350 legend hunting load, cast

[Elpatoloco]

I jumped off the wagon and bought a pair of rifles chambered in 350L 4 or 5 years ago. The wife is recoil intolerant and has done quit well on deer and swine with jacketed bullets.
I saw one or two big threads on the 350 and cast. I want a bullet for shooting hogs. I dont believe the Ruger AR or The American rifle will feed a giant meplat or so I have read. Jacketed bullets have priced themselves on the moon as of late.

I have a lifetime supply of 296. What Mold do I need? I powdercoat about 50% of my cast. I think this caliber would do best PC'ed and gas Checked.

Anyone have any cast load data or is it still a play it by ear proposition?

[P Flados]

The 350L seems to feed the 200 gr Lee RNFP better in an AR than I would have expected. Should be no problem in a bolt gun. This bullet is very close to the RCBS 35-200-FN.

An AR type gun is hard to predict how an individual example will do with a given bullet (lots of small feed ramp & magazine differences). You could buy some with this pattern and try them first before investing in a mold. It was pretty easy to find:

http://westernbullet.com/rc35gr.html

If you really wanted to try the actual Lee bullet, ask nicely and someone (possibly even me) might be willing to send you some.

[cwlongshot]

My fav mold is the MP 358-200. Its a HP version/copy of the excellent RCBS 35-200fn. Same as the excellent LEE 358-200 is.

Like 296 for jacketed not so much in cast. 4198/4227/5744/2400/Unique and Blue Dot have been better for me.

CW

[Elpatoloco]

My fav mold is the MP 358-200. Its a HP version/copy of the excellent RCBS 35-200fn. Same as the excellent LEE 358-200 is.

Like 296 for jacketed not so much in cast. 4198/4227/5744/2400/Unique and Blue Dot have been better for me.

CW

Im thinking that this is the one I want to try. I Like HUGE meplats and a 356/358 slug would have to be a soup can to satisfy me. I have never cast HP slugs. Is it a steep learning curve?

I gave all my reloading supplies to my sons save for my handgun stuff. Powders I have on hand are Longshot for 10 mil, HS-6 for the Linebaughs, 296 for the linebaughs, 44s, and 357s, and 231 for 45 acp. Powder is still hard to come by way out here in West Texas.

What is your favorite powder under that slug out of an Ar platform. Gun is a factory AR-556 Ruger chambered in the 350.

[P Flados]

Im thinking that this is the one I want to try. I Like HUGE meplats and a 356/358 slug would have to be a soup can to satisfy me. I have never cast HP slugs. Is it a steep learning curve?

I gave all my reloading supplies to my sons save for my handgun stuff. Powders I have on hand are Longshot for 10 mil, HS-6 for the Linebaughs, 296 for the linebaughs, 44s, and 357s, and 231 for 45 acp. Powder is still hard to come by way out here in West Texas.

What is your favorite powder under that slug out of an Ar platform. Gun is a factory AR-556 Ruger chambered in the 350.

Of the powders you listed, 296 is the only one close to optimum for full power loads.

[Elpatoloco]

Of the powders you listed, 296 is the only one close to optimum for full power loads.

Yes Sir, I kind of figured that. I just dont know how hard it should be pushed. I like wide open out of the 44s. The Linebaughs will tip game over with authority at a mere 1100fps.

[gumbo333]

I put an $85 cheapo 16” heavy barrel 350 on an AR. It is a fantastic shooter ( inch) with 180 gr Winchester factory ammo. Feeds great as does the Win 145 gr FMJ for practice. I know you want to shoot cast but it doesn’t seem to me that the Winchester ammo is terribly $$$. Think Hornady has 170 gr . If you want to hunt with it, give it some thought. It is a fun shooter, not too noisy, very little kick. Kid , wifee or old fart MSR. Good luck.

[Elpatoloco]

I put an $85 cheapo 16” heavy barrel 350 on an AR. It is a fantastic shooter ( inch) with 180 gr Winchester factory ammo. Feeds great as does the Win 145 gr FMJ for practice. I know you want to shoot cast but it doesn’t seem to me that the Winchester ammo is terribly $$$. Think Hornady has 170 gr . If you want to hunt with it, give it some thought. It is a fun shooter, not too noisy, very little kick. Kid , wifee or old fart MSR. Good luck.

Winchester ammo is now $33/box of 20 here for the power points. Thats the cheapest thing available besides the 147gr target loads. I set back 14 boxes of the power points when I bought the guns and ammo was cheap. I recently purchased 200 of the Hornady interlock 170s and a couple hundred of the 165 plastic tips. I wont run out of good deer ammo for it.
Feral hogs are like roaches here. Not worth the $1.50 a pop for factory ammo. I'll shoot cast at them. I am liable to shoot upwards of 150 hogs a year when conditions are right.

[gumbo333]

El hear ya . Let us know what you find and if anything (WFN) will reliably feed in either rifle. Will be fun.

[mulespurs]

Just my experience,

I shoot the Lee 200 gr powdercoated and gc with Sages , sized to .356 with 21 gr of w296 or h 110.

My buddy's gun thinks that's too hot, but it works good for me.

My buddy just shot some groups with my Ar-15, has a Midway 18 barrel and got 1 1/2" groups at 100. He said my trigger job was terrible. I sent it with him to test because I have a cataract to get fixed soon.

2 years ago I shot a good whitetail buck at 200 big steps. Hi shoulder shot, took him off his feet, all good.

Just my observations

[MarkP]

I use the 200 gr RCBS with RL 7 in both bolt action and AR.

[Elpatoloco]

El hear ya . Let us know what you find and if anything (WFN) will reliably feed in either rifle. Will be fun.

I am going to purchase the HP bullet suggested as well as the Lee.i will try lung shots with both and if they dont perform, I guess I'll just shoot hogs in the noggin with them.
I have Night Vision on the AR and shots are usually in the 75 yard range where I set up on them. If I clean a hog, I like them to have run away from the bait pile. It seems to turn them off for a few days. The reason I don’t prefer noggin shots. Sure I could drag them away, but my hind end isn't getting any younger.

[Elpatoloco]

The power points 180gr typically anchor them

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[Elpatoloco]

I took these two while sitting for Deer one evening last week with the bolt action. It was raining and approximately 150 came to the corn pile and ran my deer off. They were taken with the Winchester Deer Season XP 150 gr plastic tips. They scattered at the shot. Crossed the road about 100 yards up where I was able to take the second one.
Those bullets are currently $2 a pop. I bought 4 boxes of them before the price went insane. I dont mind the price as those rounds anchor deer. I cant see wasting money on swine. I just dont want something that pencils through.

I have casted for about 15 years and handloaded for 35. The 350 is the only caliber that I own that I didn't load for. Cartridges WERE cheap enough when I purchased the guns.

We are flat OVER RUN with pigs.....to the point that I wont even attemp to clean the little Boars anymore.


Id like to stay with the 296 as all mine is old enough to have come in a metal can. After the cost of the molds, I will have very little as far as costs for hawg blasting ammo. Powder and primer were paid for 25 to 30 years ago.

I guess I am just a cheap ****, but I cant stomach seeing dollar bills fly out when I pull the trigger on over grown rodents.



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[Outer Rondacker]

I took these two while sitting for Deer one evening last week with the bolt action. It was raining and approximately 150 came to the corn pile and ran my deer off. They were taken with the Winchester Deer Season XP 150 gr plastic tips. They scattered at the shot. Crossed the road about 100 yards up where I was able to take the second one.
Those bullets are currently $2 a pop. I bought 4 boxes of them before the price went insane. I dont mind the price as those rounds anchor deer. I cant see wasting money on swine. I just dont want something that pencils through.

I have casted for about 15 years and handloaded for 35. The 350 is the only caliber that I own that I didn't load for. Cartridges WERE cheap enough when I purchased the guns.

We are flat OVER RUN with pigs.....to the point that I wont even attemp to clean the little Boars anymore.


Id like to stay with the 296 as all mine is old enough to have come in a metal can. After the cost of the molds, I will have very little as far as costs for hawg blasting ammo. Powder and primer were paid for 25 to 30 years ago.

I guess I am just a cheap ****, but I cant stomach seeing dollar bills fly out when I pull the trigger on over grown rodents.



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Elpatoloco mind if I ask where you are located that the hog issue is so bad? Up here in the north we do not have pigs.

[Elpatoloco]

Elpatoloco mind if I ask where you are located that the hog issue is so bad? Up here in the north we do not have pigs.

I am in North Central Texas. I Try and farm a piece of Land that my boss owns. The neighbors hunt hogs twice a year with Helocopters and I know they take quite a few, but I believe all it does is move the remainder over to this place.

I shoot them day/night and keep traps out as well. Once they take hold, I dont believe much can be done. Years ago, Ranch Dog had told me that they leave the solitary Boars alone and just shoot the sows. I cannot remember his reasoning, but he claimed he had success in thinning them down in his area.

Im am batting 100% on night hunts for the last 5 years or since I got the little nv scope. Usually within 10 minutes of darkness.


It is not too uncommon to take a sow full of piglets either. They are literally cockroaches and breed constant.


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[P Flados]

Yes Sir, I kind of figured that. I just dont know how hard it should be pushed. I like wide open out of the 44s. The Linebaughs will tip game over with authority at a mere 1100fps.

I loaded cast 200 gr boolits in my 357 Max handguns and my 16" 357AR Max.

The 357AR Max is very similar 350L and the only 200 gr target I found with H110 was at 21 gr of powder.

When I was loading 296, I was pretty happy. I ran out of my 296 (4# steel can) and got a 8# jug of H110. About the same time I started using powder coat. I was surprised when the new jug started giving me poor ignition issues in a number of guns. This included bullets lodged in barrels and the issues seemed worse in colder conditions. I may have just gotten an "off normal" batch or something, but I started looking for a different powder. Some others have reported issues with 296/H110 in the 350L. On the flip side, I have read of a bunch of folks happy with 296/H110.

If it was me, I would try the powder you have on hand and I would do the load development in your bolt gun. With 296/H110, I have seen a recommendation to keep your load density at 90% or more. Quickload says you will hit 55,000 psi at real close to 100% fill. For a Ruger American Ranch you will still have good margins even if you go over SAAMI a little as the gun is also sold in the 270 Win rated at 65,000 psi. I also recommend you pay close attention to the feel of each shot especially with firing at the low end of your ladder. If any shots seem "light" or "different", I would minimize the number of rounds fired at that charge level.

[Recycled bullet]

.

These are mp359 hammers I wonder if they would work in 350 legend.

I shoot them in 357 mag brass with h110.

[P Flados]

FYI, your description of hog hunting seems very consistent with a very long thread at https://www.thehighroad.org/index.ph...-texas.449721/

As a teen in the mid to late 70s, I did some hunting in East Texas (Wood county). No issues with feral hogs back then. My condolences to all the folks having to deal with the problems and destruction caused by these critters. I am totally supportive of your attempts to put a dent in the problem.

My AR did not like the meplat on the Lee 200. I made up a couple of custom molds specifically for improved feeding for my 357AR Max. Each mold throws one 180 gr and one 200 gr. If your AR does not like the two bullets you plan to try and think it is due to the meplat, we could discuss you trying what I came up with.

[rickt300]

I fooled with many flat nosed and other cast bullets in my AR. I found grinding the feed lips back a little on my magazines made blunt bullets feed just fine. Around .200 or to the middle of the rib on the magazine. I think 296 and 110 need a good crimp to work with a lot of different cartridges and you can't do that with an AR. I found all I needed using IMR 4227. Near top velocities and reliable ignition. I also size to .356.