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Thread: .30 WCF vs. .35 Rem with proper cast boolit for hunting?

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    .30 WCF vs. .35 Rem with proper cast boolit for hunting?

    I have been snooping around looking at lever guns in these two calibers for use in our high-elevation elk woods here in south central New Mexico. At first I convinced myself the only caliber worth considering was the .35 Remington with a 200-grain or heavier bullet with big meplat. But reading a number of threads here and elsewhere, I have come to the conclusion that there aren't many flies on the .30WCF when loaded with a good 190- grain or heavier cast boolit with as big a meplat as possible -- over a healthy dose of LeveRevolution.
    How many here have actual experience on big game with cast from these two grand old levergun calibers? Given the bullet in the right spot, is there a nickel's worth of difference in killing power on game up to the size of cow elk? Thanks for any thoughts. Getting over back surgery, and boy does daydreaming about fall hunting help to take the mind off the current unpleasantness!

  2. #2
    Boolit Man
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    I see you have read my thread in heavy cast 30-30 loads. I haven’t killed anything with that load yet but will be hunting moose with it this fall and have no doubt it will do the job. That said I think the 35Rem is a better caliber for bigger than deer game. My load with 250 grain cast @1900-2000 fps gives quite a bit more power on target than the 30-30. I have killed big mule deer and black bear to #400 with that 35 load all with one shot only.Click image for larger version. 

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  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    The little 35 Remington gets my vote! I own a marlin 336 that never gets used and a special order Remington carbine...along with a matching 35 whelen. I just got my mold a few months ago from our group buy that needs to be broke in. It’s a 200 grain GC HP.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    Leaning your way Goshawk. I killed a blacktail nearly 50 years ago with a handloaded Sierra 150 "condom bullet" out of a Marlin .30-30 and it worked fine, but that was a 120-pound buck at 75 yards. Now I am an old guy and see great beauty in a big, relatively slow cast slug just getting "all kinds of work done" with minimal fuss.

  5. #5
    Boolit Man
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    You’ll never regret getting a 35 Rem. I live and hunt in moose and grizzly country and have never felt undergunned with my trusty 35 along.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    Liking the 35. Even better is the 358 Win . I shoot 250 gr cast Lyman 358318 Paper patched.
    Clocks 2350fps, over 3000ft pounds. If you like lever gun. The Browning lever gun is available
    in 358 win. Or, of course as has been mentioned, the 35 Whelen has even more bear and other big critter stopping power.
    beltfed/arnie

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    I believe lipseys just did a special run in the Ruger American in 358
    Last edited by Tripplebeards; 05-21-2019 at 09:14 PM.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    I have killed deer with the 30-30, 32 Special, 308 Win, 35 Rem and 358 Win, marlin 336's or Savage 99's. I have killed elk with the 308 and 358, others and 1 with a 32 Special. The 358 is better than the 308 and the 32 Special is, at best, marginal on elk. The 35 Rem will give an extra 30-40 grains bullet weight over a 30-30 at similar velocity and pressure, plus the 35 caliber does seem to drop/kill better than the 30. The 35 Rem with a 220-250 grain flatnose bullet should work very well. I do prefer the 35 Rem over the 30-30 for hunting, though the 30-30 has the easy to find brass. A couple 358's in Savage 99's are what my wife and I choose first out of a BUNCH of rifles that include 300 Mag, 444 and 45-70's. I do have a Marlin 336 in 35 Rem with a receiver sight for my 'rain/snow' rifle when a scope won't stay usable in the wet elk timber.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    Any .35 cal. using Saeco's 245 gr. fp gc would offer more smack than the 30/30.

  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master


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    Good afternoon
    Bigger holes are always better !
    Actually I would and hunt with Caliber .38's. Not one 30WCF remains. But we do have 2 35 Remingtons which really put a smack on whatever it slams into.
    I would not hesitate to load a 235 grainer FN cast of 50-50 in our .35's and go elk hunting in the woods around Flagstaff or the NE corner. But as we have plenty of caliber .38 rifles it may never happen.
    Mike in Peru
    "Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
    Male Guanaco out in dry lakebed at 10,800 feet south of Arequipa.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    Thanks Mike.

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    .35 caliber wins the game on elk.
    The solid soft lead bullet is undoubtably the best and most satisfactory expanding bullet that has ever been designed. It invariably mushrooms perfectly, and never breaks up. With the metal base that is essential for velocities of 2000 f.s. and upwards to protect the naked base, these metal-based soft lead bullets are splendid.
    John Taylor - "African Rifles and Cartridges"

    Forget everything you know about loading jacketed bullets. This is a whole new ball game!


  13. #13
    Boolit Mold
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    My son has taken a spike elk with a 35 Remington in a Marlin. Shot was just shy of 200 yards, put 2 shots through the heart area with receiver sights. We were able to recover one of the RCBS 200 FN boolit. Just under the hide in the offside leg of the elk. The elk only took a few steps and piled up.

    Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

  14. #14
    Boolit Master

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    Neither one! Was I looking for a lever gun in .35 to shoot elk with, I believe I'd get a Marlin in either caliber and have Jesse convert it to .356 Win. I'd make sure I could chamber .358 Win. in it to assure easily obtained brass (308 converted).
    Take a kid along

  15. #15
    Boolit Master RU shooter's Avatar
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    I vote 35 Rem only killed deer with mine with the ranchdog 190 gr with its wide nose it hits hard. I'm shooting a bolt action rem 600 so I can load it up a touch higher than the lever guns but even at lever gun levels I have confidence it it for even our big Pa black bears which can go 600 lbs .
    If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

  16. #16
    Boolit Master
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    I may get a chance to test this out. Found an early 1950s 336-A in .35 Remington, and a Krag made in 1903 -- kinda cheating due to the extra case capacity over the .30WCF.
    Ordered the Lee version of the RCBS .35-200, and will wait to see how the Krag bore cleans up before buying a mold.
    Very much liking this mold, too, from Accurate.
    http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_...36-225AG-D.png
    Last edited by Abert Rim; 05-26-2019 at 12:37 PM.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master
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    Goshawk, how does the Accurate 36-245S feed in a Marlin chamber with little throat? It's a very good looking bullet.

    http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_...=36-245S-D.png

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    If you ever hunt anything that's big enough you want to break bones, forget kinetic energy, use momentum. Factory ammo has KE and velocity on the box. To convert those numbers to momentum, divide the KE by the velocity, then multiply that answer X2. That's why the 480 Ruger hits 20% harder than the S&W 460.
    Craig Boddington of magazine,TV, and Africa fame picks the 35 Remington as one of his favorite cartridges, because he's really big into black bear hunting.

  19. #19
    Boolit Grand Master


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    Looking at data side by side, the 35 remington looks to have about 100 fps on the 30 WCF at a 200 grain bullet. That's not even worth worrying about. The 35 whelen is a big step up.

    If buying a rifle, I'd choose 30-30 every time between those two choices. Maybe the 35 remington would have more choices in a bolt action?

  20. #20
    Boolit Buddy
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    38-55 problem solved

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