.35 Remington - Have I Lost My Mind?

Get the Buffalo Bore .35 Remington 220 grain bullets and you'll be giving up very little to a .356 Winchester which is just a hair behind the .358 Win.
 
I have been around this block a few times so will relate my experience with 336 in 35 Rem using pistol bullets.

Sierra .357 180 gr FPJ Match which is a flat nose handgun bullet. Note this bullet and the Sierra 158 gr are listed in Sierra loading manuals for the 358 Winchester and the 35 Whelen loadings.

First off you have to load the bullet LONG as seating it to the cannelure will allow two rounds to be released from the mag tube with the lifter in the pre carry up position. Thusly read the OAL of the 35 Rem and load it accordingly.

Next I figured out the factory chamber for 35 Rem has almost no throat and the 357 bullets jammed into rifling as bolt went into barrel seating the bullets back a goodly amount. This is OK if you are never going to unload your rifle and attempt put that round back in the feed tube because if you do you will get the double load scenario mentioned above.

To cure this I have a 35 cal throater reamer and I put it on a long T handle and "throated" it out to where the full length load 180 gr bullet would just contact rifling with bolt in battery which works very well.

My load is 38 gr. 4895. Cost of reloading is probably 75% less than buying 200 gr. factory ammo which I also noticed was available in 150 gr. loadings.

Bottom line is you can load pistol bullets in 35 Rem cases and they will work and work even better after a bit of throating.
 
That's great info on pistol bullets in the 35 Remington. And like I said, I do miss my old 35, but if I had it I probably would rarely use it. The 260 seems to be just exactly what I need at this location in the country and at my age. Location-wise, I have pigs, coyote, and small Central Texas deer. My 270 works for all that just fine. My 220 Swift is only good for the coyotes. The 260 (my Ruger Compact) is light and handy, has little recoil, and shoots pretty darn good. I've blasted pigs out to 400 yards and coyote at the same distance. Dropped a coyote just an afternoon or two out at 250 and shot those 'two out of three' pigs at 250 while they were trotting. Can't do all that with the 35 Remington. Surely I could do it with the 270, but that old Sako is long and heavy. Yes, a compact 260 is just what I've needed, and it's getting plenty of use. My 35 would just be a safe queen.
 
The mighty 35 Remington has been knocking over big game animals since about 1908. That's over 100 years of success! It's a lethal killer because of very good accuracy and tremendous bullet performance. The 200 grain round nose is designed specifically for this cartridge's velocity and energy. The bullet factories figured out optimal jacket thickness and taper long long ago. No other cartridge shares this bullet. I hunted with an older Remington slide action rifle in 35 back when USAF assigned me to Wurtsmuth AF Base, Michigan. Every deer went down quickly, and stayed down for keeps.

Some compare the 35 Remington to 30-30. But I think its more reasonable to compare it to 300 Savage or .308 performance at typical forest hunting distances.

Good hunting to you.

Jack

760a.jpg
 
I bought my Marlin 336 in .35 Rem in October and am absolutely thrilled with it. I haven't loaded any pistol bullets in it yet but intend to try it eventually. I also plan to try cast bullets in it but that's a project for later on down the road. I don't find recoil excessive, although it's not much fun shooting off the bench for sighting in, off hand recoil is negligible for me. I find my Mosin Nagant to be much more punishing with the steel butt plate. I like the older rifles pre cross bolt safety which to me looks out of place on the rifle YMMV. Reasonably priced rifles in .35 Rem can be found here for under $400 but you'll have to shop around for one, they may be harder to come by in your area. I have absolute confidence in the rifle/cartridge combo out to 200yds. I sure with appropriate ammo you could reach out further but with iron sights I'm not sure I could and alas I have no where locally to practice such shots so I wouldn't attempt it.

Stu
 
I hunted with an older Remington slide action rifle in 35 back when USAF assigned me to Wurtsmuth AF Base, Michigan. Every deer went down quickly, and stayed down for keeps.
Click to expand...

Hey, Jack, I found your comments especially interesting in that I killed my first deer in 1964 while also stationed at the Wurtsmith SAC base, just outside of Oscoda, Michigan. I used a Winchester Model 100 rifle, chambered in .308, to get my whitetail.
As you no doubt know, the base has been gone now for a couple of decades or so. I still get back a couple of times a year to fish for smallmouths and northerns in the Au Sable River "ponds" (I often camp there at the Old Orchard park) and to salmon fish in Lake Huron, out of the marina in Oscoda. Much has changed over the last fifty years...:(
 
I have never owned a 35 Rem,but by reputation .ordinarily,I would support it as a very good choice for a deer hunting round.

There were some other factors that seemed important to you that stand out to me.

You want occasional capability for 300 yd shots.

You want the ammo to be readily available.

You want the option to download/subload with handgun bullets.

I can fit the .308 to all of your parameters pretty darn well.From 32 acp,30 Luger,30 carbine,a raft of cast bullet options,and rifle bullets from 110 gr on up...Do what makes you happy,its an option.
 
I would agree that the .308 Win would be a better choice for 300yd shots, but if it's not a common thing the better option might be to try to get a little closer. With the new Hornady Leverevolution ammo a 300yd shot now becomes a possibility but you will definitely need to practice those shots before you shoot at a critter. At shots 200yds and under the .35 Rem should drop them in their tracks.

Stu
 
35 Rem

Great caliber at 100 to 150 yds. Super woods gun for deer. I have whacked a lot of deer with my 7600 in 35. :D
 
Mr O'Conner is dead on. The 336 in .35 is a hammer in the deer woods. Ive been blessed to be able to kill alot of deer with alot of different calibers. The old .35 Remington does as good as any and better than most at typical deer hunting ranges. The 200 grain round nose and FTX loads have put every deer and hog Ive shot with them, down hard.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top