35 Rem w/ 360-235 Thor

[TXGunNut]

Been meaning to try this for awhile, should be interesting. The 360-235 Thor boolit didn't work in my 35 Whelen, mostly due to the magazine configuration (M70) and the huge meplat hanging up on the ramp. Seem to recall someone using it in the 35 Rem so I decided to give it a try. First round was loaded to crimp into the crimp groove, looked like a good fit since that put the boolit base near the base of the case neck. Chambering was quite hard, left .10" long "microgrooves" into the ogive of the boolit. Decided the simple thing was to shorten the COAL by .10" (2.4 COAL) and simply crimp it ahead of the top driving band. Feeds thru the 336 flawlessly and the crimp (and neck nension) seem to be holding the boolit securely enough. My RD 359-190 load uses 32 gr Rx7 but I found no published loads for this boolit and cartridge so I won't be posting my starting load, suffice it to say it's well under 32 grs.
I don't know if the 35 Rem will be able to get this 235 gr boolit going fast enough to be a decent hunting round but we'll see.

[35 shooter]

Shame on the hog population when you find a good load with it.

[TXGunNut]

I'm looking forward to some field testing, pretty sure they won't share my enthusiasm. ;-) Folks at Hodgdon seem to think a slower powder will work better with this boolit and cartridge, or at least that's how they suggest loading a 220gr j-word. Storms rolled in a little ahead of forecast and range trip was cancelled. Think I'll go fire up the pot.

[EdS]

Have you considered Varget? It works great under 212 gr. RCBS boolits sized .359" in my .35 Rem 336. -Ed

[Lefty SRH]

I used IMR 3031 when testing this boolit about a year ago in my 336 35 Remmy. I was getting 2" groups at 100 yds with iron sights. Velocity was about 2050, IIRC

[TXGunNut]

Have you considered Varget? It works great under 212 gr. RCBS boolits sized .359" in my .35 Rem 336. -Ed

Yes, especially after perusing the Hodgdon site. Have less than a lb on hand, tho. I have more 4064 and IMR4895 on hand but didn't see any 4064 loads listed for the heavier bullet.

[TXGunNut]

I used IMR 3031 when testing this boolit about a year ago in my 336 35 Remmy. I was getting 2" groups at 100 yds with iron sights. Velocity was about 2050, IIRC

Was wondering about 3031, just didn't see any loads for it. Thanks! Will look into it.

[35 shooter]

Tx i wasn't as smart as you about the weather today and went to the range anyway. Didn't realize how hard the wind was blowing here till i was halfway to the range. Too hard headed to go back home and save good ammo so i sat there and shot 2" groups half the afternoon.
I believe it was blowing forward, backward, right and left all at the same time anywhere from 10 to 25 mph constantly. Oh well, it was too windy to fly fish....and it gives me another excuse to go back and test those loads again.

[TXGunNut]

Well, I got a lot of reading done and broke in a couple of new moulds. Thought about slipping out between storms but it was pretty gusty and unstable.

[35remington]

LVR would likely produce most velocity at least pressure. It is the only choice for the 220 Speer.

[TXGunNut]

LVR would likely produce most velocity at least pressure. It is the only choice for the 220 Speer.

Wondered about that but didn't see any loads listed.

[35remington]

Not to worry. For us, around 43 grains is all that it is possible to get in the 35 Remington case using the deeply seated 220 Speer bullet. At this level case life is so long that I gave up seeing how many reloads could be fired before a head separation because I was tired of reloading the single case over and over.

I see no benefit to heavily compressing a load with a cast bullet, especially considering its possible hardness, but admittedly a hard bullet would stand up to this somewhat better than a soft one. I'd start at 38 grains and work up to around 41 and see where that gets you in terms of velocity and accuracy. Reason I can't suggest more is I don't know your exact seating depth and bearing surface length, nor if the bullet in being seated correctly projects the gas check below the case neck which isn't considered desirable in some cases.

I know I do use a modified RCBS design, an enlarged RCBS 200 FN of sorts that weighs 225 grains and was a group buy on this forum some time back. This is within hailing distance of your weight, but again I do not know how it differs from your design. When crimped in the crimp groove the gas check is barely below the case neck with a somewhat longer bore riding nose than the RCBS 200 FN, which is how it gets its extra weight.

With this I have gone to the full 43 grain charge with no problems, and the bullet compresses the powder notably less than the much deeper seated 220 Speer. Accuracy is usable at this level, with groups in the 2.5 to 3 inch range at 100 yards. Velocity is 2225 fps with a 225+ grain bullet.

Pressures appear to be quite low, probably a result of the lesser seating depth and reduced full caliber engraving surface compared to the 220 Speer.....but the pressures with the 220 Speer are already lower than with any other powder I've shot.

LVR really does not begin to show an advantage with the 35 until the 200 FTX and 200 Speer are used to gain some advantage from its extra slow burning rate, which is notably slower than those powders usually used in the 35. With 180 grain and 200 RN's I wouldn't bother with it. But with the deeply seated 200 FTX and 220 Speer it has no peer (bad rhyme huh?) in terms of generating good velocities at low pressure.

Since low pressure is beneficial with cast bullets, it might be worth a whirl to see if useful velocities combined with accuracy can be obtained.

In terms of other powders, with the aforementioned 225 RCBS sorta clone I've used 35.5 grains IMR 3031 for 2050 fps and 38 grains 4320 for just over 2000 with also decent enough accuracy.

[TXGunNut]

I tried LVR with the RD 359-190 and didn't find a load it liked better than Rx7. From what I've read a heavier boolit will change things. With the Thor boolit I have quite a bit of lead above the crimp so I'll have lots of room for powder. Looking for around 2000 fps, don't see the point of going any faster for my purposes if I find accuracy at a reasonable velocity. May need to go faster, keep finding out that the 35 Whelen seems to like to go fast.
Thanks for taking the time to type all that out, it was certainly helpful!

[robroy]

Yes. Please keep it comming.

[TXGunNut]

336 didn't much like the light Thor loads but it shot well with the old standby 200 gr load so at least I know the new scope is working OK. I'll load up some more of the old load and some 38 gr LVR loads for the Thor boolit. Good to have the old girl shooting again. :-)

[rockrat]

My 35 Rem Marlin was partial to AA2520

[TXGunNut]

My 35 Rem Marlin was partial to AA2520

I'll put that on my list. Not much on AA powders, hardly ever see them around here. What boolit weight?

[TXGunNut]

Thor boolit results a bit disappointing today, 38 grs LVR showed promise but .5 grs either way was pretty dismal. May try a different primer, Federal GM match supply is getting a little low anyway. 35 grs LVR under the RD 359190 was pretty terrible, think I need to go back to Rx7 for that boolit. All in all a good day at the range, thought I was going to get rained out but slipped out there anyway. Picked up two pounds on IMR4350 and some RP 9 1/2 primers so it's all good!

[TXGunNut]

Loaded up some more 360-235 Thor's over 38 grs LVR just to give it another try. Loaded up some of my standby loads as well, all with my old favorite 9 1/2 RP primers. Thinking about a lube experiment with the Thor boolit once my new sizer arrives.

[TXGunNut]

Replacement Redfield scope took a dump again today. Four good rounds, one MIA. Corrected sights. First went where I expected it to, next four made it into a six inch (at least) group. I think I need to trade up to a 2.5-8 VX-3 Leupold. It was on backorder when I ordered this Redfield, guess I'll just ask how much boot they want. I'm done with this scope.

[35 shooter]

Same thing happened to me. 2 redfields in 2 months back to back on my whelen. Paid the difference for a leupold vari x2 3x9....no more problems. I've always used leupold and now i remember why. Hate that happened to you. At least it was at the range and not a hunting trip.

[rockrat]

AA2520 worked with the 180 and the 220 gr bullets. Might want to try a mag. primer with the LVR. Helped with my 30-30.

[TXGunNut]

AA2520 worked with the 180 and the 220 gr bullets. Might want to try a mag. primer with the LVR. Helped with my 30-30.

First I've heard of that, seems I have some around. LVR is a very complex powder, makes sense. Switched back to the RP 9 1/2 from the Fed GMM to save the match primer for more serious work. Saw some 9 1/2M's in primer box, no idea what they're doing in there. Plenty of Fed LR Mag primers as well. Interesting. Thanks!

[TXGunNut]

Same thing happened to me. 2 redfields in 2 months back to back on my whelen. Paid the difference for a leupold vari x2 3x9....no more problems. I've always used leupold and now i remember why. Hate that happened to you. At least it was at the range and not a hunting trip.

I dunno, that rifle missed last season because of that scope. Didn't know you've already been down this road. I've only been using Leupolds for a few years but I had high hopes for this Redfield. Very disappointing. A scope in this price range shouldn't have problems like this, a centerfire rifle scope in any price range shouldn't have these problems.