Best Cast bullet cartridge case

[faraim]

I have an old Mauser action that I'm considering using in a cast bullet build. I'd like to make it a .35 caliber. It will feed and eject .35 Remington cartridges with no problems. I can also have it built into a .358 Winchester. I'd prefer one of these factory cases rather than a long necked .35 x 57mm wildcat. If any of you have experience with cast bullets in these cartridges, of thoughts, I'd love the information. Finally, I apologize if I've placed this question in the wrong place. Thanks.

[Outpost75]

Both cartridges would be good choices.

Of the two, I would favor the .358 Winchester because cases are easily formed from cheap and plentiful 7.62mm NATO or .308 Win. brass, whereas .35 Remington is more expensive and less plentiful.

[richhodg66]

Both cartridges would be good choices.

Of the two, I would favor the .358 Winchester because cases are easily formed from cheap and plentiful 7.62mm NATO or .308 Win. brass, whereas .35 Remington is more expensive and less plentiful.

Agreed, and as a side note, the .358 is a very easy one to get good performance out of cast in my experience.

[RU shooter]

Of the two you named I'd go with the 35 Rem . Since it already feeds well is a plus the 308 based ctgs don't alway feed well in a Mauser action that hasn't been tweaked a little . There's also the 35 Whelen that would work and should feed ok

[leadhead 500]

The 35 Remington with the RCBS 200-FN is a very accurate combo

[Mk42gunner]

The big question is just which Mauser action you have?

As much as I like my Whelen, I think the .358 Winchester is a better choice for cast, although I don't think you need the IIRC 12" twist. I built my Whelen with a 1-14" twist and it works fine for what I have used it for.

Some Mausers feed .308 based cases just fine, maybe they are the outlyers on dimensions?

Robert

[DonHowe]

I have an old Mauser action that I'm considering using in a cast bullet build. I'd like to make it a .35 caliber. It will feed and eject .35 Remington cartridges with no problems. I can also have it built into a .358 Winchester. I'd prefer one of these factory cases rather than a long necked .35 x 57mm wildcat. If any of you have experience with cast bullets in these cartridges, of thoughts, I'd love the information. Finally, I apologize if I've placed this question in the wrong place. Thanks.
Depends on which Mauser action and who will have the rifle after you.

[faraim]

My action is a 1937 S/243. It is a Mauser Borsigwalde action made in Berlin at the old DWM factory. I hope that's correct. My bolt is a mis matched Russian capture bolt. It has been d&t'd for scope bases so there is no collector's value and I hate to have it collecting dust. It feeds 22-250, 35 Remington and 308 with no problems, which is surprising to me. I have a commercial FN chambered in 243 the requires a two step feeding process to get the stubby cases into the chamber.

[Mk42gunner]

Okay, so its a pre WWII post WWI large ring 98 that feeds 308 cases well. This is all good.

I would go with the .358 Winchester, with a 14" twist. I really don't see the need for the SAAMI specced 12" twist, unless you are planning on shooting 300 grain bullets.

The mismatched bolt will be taken care of when the new barrel is headspaced.

If you want to make absolutely sure it will feed your desired cast boolit, you could make up a few dummies to check feeding from both sides of the magazine, although they won't fully chamber.

Good Luck,

Robert

[waksupi]

I had to do considerable fiddling to make a .308 based cartridge feed well from a Mauser action.

[405grain]

A couple of years ago I built two Mauser 98's in 308 caliber. The first one was a Czech 24/98 for my younger brother. It fed fine with no alterations to the feed rails. The second one was a Czech VZ-24 for myself. I had to alter the follower, the follower spring, and the feed rails to get it to feed smoothly. On both of the rifles I put a 1/4" spacer in the back of the magazine well. With a 98 receiver it's a hit or miss proposition if it will feed cartridges based off the 7.62x51 case without some gunsmithing.
As for the choice between the 35 Remington or the 358 Winchester, you can always load the 358 down to 35 Remington levels, but you can't bump the 35 Remington up to 358 Win. Cases for the 358 Win are more plentiful, usually less expensive, and can be reformed from other cartridges. While both cartridges can be loaded with pistol bullets for casual plinking, the 358 would be better at handling heavier bullets. The 358 Winchester has the correct case head diameter to fit the Mauser bolt face and extractor. While both are great cartridges, the 358 Winchester would (in my opinion) be better suited to a 98 Mauser for both function and performance.

[lar45]

The 35 Whelen has a longer neck. So if you have a bullet with a long shank, it and the gas check can all be contained in the neck.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I would choose the 358 Win, case availibilty and it can be a legitimate elk cartridge while the 35 Rem is just a little light for elk, yeah, I know you can kill 'em with a 30-30 or .243.
Since you have a 'full-length' Mauser action, cartridge length and seating depth can vary from the standard 2.78. I would go with a 1-14 twist, works fine for most bullets you normally shoot in the 358. Marlin 35's have a 1-16 twist. The 1-16 would probably work fine in a 358 Win for most shooting and maybe better than the 1-14 for cast. You can get to 2300+ fps with 358 and 250 grain bullets, you will notice the recoil if the rifle is light and handy. I run (my wife) runs a Savage 99 .358 with a 225 Partition at 2500 for elk, but it is not a fun load in the 8lb (with scope) rifle. It is great fun with 158gr SWC or RN at 1000fps or 200grFN gas checked at 1600+ for farther out practice.

[dverna]

I have been contemplating a .35 caliber cast rifle as well. I can get a .350 Legend for less than $300 after FFL fees:

https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperstore.com/products2.cfm/ID/223129?utm_source=112020&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=112020

But I really would prefer a .358 as I am heavily into .308 rifles and have plenty of brass to use.

There is a sale on at Cabela's I think. $240 for a Savage Axis with a crap scope I can sell for $40. Thinking about buying one in .308 and sending it to JES to have it rebored to .358 for $300. $500 seems like a reasonable investment. The JES rebores are well reviewed so not much risk wrt accuracy.

Looked at converting a Mil-surp and it made no sense to me. I know you already have the gun, but you can sell it for silly money right now to guys who love them. I am not talented enough to deal with feeding issues so the new gun is less risky for me.

Good luck with your conversion if you take that path. Just offering options for you to consider.

[frkelly74]

Neck up the 8mm to 35 cal or 9mm . It should feed as the original round did. Then you can make brass from 30/06 or 8mm or any of the cases with the same head diameter. I believe there are dies available for some 9 X 57 round so It's not too wild of a wildcat.

[mattri]

dverna- if you're looking at a Savage you can just rebarrel it yourself, very simple to do and the prechambered barrels are plentiful and inexpensive.

[waksupi]

The 35 Whelen has a longer neck. So if you have a bullet with a long shank, it and the gas check can all be contained in the neck.

I solved that by renting a reamer and lengthening the chambers to accommodate long bullets.

[waksupi]

Neck up the 8mm to 35 cal or 9mm . It should feed as the original round did. Then you can make brass from 30/06 or 8mm or any of the cases with the same head diameter. I believe there are dies available for some 9 X 57 round so It's not too wild of a wildcat.

Quite honestly, If I was starting with a 8X57, I would leave it as-is. I consider the chambering to be almost as good as the .358 Win, my only preference being weighed by the availability of .308 brass pretty much anywhere. Some areas may not have the 8mm cases in stock all the time.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Like waksupi said, if it is a good 8x57, I would just use it as is, usually 8x57 brass can be found and cutting down '06 brass has been done since after WW I. Same with throating to handle longer bullets.