Several months ago I was fortunate to acquire a Model 94 in .356 Winchester. I just LOVE this gun and took a small whitetail buck with it on my Montana trip this year. Before I bought the gun, I did a lot of reading about the caliber. One of the 'warnings' I heard was that recoil was pretty stout. After firing a box of Winchester 250 grain commercial loads, I was left wondering why anyone would be scared away from the caliber because of recoil, which was noticeably less than my .30-06 with 180 grain commercial loads. I've acquired an ample supply of new brass and Speer bullets, both in 220 and 180 grain weights, and look forward to using this rifle on everything from deer to (if I ever draw a tag) moose. Though my rifle now wears a Williams peeper, I'm going to replace it with a 4x fixed power scope because 1) these 50 years-old eyes aren't good enough to take advantage of a peep anymore, and because the scope should help me take better advantage of the rifle's power and range, which are both impressive. In terms of ballistics, this rifle with 220 grain loads ought to be the cat's meow for elk up to 200 yds, and it is a superb deer caliber up to 250 yds., depending upon the skill of the shooter. Why Winchester and Marlin don't reintroduce this great caliber is beyond me. Since I bought my first .356, I've been looking for a second...and their harder than snail's teeth to find.
I'd really enjoy hearing others' stories/impressions of the great .356 Winchester.
I'd really enjoy hearing others' stories/impressions of the great .356 Winchester.