There are 11 Hawk wildcat improved cartridges in calibers: 6mm, .257, 6.5mm, .270, 7mm, .308, 8mm, .338, .358, .375, and even the .411- all based on an improved .30-06 case. Here is a look at a personal one I had built in the .358 caliber.
Many of the latest “magnum-magnums” rely on large doses of powder to squirt out tiny bullets at very high speeds. While that may be fine for smaller, lighter game, I feel it is not the way to go when hunting the larger species like hogs, black bear, elk, or moose at moderate ranges, or medium to large African plains game. For this, give me fat, pointy bullets that hit hard no matter how fast they are going.
While the .35 caliber is not extremely popular in the US, this is the very reason I chose it in a vastly improved .35 Whelen version known as the 358 Hawk; I wanted something a little bit unique. In the 35s, we find some “ballistically efficient” medium weight bullets that have what it takes to anchor larger game at 300+ yards. The 200 and 225-grain Barnes and the 225-grain Nosler Partition all have very good velocity retentive shapes. For up close and personal, we can go to the 250-grain Partition or the Hornady spire point or round nose. I am also intrigued by the possible use of inexpensive pistol bullets for economical practice- other medium bore calibers do not offer this option. For smaller game like deer, we also have some lighter weight game bullets such as the 180-gr Barnes or the traditional 200-gr Hornady round nose. Both would be very effective at modest speeds while still producing light recoil.
The .358 Hawk Cartridge
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There are eleven Hawk cartridges- in calibers 6mm, .257, 6.5mm, .270, 7mm, .308, 8mm, .338, .358, .375, and even the .411- all based on an improved .30-06 case. The original one was the .375 Hawk. First based on an improved Whelen design, the case did not have the capacity to reach desirable velocities. However, by making use of the basic design of the 9.3×62 with its forward shoulder and minimum taper, the powder capacity increased by 9% over the original design, and velocities were now more impressive. The entire line of Hawk cartridges are all based on the inexpensive and readily available .30-06 case. As such,...
the Hawk line has chambers cut to make use of the smaller base diameter of the -06 case (vs. the slightly large base of the 9.3).
For the 240 Hawk through the 3200 Hawk, Fred Zeglin, of Z-Hat, recommends using .280 Remington brass as they are slightly longer than the parent .30-06 case. For the .338 through .411 Hawks, Fred recommends 35 Whelen brass to form these cartridges, though .30-06 brass will also work just fine. Note that due to the increased popularity of the Hawk line, Z-Hat now offers formed brass in all calibers, some even headstamped specifically for their caliber. You can also obtain straight cylindrical -06 basic brass from Fred to form the larger cases.
Properly headstamped brass is available direct from Z-Hat. You also have two options when it comes to forming brass yourself, and 358 Hawk cases can be formed in two different ways. Starting with new .35 Whelen brass, open the case up to .375 and then .411 or .416 (or obtain Z-Hats’ cylindrical brass). Then using the Z-Hat custom dies in .358 Hawk, neck the expanded case down to .358, ensuring the FL die is slightly backed off of the shellholder. Check for chambering in the gun- the bolt should close firmly… but not too easily. Adjust the die down until you obtain a mild crush fit. As the case is very close to the fired dimensions, you can proceed loading with near full-power loads to crisply form the shoulder.
Alternately, you can simply seat a bullet into the case such that the bullet mildly engraves the rifling, holding the case head against the bolt. Loading up with a 2/3rds charge of a medium powder (like 4895), and the case will emerge fully formed upon the first firing. If the shoulder is not fully formed, increase the charge by a grain at a time until you obtain the desired result. As I had a lot of testing to do, I went the first route and obtained good baseline data...
from my first firings. Any shooter with even modest experience would have little problem either way.
The Rifle
This .358 Hawk rifle, put together for me by Fred Zeglin of Z-Hat Custom Rifles in Casper, Wyoming (www.z-hat.com), has easily proven to be the most consistently accurate big game rifle I have ever owned. Twelve loads shoot 3 shots into less than 1 inch at 100 yards- seven of these loads are grouping 30 ~ 70% smaller than that! The chrome-moly barrel installed is button rifled with a 1 in 12” twist rate. Manufactured by Benchmark Barrels of Washington state (www.benchmark-barrels.com), it delivers the shooting results, and you can see that it is extremely accurate for a big game rifle. With the stainless receiver and bead blasted, soft matte bluing on the barrel, sitting in the camo stock, it is the best looking synthetic stocked rifle I have.
A Leupold VX-III, 2.5-8 scope using their QRW bases was installed for the testing and was able to turn in mighty impressive groups using it. For the application and physical size, it is an excellent match to the cartridge and the rifle. A Steyr shock absorbing recoil pad was installed instead of the original harder pad, and it proved to make the rifle quite “shootable,” even during extended range sessions.
I elected to send Fred a new stainless Steyr ProHunter in .25-06 as the basis for this rifle. I also wanted to see the performance capabilities of the .257 Hawk. So while the rifle was being rebarreled, I also had the original barrel rechambered to the .257 Hawk. It should offer ballistics approaching the .257 Weatherby, while making use of the inexpensive -06 parent case.
Reloading and Special Loads
As I like to experiment with a variety of loads for several uses, the .358 groove diameter offers choices...
that no other big game caliber can offer- the endless possibilities of using dozens and dozens of different .357 pistol bullets for lighter loads. I looked at a box of the Remington .357, 125-gr pistol bullets sitting on my bench shelf and thought that perhaps the brass jacket might be able to take higher speeds than thin copper jacked slugs- was I in for a surprise!
Using the ever-helpful QuickLOAD ballistic program, I determined a reasonable starting load and then up to a maximum load using Hodgdon H322 powder. An initial trip to the range for speed testing left me amazed at a top speed of 3,669 fps (almost three-times their designed operating speed) and delivering 0.78” 3-shot groups at 100 yards! Whether or not other pistol bullets of copper-jacketed construction could withstand these speeds may never be known. I keep loading these Remington slugs up, to see their dramatic expansion performance.
I regularly comparison test bullets for expansion by firing into gallon plastic milk jugs filled with water. Most all .22 caliber varmint bullets stop within the first jug, with only a few jacket fragments making it to the far side. A 150-gr Nosler Ballistic Tip from a .308 Win rifle makes it to the far side of a third jug (the bottles are placed up against each other in a line).
The 125 Remingtons from the Hawk were wrecking the first and second jugs so badly, it was hard to tell what was going on. So I then backed the second jug away by about one foot from the first. At the shot, both jugs exploded in a mist. Upon examining the first jug, I could find an entry hole but not an exit, while the second jug was untouched by bullet fragments. How then was the second jug being wrecked?
When I had my brother fire a shot as I watched far from the side, I saw what was happening. The second jug was being burst open by the hydraulic spray from the first- that is how violent it was hitting! While it is true that there may be no practical use for this loading, I have never had so much fun blowing up water jugs in my life! That alone is reason enough for me to keep doing it!
Of course, many...
other pistol bullets would be fine for light loads. That could be great for just shooting practice- the possibilities are endless. I also tried a heavy-weight cast bullet from Cast Performance Bullets (www.grizzlycartridge.com). Using the 200-gr Wide Flat Nose design and a very moderate charge of Accurate 5744, this gave me an almost 1,950 fps load that would also be fine for taking smaller game or deer. Such a load produces very little recoil and is easy on the barrel. The same powder was also used for moderate loads using the Hornady 200-gr RN SP, which duplicates the .35 Remington. A great .308 Win equivalent load with the Barnes 180-gr X again uses Accurate 5744 powder. For most any conventional hunting cartridge, I would highly recommend 5744 as a perfect powder for developing mid-range loads. To date, I have had great success in every cartridge in which I have tried it.
A moderate charge of Accurate 2015 drives the 200-gr Barnes to the speed of a 150-gr in the .30-06, but it offers more impact. A top load with this bullet hits 3,000 fps- something the Whelen could never do. Upping the weight still more, either of the 225-gr bullets from Barnes or Nosler can attain around 2,800 fps using H414 or BL-C2 powders. With groups well under ½” at 100 yards and the penetration they offer, they represent the best balance of frontal area and striking force on really big game out to 300 yards and beyond. The confidence such accuracy also gives the shooter is something in which I place tremendous value. I can think of no finer load to carry when hunting elk, black bear, moose, or when you do not know if your opportunity will come at 30 yards in heavy woods, or at 300 yards across an open valley.
Hornady 250 grain round nose bullets shot exceptionally well in this rifle. When paired with IMR 4320 powder, the best accuracy obtained during my testing resulted- just over a quarter-inch at almost 2,650 fps. BL-C2 did almost as well at just over ½” and right at 2,602 fps. Precision like this allows the hunter to pick out and aim at a tiny spot on an animal, instead of at the entire shoulder.
The 250-gr Nosler also shot very well at similar speeds and is well known for...
offering the hunter superior penetration on heavy game. IMR 4895 produces 0.61”, 3-shot group averages with this bullet. I happened to have on hand some very old Hornady round nose bullets in 275-grains, and I was curious how they might compare to the .375 H&H and 300 grain loads. Using H414, I obtained 2,508 fps while shooting into 0.65” groups. It's hard to imagine any large game noticing a difference in impact of only 25 grains in bullet weight and 0.017” in diameter when delivered at nearly identical speeds.
Summary
The .358 Hawk has proven to be a medium bore cartridge, capable of launching adequate bullet weights, at better than tennis-ball sized groups at 300+ yards. While carrying it, I would know that large or small, close or far, it was a tool that would allow me to cleanly harvest game in a swift and humane manner. This is also the most consistently accurate big game rifle I have ever owned- I feel like a sniper when I shoot it. The value of that feeling is invaluable to a hunter in the field. Add in the versatility to use readily available jacketed or lead pistol bullets for inexpensive practice- something we all need more of- and I feel that the .358 Hawk does indeed have a place in a serious hunter’s gun rack.
This is also the most consistently accurate big game rifle I have ever owned- I feel like a sniper when I shoot it.