35 Rem loads

[Bigscot]

I recently purchased my first 35 Rem and have started to reload for it. It seems by looking at the manuals I have (Hornady, Sierra, Speer and Lyman Cast), there are not many loads for the 35 Rem.
Some books had only 2 bullits listed. One somewhere around 150-180 grns and another one up around 200+ grns. The Lyman Cast manual has the most wide spread loads but in my quick perusal of them they seem to on the lighter end of powder charges.
I thought 35 Rem was more popular than this and would have much more reloading data. Am I wrong?

Bigscot

[sundog]

Bigscot, popular in only some circles, small circles, people who really know about it. As far as I'm concerned, the onliest boolit really needed for this fine cartridge is the RCBS 35-200-FN. But, others I'm sure have other idears. The 35 Rem is not a super whiz bang, magnum, black rifle. Believe it or not, there are some folks who have never heard of it. Hard to believe. So, no, you're not wrong. You've just fell into that small circle. Congratulations. Now, if you want another small circle, prolly even smaller than 35 Rem, try the .32 Win Spl.... sundog

[Larry Gibson]

Bigscot

What rifle is the .35 in? I've one I built on a M91 Mauser action with 26" barrel (my eyes need the longer sight radius and I like longer barrels anyways). I also use the RCBS 35-200-FN as "the" hunting cast bullet for this cartridge. I push it to 2300 fps with 4895. The Lyman 358156 GC 38/357 bullet is a fine performer in the 1500-1800 fps range with 2400 or 4227, it is a great jack rabbit load. A fun plinking and small game bullet is the Lee 356-120-TC over 5 gr of Bullseye, runs 1160 fps and shoots sub 1" at 50 yards all day long.

For jacketed bullets I found a box of 200 gr Winchester Silver Tips if the desire to hunt deer with this rifle presents itself and I don't use the RCBS cast bullet. Another good jacketed bullet to look for (I look for them in old gunshops and gunshows) is the Remington 150 gr bullet, a spitzer with a small FP on it. The Hornady 125 XTP/FP loaded over 2230 powder at 2600 fps is quite accurate and very deadly on coyotes and absolutely EXPLOSIVE on jack rabbits.

Larry Gibson

[Glen]

I agree with Sundog, the RCBS 35-200 is a real peach in the .35 Remington, as is the Saeco 200 grainer (#356). There's lots of loading data out there for the .35 Remington, and the cartridge responds well to most any of the medium burning powders (my two favorites are H335 and AA 2520). The load I shoot most often in my .35 Remingtons is either of the cast bullets listed above over 38.0 grains of H335 for right at 2100 fps.

[smokemjoe]

Mine is a Rem. Gamemaster 760, Love it, I use RCBS 200 gr. F.N., or the old Hereters 200 gr. Jacketed, Both very good bullets, I also have a Rem. 40 X action, gun wt. is 18 lbs. to 38 lbs. I have 4 barrels for it, 17,14,12, and just put on a 10 twist. Bullets from 250 gr. to 325 gr. Use it all summer in the cast bullet matchs. Smokemjoe

[Bret4207]

32 Special ? Bah! Common as fat women in spandex. Now a 32 REMINGTON, now there's a horse of a different color!

[felix]

Nah, the 32 remington should be converted to a 270 having a 14 twist. The 32WS works good as is, and would shoot mo'betta' than the small 35's because of its easier recoil at full tilt. Either way, it's nothing but apples versus apples. No oranges anywhere in sight. ... felix

[Bigscot]

Larry,

The gun is an early 80's model Marlin I bought used. It looks about brand new.

I appreciate all the responses. It looks like I need to order the RCBS 200gn fn. I wonder if it will come up in a group buy anytime soon?

Sundog,

I do find myself liking the older cast boolit friendly calibers more and more. I would like to add a 45-70, 38-55, maybe one of the 32's or 25's.

I got to thinking a while back that except for a 17 HMR, all the calibers I shoot are around 50 years old to over 100 years old. The new whizz bang magnums do nothing for me.

Bigscot

[versifier]

You might check out Ranchdog's offerings. He knows a good bit about leverguns and what works in them, too. He has designed a lot of good ones in various calibers, which not only come up in Group Buys, but he orders and stocks the moulds himself.

[nighthunter]

Scrounger is looking to get a group buy started on a 35 caliber. I nominate him to run a group buy for a bullet in this class.
Nighthunter

[bart55]

Boy you guys are talking my favorites ,35 rem in a 336 marlin , an old model 14 rem and a model 8 rem. I think the rcbs 200gr gcfn is the grail for this caliber but I have loaded just about all the other bullets and boolits in this cartridge and they all seem to shoot pretty good . I also scrounge old gunshops and shows for the old silvertips and the 150 gr s . my other favorite is the 32 special .

[Buckshot]

.................Lots of people don't know about the 35 Rem because it's one of those cartridges that just does what it was designed to do. Deliver a fat heavy boolit at modest velocities generating modest pressures. It just quietly does what it is supposed to do.

I think the best compromise slug for it is a 200 grain. It is more powerfull then the 30-30 and was designed to work at woods ranges and isn't a powerline clearing or beanfield rifle. What I like about it is that you can load nice easy plinker loads using 38 cal pistol slugs for cheap plinking, small game, or close range varminting. Or you can load a 200, 225, or 250 gr slug for more serious stuff.

http://www.fototime.com/89E2F2C1A9E4DC7/standard.jpg

My 35 Rem is built on a M94 Brazilian contract small ring Mauser. I really don't care for the plastic stock, but at the time some outfit had Ramline stocks for $39 and I couldn't pass it up.

http://www.fototime.com/AEC40C4BAA66E93/standard.jpg

That slug is the Saeco #356. A 200gr FNGC. I like surplus WC846 under the 200 grain slug. When I was working up loads and started with WC846 it was pretty neat. The more powder I put in the faster the boolit went, which you'd naturally expect. However, at the same time the groups got smaller. When I reached 41.0 grs, which was a full caseload with the slug sitting on the powder I was shooting 1" 50 yard groups and going a tad over 2300 fps.

I was given some old Winchester Western and Remington Peters ammo with 200 gr jacketed RNSP's. I don't know their storage history but the boxes weren't all tore up or anything. When I fired them they grouped a bit worse then the cast loads but the WW was only going 2096 fps and the R-P was not much better at 2120 fps.

I've never shot big game with mine but before I moved to town I used it to plunk ground squirrels a couple times. One of the neatest shots I ever made with it was a carom shot. We lived in a canyon and the hills were about 60 yards behind the house. There was a real wide sloping ravine that ran up between 2 ridges. There was a squirrel at the edge of the ravine maybe 15 ft from the side of the ridge and it was stretched out flat nibbleing on something.

I was shooting some commercial soft cast 158gr SWC's and I think my shot actually hit the ground right in front of it and bounced up to hit, as there was a puff of dust, and then it knocked him ass over teakettle. However the neat part was a split second later it hit the side of the ridge with a thump. It must have hit right next to another ground squirrel sitting up there, as one hauled butt from where the dust puff was :-).

..................Buckshot

[MT Gianni]

32 Special ? Bah! Common as fat women in spandex. Now a 32 REMINGTON, now there's a horse of a different color!

East vs West maybe. I see a lot more fat women in spandex than either 35 rem or 32 Win. Gianni

[uscra112]

A Marlin 336 in .35 Rem. - - My Dad's last deer gun, and my first lead boolit experience. New Englanders (I grew up in what is now the People's Republic of Massachusetts) use the .35 Rem a lot. In Maine, NH, Vermont, all those 18th and 19th century fields have grown up into thickets of small trees, so big power is just not worth carrying. .35 Rem is perfect for deer and black bear at up to 100 yards or so. If the bear's farther away than that, it's on the other side of the hill, or out of sight in the trees, or behind a stone wall anyway.

Hard cast (as in storebought) 158 grain Keith semi-wadcutters over about 16-18 grains of XMP5744 is a dandy plinking load (about 1700 fps). It would also mess up a chuck or a coyote some at anything under 100 yards. Use with care in the field - it does ricochet. A bigger charge will take these to 2000fps, but in mine the accuracy suffered.

Triple-ought buck over 2-3 grains of any fast pistol or shotgun powder can be a nice short-range plinking and pest control load. Just don't let the ball fall inside!

Soft-cast hollow-point wadcutters over about 8-10 grains of 2400 also a good short-range load in mine.

Full throttle LB loads with gas-checked 200 grainers, use 4198 or 3031, about 23 grains or 33 grains respectively (starting loads). I like the 3031 better. If the boolit fit and temper are right, you can pretty much duplicate the factory j-b 200 grain loads.

I sometimes wish it had a longer neck, but only sometimes.

If that rifle is a Microgroove barrel, it needs a boolit that is full groove diameter for at LEAST 65% of it's length. Mine likes a GC Loverin-style flatnose dropped from an unidentified gunshow mold, straight wheelweights, 190 grains. Last batch I ran it dropped 'em at .358, and I shot 'em unsized with the old Alox lube, done in a pan. I tried the old trick of freezing the cake so the boolits could be punched out without a cake cutter. I wasn't keeping good records then, but I remember being pleased with the results. 3031 was the powder. Can't remember the charge.

[hydraulic]

I've been having a great time with an early Model 8 in .32 Remington. Brass was a problem until Wills mentioned turning off the rim of a .30 WCF and cutting an extraction groove. Making shells is almost as much fun as shooting them. I have been shooting jacketed bullets over 30 grs. of 4895 and it is a fun gun to shoot. Gets lots of comments on that strange looking barrel shroud too. I have an 8mm mould around here somewhere and am going to try to get a cast load that will function the action.

[Bret4207]

Nah, the 32 remington should be converted to a 270 having a 14 twist. .......

Oh, Uncle Felix had me for a minute. Took me a whole evening of wondering before the 6.8SPC popped into my head.

[45 2.1]

I've been having a great time with an early Model 8 in .32 Remington. Brass was a problem until Wills mentioned turning off the rim of a .30 WCF and cutting an extraction groove. Making shells is almost as much fun as shooting them. I have been shooting jacketed bullets over 30 grs. of 4895 and it is a fun gun to shoot. Gets lots of comments on that strange looking barrel shroud too. I have an 8mm mould around here somewhere and am going to try to get a cast load that will function the action.

I'm useing the Saeco 8mm RN 190 gr. boolit seated so it will feed and crimped on the nose. It functions the Model 8 and shoots fine. Mine needs a new magazine spring assembly though, the last one won't feed most of the time. Neat old rifles for sure.

[Marlin Junky]

I'd like to get others experiences with SAECO 352 in the .35. I've found it very accurate in an old 336A made in '51 using canistered 2520, surplus 2520 (from PV) and DP-74. I'm getting the highest velocity from DP-74 but unfortunately I didn't buy enough of this powder when it was available. If anyone has this mold, cast up a few from ACWW metal and stuff 'em into a case full of AA2700 or Ramshot BigGame and report back. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

MJ

[Bigscot]

I reloaded some Beartooth 200 fngc sized .359 and I had to seat them past the crimp groove in order for the round to chamber. There is only about 1/4" of the boolit sticking out. Would the RCBS 200 fn fit this gun? It is a Marlin 336 sc with micro groove. It is a used gun and I have never fired it. Would it be possible to beg/trade some of the RCBS 200 fn to test?

The gun looks new and does not appear to be fired much. Should I run some jacketed bullits through first?

Bigscot

[26Charlie]

BigScot, from your description this must be the trouble. I have had this problem with Lyman 358009 in the .35 Rem, it is too fat in the nose to chamber in non-microgroove barrels, but does chamber in a Marline microgroove carbine. And shoots well, even though it weighs about 285 gr. The Lyman 200 gr. 358315 or the RCBS 35-200-FN can be crimped in the crimp groove and work fine in all my guns, for length and nose-fit. I have a SAECO 250 gr. mould, which casts a bullet a little long in the nose, and I have to crimp that one on the top band or it won't feed through the magazine.
As to running j-bullets through the gun, it doesn't materially affect a hunting gun one way or the other, IMHO. It is useful to know where the sights print them, in case you have to rely on store-bought ammo sometime.

[TAWILDCATT]

Buckshot:thars a neat rifle.
others:
remington mod 4+8 are common in New England as the 35 rem is a great brush gun.I had one and my nabor in Mass has one I loaded 200 gr lrn for him.thats the only thing that keeps the power down is the auto loader.