350 rem mag load date using 358009 GC

[boise outlaw]

Bought a 280 grain NOE 358009 GC mould and am trying to develop a good hunting load in my 350 rem mag. I dont have any experience with powders other then unique so I was hoping for some recommendations.

[cabezaverde]

This is of interest to me. What kind of 350 mag do you have?

[boise outlaw]

I just picked up a ruger m77 stainless. I picked the cartridge so i could use an mca chamber adapter to shoot 38/357.

[35remington]

Don't bother with the chamber adapter as it likely will not have anywhere near the accuracy capability of the downloaded 350 case. I have a stainless Ruger M77 Mk 2 in 350, and these shoot the gaschecked cast bullets so well at 38/357 carbine speeds that it literally shoots bugholes at 50 yards for 3 shots using 2400 powder and velocities in the 1200-1500 fps range. This would be a fantastic tree squirrel rifle if the bullet wasn't so big. It could literally shoot the eye out of a squirrel every shot with accuracy to spare. My friend's blued Mk 2 in 350 with a wood stock does the very same thing.

If you want to show your friends the potential of a cast bullet in a rifle, the 350 with moderate loads is a winner, big time.

[MarkP]

I shoot a 273 gr in my 350's; 48-50 gr IMR 4320 gives good accuracy and about 2,200 fps out of my 20" bbls and about the same in my 22" and only 100 fps less from my 15" XP-100R.

Depending on your intended range and game a full case of Trailboss may be worth checking out it is a fun load and yields 1,550 - 1,600 fps with the 273 gr boolit listed above. The NOE 360-180 HP GC'd with Trailboss is surprisingly accurate, hard-hitting and fun to shoot off-hand at gongs.

With lighter wts RL-7 & AA 2015 BR seem to work best.

Give this a link a try to see; the calculated velocities have been pretty close to chronographed results with a variety of IMR loads I have compared.

http://kwk.us/powley.html

[warboar_21]

I just spent the last half hour in the reloading room trying to find my data on the 358009. I know I used IMR-4895 but I just can not remember the charge weight. It was pretty mild on the recoil and was very accurate at the 100yd line. I only had a limited supply on hand so I never fully developed the load. Now that I have the mold I want to cast some and try again.

[boise outlaw]

I definitely plan on developing some 158 grain loads in the 350 case as well, i think this will be better for wolf and deer. I had intended to use the mca adapter for close range small game, we have alot of grouse and cottontail here in idaho which make for good eating on an otherwise unsuccessful hunt. I'll see how accurate she is and report back for those of you other 350 owners.

I will definitely look into IMR 4320 and Trailboss. I have heard great things about both. Now I will just need to locate some... that might be a little trickier ;)

[boise outlaw]

reviving this thread, still playing around with the 280 grain boolit. Wondering if anyone has any loads using Unique? I've played with some up to 18 grains with good results but am trying to determine my maximum load. At 100 yards I am having a few inches drop between the 280's and some of my lighter boolits. Thinking 20-21 grains will give me the results I want but hesitant to go up that much since all data is for lighter boolits with that charge.

[Yodogsandman]

Try backing off on the unique load with the lighter boolits. They'll probably hit higher. You could also speed up your 280 gr boolit load, with a different powder other than Unique, to hit lower.

Max load, as shown in my Lyman #49 for a 204 gr Lyman 358315 boolit, is 17.0 gr of Unique. Using 18.0 gr Unique is pushing it using a 280 gr boolit! Why risk it?

[boise outlaw]

I was thinking that, i've been using that same manual, but referencing a slightly bigger 358 cartridge and a 250 grain boolit they were using. They had the maximum for that load at 21 grains. You are probably right though, I'll save my Unique for the 158 grain plinkin loads and find the right amount of IMR 4320 for the 280's. I'm just trying to find a good balance where my plinking loads and my hunting loads are dialed in at the same distances. This is the first gun I've ever had where I've shot a variety of different grain boolits, and then trying to also achieve similar accuracy with different powders, so its been a learning curve. Probably easier to achieve desirable accuracy with the 4320, and then fiddle around with the amount of unique i put in the lighter boolit's cartridge.

[cabezaverde]

What are you guys doing for brass?

[MarkP]

I was thinking that, i've been using that same manual, but referencing a slightly bigger 358 cartridge and a 250 grain boolit they were using. They had the maximum for that load at 21 grains. You are probably right though, I'll save my Unique for the 158 grain plinkin loads and find the right amount of IMR 4320 for the 280's. I'm just trying to find a good balance where my plinking loads and my hunting loads are dialed in at the same distances. This is the first gun I've ever had where I've shot a variety of different grain boolits, and then trying to also achieve similar accuracy with different powders, so its been a learning curve. Probably easier to achieve desirable accuracy with the 4320, and then fiddle around with the amount of unique i put in the lighter boolit's cartridge.

Do you have an idea on what velocity you would like to obtain?

In an attempt to prolong my supply of 4320 I tried a full case of slow commercial ball powder under a 273 gr FN with great accuarcy, also tried 5010; velocity using both powders was a little higher than a full case of Trailboss. The negative some un-burned powder. 4350 worked but these were pretty close to the 4320 loads in terms of velocity and recoil with complete burn.

I ended up finding an identical rifle a few years ago so I have one sighted in for the lighter plinking loads and the other for heavier hunting loads.

[MarkP]

What are you guys doing for brass?

I have been using the same 150 cartridges I bought in the early 90's. After about 5 to 6 loads I was seeing some split necks, annealed and have loaded a few more times. My max loads are probably in the upper 30's to 40's (PSI) and plinkers being much lower so case life is decent. I have some virgin brass squirreled away for jacketed hunting loads. I have made some 350 Rem Mags from 7 mm Rem Mag; need to ream the necks, not too bad but does require some time to complete. Use sizing die with expander removed and purchase a chucking reamer of the appropriate size.

[boise outlaw]

I have been using the same 150 cartridges I bought in the early 90's. After about 5 to 6 loads I was seeing some split necks, annealed and have loaded a few more times. My max loads are probably in the upper 30's to 40's (PSI) and plinkers being much lower so case life is decent. I have some virgin brass squirreled away for jacketed hunting loads. I have made some 350 Rem Mags from 7 mm Rem Mag; need to ream the necks, not too bad but does require some time to complete. Use sizing die with expander removed and purchase a chucking reamer of the appropriate size.

7mm rem mag or 300 win mag will work. I get once-fired cartridges from the recycler. Lube really good and run through a Redding 350 rem mag trim die. cut off the top with a hacksaw and trim to size. Never had to ream the necks on mine, not sure if its because i'm running used brass but i've noticed some boolits will go into the necks a little smoother then others when seating them.

[MarkP]

7mm rem mag or 300 win mag will work. I get once-fired cartridges from the recycler. Lube really good and run through a Redding 350 rem mag trim die. cut off the top with a hacksaw and trim to size. Never had to ream the necks on mine, not sure if its because i'm running used brass but i've noticed some boolits will go into the necks a little smoother then others when seating them.

I use hack saw and file type trim die I made. Jacketed rounds would not chamber in my XP or M SEVEN I like to have about 0.004" of release / clearance.

[youngda9]

I use 40gr H4895 for 2100fps in my 358 Winchester. When I go any higher in charge weight accuracy begins to suffer. Shooting 5-shot 1" groups with that load at 100yds. I would start there and work your way up. Try different COAL points to see what your rifle likes with the awesome 358009. Best of luck.

[cabezaverde]

I use hack saw and file type trim die I made. Jacketed rounds would not chamber in my XP or M SEVEN I like to have about 0.004" of release / clearance.

Mark, how does your Model 7 do with feeding RN jacketed bullets?

[onceabull]

boise outlaw: you have PM.....thx, Onceabull

[MarkP]

Mark, how does your Model 7 do with feeding RN jacketed bullets?

The Seven and the XP fed 200 & 250 gr Hornaday RN's; It has been quite a while since I have loaded any of the jacketed round nose. I am using a cast 270 & 250 gr FN with a fairly large and sharp metplat that feeds fine in my Sevens, 673, XP's. The RCBS 200 RFN seems to feed. I normally load singles when shooting from the bench, when practicing off hand I will load from the magazine.

I had to lathe trim the lead tips off of the 250 gr Hornady Spire points to fit in the magazine.