchester in 1982 to meet the demand of .300 Savage performance in a lever-action rifle equipped with a tubular magazine. It is nearly dimensionally identical to the more common .308 Winchester cartridge, the only differences being a rimmed base and thicker case walls.

The 7-30 Waters cartridge was originally a wildcat cartridge developed by author Ken Waters in 1976 to give better performance to lever-action rifle shooters than the parent .30-30 Winchester cartridge, by providing a higher velocity and flatter trajectory with a smaller, lighter bullet. By 1984, Winchester introduced a Model 94 rifle chambered for the 7-30 Waters, establishing it as a commercial cartridge. In 1986, Thompson/Center began chambering 10-inch, 14-inch, and 20-inch Contender barrels for the cartridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.284 Winchester</span> US rifle cartridge

The .284 Winchester (7.21x55mmRB) is a rebated rim firearm cartridge, introduced by Winchester in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.32-40 Ballard</span> Rifle cartridge

The .32-40 Ballard / 8.1x54mmR, also known as .32-40 Winchester is an American rifle cartridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.348 Winchester</span> Rifle cartridge

The .348 Winchester / 8.8x57mmR is an American rifle cartridge. It was introduced in 1936, and developed for the Winchester Model 71 lever action rifle. The .348 was one of the most powerful rimmed rounds ever used in a lever action rifle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.219 Zipper</span> Rifle cartridge

The .219 Zipper cartridge was created by Winchester Repeating Arms in 1937 to be used in their lever-action Model 64 rifle. It is a 30-30 Winchester cartridge necked down to a .22 caliber bullet. Marlin Firearms also offered their Marlin Model 336 rifle chambered for the cartridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.338 Marlin Express</span> Rifle cartridge

The .338 Marlin Express is a cartridge developed by Marlin Firearms and Hornady. It is based on the .376 Steyr with a goal to duplicate the venerable .30-06 Springfield's performance in a cartridge compatible with lever-action firearms. The cartridge uses a slightly shorter, rimmed case to function in lever-action rifles with tubular magazines. As introduced in Hornady's LEVERevolution line of cartridges, it follows the design logic of the .308 Marlin Express which preceded it. The .338MX fires heavier .338 caliber bullets than the .308 Marlin Express at roughly the same velocity. It is chambered in Marlin's Model 338MX and 338MXLR rifles using the Marlin Model 336 action.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.350 Legend</span> Hunting cartridge by Winchester Repeating Arms

The .350 Legend, also called 350 LGND (9×43mmRB), is a SAAMI-standardized straight-walled intermediate rifle cartridge developed by Winchester Repeating Arms. The cartridge was designed for use in American states that have specific regulations for deer hunting with straight-walled centerfire cartridges. At the cartridge's introduction, Winchester claimed that the .350 Legend was the fastest production straight-walled hunting cartridge in the world, although some .450 Bushmaster .444 Marlin and .458 Winchester Magnum loads are faster and have much more energy, and the .350 Legend would be surpassed in 2023 by the .360 Buckhammer. It is designed for deer hunting out to a maximum effective range of 250 yards (230 m).

References

  1. "356 Winchester" (PDF). SAAMI . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  2. Association, N. R. (n.d.). Saga of the .356 Winchester. An Official Journal Of The NRA. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/saga-of-the-356-winchester/