The 348 Winchester is an American rifle cartridge that was created for the Winchester Model 71 lever-action rifle and was debuted in 1936. It was one of the most powerful rimmed rounds ever used in a lever-action rifle when it arrived. Many people believe it to be one of the best lever action rifles ever made.
The.348 Winchester's case capacity is amazing. The cartridge was designed using the.50-110 cartridge case, which has a rim diameter of.610" and a length of 2.255". Rather than using the same machinery as the.33 bore, the new cartridge was intended to fire a.348 '' bullet, which was an entirely different calibre. Initial loads included a 150-grain bullet travelling at 2920 feet per second and a 200-grain bullet travelling at 2535 feet per second. Later, a 250-grain load with a stated velocity of 2350 fps was offered. Later, instead of the original 8x50mmR, the case of the.348 was utilized to make the 8-348w wildcat, which was used to rechamber World War 1-era rifles like Lebel or Berthier.
This cartridge is great for any North American large game in forests or scrub, but it is not suitable for long-range (400 yards and beyond) due to the Model 71's tubular magazine, which requires the use of flat-nose slugs. The.348 possessed enough power and ammunition for hunting a wide variety of game body weights out to moderate ranges, but it met the same fate as its predecessor.
For a variety of reasons, the 348 Winchester has already been supplanted by other cartridges, one of which being its bore size. With the.358 bore firmly established and generating good performance in its own right, it's unlikely that the.348 will ever make a significant comeback.
