Need opinions on the discontinued .358 dia. 225gr Ball. Tip

[350JR]

Results shouldnt be TOO far off.
Minor glitch where the dummy round wont QUITE let the bolt close so the Redding dies are going back to the smith for a minor shave.
Probably could have done that locally but .....Ive started with one gunsmith and Id rather stick with the same one till the project is done but it wont be long now.
Rifle is done and will be coming back with the dies next week.
God Bless
Steve

 

[FOTIS]

Good this project has peaked my interest indeed.

 

[DrMike]

This should be very interesting. I have no doubt that it will work marvellously for deer. Indiana has spawned a new round.

 

[350JR]

It's kind of a toss up.
Sometimes I wish I would have contacted PT&G and had a reamer worked up with a little less body taper and a sharper shoulder but I also I think Ive been reading too many wildcat threads *grin*

It is what is it and I went with simple and inexpensive by knocking back the shoulder and trimming the 350 RM with only a rough idea of what I'd end up with since I'm not any kind of ballistician......even a poor one. A bit of math background and a few decades of reloading tossed in some help but it obviously wasnt a GREAT idea or someone would have already done so.

I think one of the reasons it hasn't is because about 3/4 of the people Ive yakked with have never heard of a 350 Rem mag. Kind of threw me for a loop the first few times I heard that. LOL!

I'm sure there are slightly "better" options but this was the one I came up with that I felt would be equivalent to a 358 Win and not take a truckload of work and money to get there.........AND was most easlily completed in the rifle I wanted to begin with. The 700 Rem.

Believe me, I've followed every 358 wildcat thread I could find for several months. There is some kind of "goal" being set by a few to reach 3000 fps with a 180 gr bullets. While there is no doubt that would be great, I for one find no particular "need" for such. (Especially disliking the extremes to get there)

With a L O N G shot here being about 250 yards, the 358 Winchester with a hot loaded 225 grain bullet would knock the slobbers out of anything in the deer family....at least IMHO. Matching it was a goal.

Just last night I had a regular from a site from our home state ask me "what was the point of making a wildcat then putting a 225 grain bullet in it....reducing trajectory". I only pointed him at the JMB trajectory page and told him to run what loads and bullets he wished and see if he found a reason I think I'd prefer the 225 grain bullet. I could be wrong BUT.....I think it will do what I require of it, and then some.

A buddy told me I should have kept my mouth shut till done with several loads ran with a few bullets but......IVE BEEN A BIT EXCITED!!

Time will tell.
Many thanks to those offering suggestions on loads and these bullets!
God Bless
Steve

 

[DrMike]

It is hard not to be excited when the project is yours. Frankly, I think it is cool that you had the perspicuity to try this. I'm pulling for a successful build.

 

[IdahoCTD]

I just talked to a guy about a muzzle brake for his .450 Bushmaster and he said they raised the cartridge length to 1.8" this year. He also said there were several versions of .35 cal. rifles being built all over the state. Good luck with your round Steve.

PS I think if I lived there I'd do a .35 on a shortened .338 Lapua case . It would be like a giant 6BR.

 

[350JR]

I just talked to a guy about a muzzle brake for his .450 Bushmaster and he said they raised the cartridge length to 1.8" this year. He also said there were several versions of .35 cal. rifles being built all over the state. Good luck with your round Steve.

PS I think if I lived there I'd do a .35 on a shortened .338 Lapua case . It would be like a giant 6BR.

Actually?...........I gave that thought a lot of time.

The donor rifle with that bolt face size or replacing the current bolt with a bolt of that bolt face PLUS the cost of BRASS......kinda kicked it to the corner in a hurry. Never mind getting DIES made!

Even if I wanted that kind of investment in one, common sense for MY USE also puts it on the back burner but hot dang would that be NEAT.

I did hear where one guy is building a 35 cal off a shortened 340 Weatherby. I guess I'm not power hungry enough? lol

With a little neck turning, I literally can use any belted mag round to form the 350JR. There will always be some around. 338 LM brass gives me goose bumps just looking at the price.

I even picked up a couple 338 LM brass to compare.

 

[350JR]

I am not afraid to add too that the GOAL here is to efficiently take whitetail and maybe a muley and an elk before I leave this rock...........and was NOT to do so with a rifle I didnt enjoy shooting much due to recoil.

I think the 35/338LM short calculated out to around 80 grains total capacity.

The price of a couple hundred 338LM brass cost more than the entire project did with my gunsmith so it was a "no brainer" for me not to go that route.

God Bless

 

[IdahoCTD]

I did hear where one guy is building a 35 cal off a shortened 340 Weatherby. I guess I'm not power hungry enough? lol

A .340 Weatherby when shortened to the same length as yours (1.8") is the same as your case. They are both belted magnums. The parent case doesn't matter when your cutting it down to 1.8"

Lapua brass is expensive but it last forever. It's not uncommon to get 15+ reloads on a Lapua case. So it can actually be cheaper in the long run compared to Remington brass.

 

[350JR]

My mistake then ...it must have been the .378 weatherby......(oops) because I knew it was the larger bolt face. I got that far looking at it and passed on reading more.

Sorry

This is a copy and paste. I was off on the round. Not much of a Weatherby man and really wasnt aware of the two sizes. Thanks. I thought they all were just big cannons lol

"Re: Deer rifle
Post by rname on Aug 31, 2012, 5:56pm

S M I in Hartford City IN is making a 358 D&R Mag it is made from a 378 weatherby case.
It will get 3000 fps at 52000 psi and 3200 at 61000 psi"