American Select in .35 Remington

[kgb]

I recently picked up a 336 Marlin in .35 Remington for Cowboy Silhouettes, given the success people have reported with heavy slugs in .357 Magnum revolvers I estimate a 200gr cast at 1500-1600fps should be plenty for all animals. I've seen people favoring Unique and 800X to get cast bullets to that speed range, wondering if anybody's tried American Select for such a purpose.

[RickinTN]

I'm pretty sure I would go with a slower powder. Remember it is high pressure which often makes cast bullets not work so well, not velocity. If I were pushing the 35 Remington to said velocities I would look toward IMR4227 or maybe one of the 4198's for powder. IMR3031 would probably be a good choice also. I believe you would have better results.
Good luck to you,
Rick

[farmbif]

if you just got the gun. I think you will find that the RCBS 35-200, lee now copied that mold, will give you excellent results with powders from the 4198's reloaded 7, to 4895, 8208, 748, 2520. will work very well. LVR works great for max velocity with these cast bullets and for reduced loads 5744 is a good choice. western powder, did actual load development using this bullet in the 35 rem and there its good factory data for half dozen accurate branded powders

[1006]

I have used 800X in my 375 Winchester with great success. 800X and BlueDot gave the best results of several midrange powders that I have tried, for 1400-1700 fps loads with cast bullets. It is not a 35Remington, but they have some similarities in LeverGuns that make it worth comparing.

My bullets are gas checked 265grain.

I tried 2400, Universal, HS-6, 800X, BlueDot, RedDot, and TrailBoss. They all worked okay for plinking at short range, but I got decent 1OO yard accuracy out of the BlueDot and 800x at the velocity you are trying to achieve.

My thought is that you will need to keep the American Select loads down around 1100fps.

[kgb]

I have used 800X in my 375 Winchester with great success. 800X and BlueDot gave the best results of several midrange powders that I have tried, for 1400-1700 fps loads with cast bullets. It is not a 35Remington, but they have some similarities in LeverGuns that make it worth comparing.

My bullets are gas checked 265grain.

I tried 2400, Universal, HS-6, 800X, BlueDot, RedDot, and TrailBoss. They all worked okay for plinking at short range, but I got decent 1OO yard accuracy out of the BlueDot and 800x at the velocity you are trying to achieve.

My thought is that you will need to keep the American Select loads down around 1100fps.

I was considering a .38/55 prior to the .35, was advised the bore wasn't suited to any existing jacketed bullets and I'd have to shoot cast, not a problem as I figure to get a copy of the RCBS 200 GC for the .35 anyhow.

The guy I bought this from used primarily H380, WW748 and AA2495, included data and target cutouts with the gun. Most of the data is 1900fps plus, I've got no interest in that high velocity as it's not needed. I got a handful of 200gr GC hollow point casts bullets from a friend who picked them up at a pawn shop, he has shot them along with his RCBS 200gr GC in his own .35 Rem which is a stainless Marlin carrying the same 24" barrel as mine, which is an earlier model with a monte carlo design to the stock. He uses 13.5gr of 800X for a little over 1600fps.

My experimentation started with 12gr then 13gr of 800X, the first was most accurate at 1.25" for 5 shots at 50 yards at 1550fps. 13gr moved it to 1615fps. I loaded up the 12gr for this weekend's silhouette match, I like it at least as much as the .41Mag loads I've been shooting through a 20" Marlin 94, 230gr Lee group buy at 1350fps.

I did try American Select too, 11gr, 12gr and 13gr, while the first load went into 1.5" at 50 yards, the others opened up significantly. Velocities went 1461, 1529 and 1602fps, the 1461fps should be plenty but I'm also going to try 10gr and see if it's as good or better at 1400fps or maybe a bit less. I've got a few slugs left to try this with, will be good to know the velocity they show and then it's time to get a mold for use going forward.

[P Flados]

My Quickload does not have American Select. It looks like American Select is pretty close to green dot. The 1600 fps velocity should be ok for pressure based on the run below (only the very fastest powders get close to the limit).

Cartridge          : .35 Rem.
Bullet             : .358, 200, LEE C358-200-RF
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 2.525 inch = 64.14 mm
Barrel Length      : 24.0 inch = 609.6 mm

C A U T I O N : any load listed can result in a powder charge that falls below minimum suggested
loads or exceeds maximum suggested loads as presented in current handloading manuals. Understand
that all of the listed powders can be unsuitable for the given combination of cartridge, bullet
and gun. Actual load order can vary, depending upon lot-to-lot powder and component variations.
USE ONLY FOR COMPARISON !

Powder type          Filling/Loading Ratio  Charge    Charge   Vel. Prop.Burnt P max  P muzz  B_Time
                                      %     Grains    Gramm   fps     %       psi     psi    ms
---------------------------------  -----------------------------------------------------------------
Hodgdon TiteGroup                   39.3     13.4     0.87    1600   100.0    35451    1572   1.609  ! Near Maximum !
Alliant RED DOT                     58.6     12.2     0.79    1600   100.0    35054    1600   1.616  ! Near Maximum !
Vihtavuori N320                     52.5     12.9     0.84    1600   100.0    34704    1564   1.623  ! Near Maximum !
Accurate Solo 1000                  55.7     12.9     0.84    1600   100.0    34544    1586   1.619  ! Near Maximum !
Maxam CSB 4                         54.7     13.0     0.84    1600   100.0    34430    1578   1.619  ! Near Maximum !
Alliant GREEN DOT                   54.6     12.7     0.83    1600   100.0    33399    1604   1.634
Maxam CSB 3                         54.7     13.2     0.85    1600   100.0    33244    1580   1.630
Accurate Nitro 100                  53.9     11.8     0.76    1600   100.0    33006    1628   1.636
Shooters World Sparta 100           53.9     11.8     0.76    1600   100.0    33006    1628   1.636
Maxam CSB 2                         52.8     13.4     0.87    1600   100.0    32523    1588   1.655
Hodgdon HP38                        38.7     13.6     0.88    1600   100.0    32318    1599   1.640
Maxam CSB 1                         56.4     13.9     0.90    1600   100.0    31937    1566   1.644
Winchester 231                      43.0     13.6     0.88    1600   100.0    31796    1607   1.645
Ramshot Zip                         38.6     13.6     0.88    1600   100.0    31796    1607   1.645
Shooters World Clean Shot           35.6     12.5     0.81    1600   100.0    31635    1602   1.645
Accurate Solo 1250                  53.3     13.3     0.86    1600   100.0    31454    1593   1.649
Vihtavuori N330                     48.4     13.2     0.86    1600   100.0    31116    1609   1.663
Vihtavuori N340                     48.2     13.4     0.87    1600   100.0    28066    1644   1.692
Shooters World Ultimate Pistol      30.2     12.5     0.81    1600   100.0    27516    1679   1.704
Accurate No.2                       45.9     12.7     0.83    1600   100.0    27420    1660   1.698
Alliant BULLSEYE                    41.3     11.5     0.74    1600   100.0    26576    1716   1.708

[kgb]

That chart shows Solo 1250, another powder I have a good amount of from shotgun use, thank you for providing it.

I'm mostly in the realm of trying to use what is working for other shooters, the 800X will not last forever so it's good to have an idea of what to expect from the options. Unique always has applications with these guys as well, my other newer powders are BE-86 and WW572.

[reedap1]

I think you will find American Select to be position-sensitive. It is a really good clean burning but pretty fast powder that works perfectly in shotgun loads. I have experience with it in pistols (45 ACP, 38 Special, 357 May, 45 Colt, and 44 Magnum) with pretty good success and accuracy for light loads. I have used it in my 375 Winchester (Model 94 BB) and I get pretty good accuracy at 50 yards but other powders are better.

The problem you might run into is availability and cost. Per my local gun shop, who is a large dealer in all kinds of powders, all Alliant powders are difficult to get, significantly more expensive ($56/pound in Pennsylvania), and going toward the various war efforts versus the handloader. I've pretty much given up on most Alliant powder and moved to others.

[Photog]

While AmSel is not in Quickload, its very close to Solo1250 in my experience. I've tried American Select in lots of different loads including 30-06 and 30-30, and its fine at 3-4 grains, but after that you really need a slower powder. W231 is a little slower, but if you are looking for 1300fps, go for Unique or 20/28, and then if you want 1500fps, go to Power Pistol. For more speed, go to 300MP or 2400, those will get you up to 1800fps. What i really use Quickload for is looking at which powders will get at least 95% burned for the speed I'm looking for.
I've used AmSel so much only because I inherited a 8lbs jug and its pretty clean burn and it works in everything (like Red Dot). Its hard to double charge in pistol loads because its pretty bulky, yet it meters good (not great) and I usually only get .1 gr of variance in my Hornady and RCBS powder throwers. When (if) I ever run out of Amsel, I'll probally get a big jug of W231, as I think its a bit more versatile and meters better, but thats just a hunch - while I use W231 in some load development, Amsel usually wins out since its just as good and I have lots of it.

[1006]

Checking my notes, I see that I used 18.9 grains Alliant 2400 with a 205gas checked bullet from Matt’s Bullets in the 35 Remington Marlin and got 1611fps, SD of 26, 1.5 moa. Wolf Large Pistol Primer was used.