35 Remington light loads

I did some load development using 148gn bullets on this thread

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...48gn-wadcutter-load-experimental-load.777265/

I would say that the biggest issue with doing so is the brass, which is hard to come by and expensive. I just bought 100 cases from Cabela's (sale on Hornady brass) and it is spendy. But since I have a pile of factory full house hunting rounds, light 158 grain loads are expressly what I bought the brass for. Hopefully it is good for a lot of trips through the press. Just have to finish playing with my 44 mag load development.

With Unique or Universal I can easily get .357 Magnum velocities with 158 gr coated lead bullets (about 1500 fps). With a microgroove barrel, you will probably have to load a little lighter because groups start to really open up when you get too fast. You will find "10 gr of Unique" to be the magic "gallery" load listed in a lot of places, and I found that to be pretty close. I worked up from about 7 gr until the groups starting opening up. Originally used Unique (hate the way it measures) and when that was gone switched to Universal which seems better in every way. Others like Trail Boss. I haven't tried it for .35 Rem but liked it in .38 Special and there is no way you can double charge, as you can with Unique or Universal.

I've found that with the Unique/Universal loads I can just neck size, at least for 2-3 reloading which is as far as I've gone to date. That makes reloading faster and easier and should make the brass last much longer. I did special order a .002" undersized mandrel for the neck sizer because I wasn't getting enough neck tension on the .357 Mag bullets, and I ordered a Lyman M-die in .35 Rem for seating the lead bullets. One thing I did have a little problem with was the short leade in my Marlin's chamber. The SWC bullets from Missouri Bullets jammed in the rifling when crimped in the crimp groove. The MBC 158 gr RNFP works great. I wanted to use the 180 gr RNFP but it was too long as well.

The Marlin is really fun to shoot with these gallery loads and reloading costs only slightly more than reloading .357, not counting the cost of brass.

Skinnedknuckles said:

The MBC 158 gr RNFP works great.

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Do you use the crimp grove and are you using a heavy crimp? The reason I ask is this sounds like fun and I think I'm going to try it. My particular 336 is from the early 80s I think it has microgroves not sure to be honest as I really don't use it at all, quite honestly I never get it out but I'm looking for a use for it and this might be the excuse.

thomas15 said:

Do you use the crimp grove and are you using a heavy crimp? The reason I ask is this sounds like fun and I think I'm going to try it. My particular 336 is from the early 80s I think it has microgroves not sure to be honest as I really don't use it at all, quite honestly I never get it out but I'm looking for a use for it and this might be the excuse.

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I use a Lee collet type Factory Crimp Die and I crimp in the groove. Just do a feeding test with dummy loads before you load up too many(ask me how I know). Since I have very good neck tension using the undersize mandrel, and since it isn't exactly a heavy recoiling load, I use a moderate crimp to further extend case life. I probably shoot 10 gallery rounds for every full power round I shoot, especially since I don't hunt. I'm going to try it at a silhouette match to see if it has enough power to know over the targets.

As far as Microgrooving is concerned, I'm getting plenty of velocity for what I'm trying to do before the group starts to open up, so it isn't an issue for me. I'm looking for moderately accurate, comfortable to shoot, plinking ammo, not 100 yd tack driving or elk killing so I'm happy with what I have.

I used the hard cast version (#1 Ranger) sized to .358", their standard. Corresponding with them, they suggested I might get better accuracy using the softer pistol version (Cowboy #15) for better obduration and grip in the groove, but I haven't re-ordered yet but I'll buy them when I do re-order. You can also special order them sized to .359" at no extra charge with a minimum order of 1000 bullets. I always buy the coated bullets. Don't forget MBC offers a THR member discount.

Here is some very interesting reading on light loads in lever guns. http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm and http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm.

A plethora of low level loads for Lever Guns:

http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm

Great responses thank you!

One other question if I may. The 35 Remington is a bottleneck case but does it headspace at the rim same as other bottlenecks? Are standard dies for this caliber applying a taper crimp or roll crimp? I don't want to assume anything.

I load all Belted/rimed cases just like a std bottle neck cartridge. Setting the shoulder back 0.001-0.002" to get maximum life out of the brass. I don't crimp any of my rifle rounds except those tubular magazine fed.

Ttrl

thomas15 said:

One other question if I may. The 35 Remington is a bottleneck case but does it headspace at the rim same as other bottlenecks? Are standard dies for this caliber applying a taper crimp or roll crimp? I don't want to assume anything.

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Since it is a rimmed case, I assume it headspaces on the rim, not the shoulder like modern rimless bottleneck cartridges. I have Lee dies and the Lee Factory Crimp Die is a collet type die which performs a radial crimp (they call it a "segmented straight crimp" http://leeprecision.com/reloading-dies/rifle-dies/factory-crimp-die/). It is neither a taper nor a roll crimp. I have seen RCBS dies for other calibers and they appeared to have a roll crimp built into the seating die, similar to revolver dies, but I don't know if that is standard.

A little further explanation to my earlier post. I have a Lee neck size only die that I use for cases I have shot as gallery loads in my rifle, since they fit the case gauge. I also have a full length resizing die for resizing brass either for full power loads or to add to my brass for gallery loads. In both cases, for gallery loads with lead bullets, the mandrels are about .002" undersized from standard. I then use a Lyman M-type neck expanding die where the mandrel is also undersized, since I am using bullets for .357 Magnum and not .35 Rem., instead of a flare die in preparation for seating a lead bullet. Case prep for me is to de-cap, neck size or full length resize, and prime operating single stage in my Lee Classic Turret press, after cleaning.

For loading gallery loads, I have a Lee 4-hole turret press turret set up with the Lyman die, a Lee Rifle Charging Die mounted with a Lee Auto Disk Powder Measure, a Lee Seating Die, and a Lee FCD. Starting with a primed case, in four pulls of the handle I have a loaded round ready to go, almost like loading pistol cartridges. I could not do this with Unique because I could not get it to meter well enough, but Universal meters great.

.35 Rem is rimless and headspaces on the shoulder...

Bump the shoulder too far, and you may experience misfires...

'Standard' .35 Rem dies I have seen are roll crimp...

I apologize for writing "rim" when I meant to say "shoulder" post #10. Sorry for that.

Skinnedknuckles said:

For loading gallery loads, I have a Lee 4-hole turret press turret set up with the Lyman die, a Lee Rifle Charging Die mounted with a Lee Auto Disk Powder Measure, a Lee Seating Die, and a Lee FCD. Starting with a primed case, in four pulls of the handle I have a loaded round ready to go, almost like loading pistol cartridges.

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Ok but I only have an RCBS Rockchucker, RCBS turret press and a Hornady LNL progressive on my bench for this project. I'm planning to use the RC for 35 REM. Also an RCBS Charge Master to meter powder and RCBS FL die set. I'm also planning on using some homemade loading blocks and plastic MTM cartridge boxes for storage. I use a Lyman universal lathe style case trimmer and an RCBS Trim Mate (110 volt) with Lyman cutters and Hornady case lube with an RCBS "ink pad" for applying the lube. I will probably use my RCBS bench primer tool and primer flip tray and pick up tubes. Should I plan on budgeting for a Lee 4 hole turret press, Lee (and/or Lyman) dies and Lee powder measure and I guess Lee case prep tools and priming tools? I know it was a mistake not getting Lee in the first place but I'm hard in the head. Hopefully I can make due with what I have but believe me it's a bitter pill but I'm a man and can take it. I do have a Lee case tumbler and Lee calipers though.

thomas15 said:

I apologize for writing "rim" when I meant to say "shoulder" post #10. Sorry for that.

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And I apologize for mixing up .35 Rem and .30-30 (rimless - rimmed). To many cartridges.

Went to the range today because I had replaced the "sight through" high rings with Weaver bases and medium height rings and needed to re-sight in the scope. Hazy, hot, humid, and windy day so not ideal but got the job done. Shot 10 rounds to get sighted in and checked, then shot 10 more without adjustment to check for consistency. Given the conditions, and I didn't try to cool the barrel (great excuses, huh?) I was pretty happy with the results and it is a lot of fun to shoot. Also included a couple of pictures of the reloads so you can see the factory crimp. Looking closely, I think I let it get a little longer than intended, so I'll seat them a little deeper next time.

Skinnedknuckles, what powder and charge did you use? That looks like minute of rabbit/coyote to me.

Or, you can order a chamber adapter from http://mcace.com/ to shoot 38/357 in your 35 Rem.

brewer12345 said:

Skinnedknuckles, what powder and charge did you use? That looks like minute of rabbit/coyote to me.

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First, a word from our sponsors: CAUTION: The following post includes loading data beyond currently published maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The High Road, nor the staff of THR assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.

I am loading 10.6 gr Universal, which is what I yield from the 1.18 cc hole in my Lee Auto Disk. I found the group opening up when I went to the next hole. I have not chronographed this load, but when I was loading 10 gr of Unique I was getting about 1475 fps. Given that this load shoots to a slightly higher POI I think it may be just a bit faster. Put in perspective, 15 gr of H110 under a 158 gr plated bullet out of my 20" barrel .357 Rossi M92 gets me about 1700 pfs, so we aren't pushing the envelop very far. I definitely think it could be a good small varmint load, and I think it is better than this target shows. However, I just like to shoot the Marlin and this lets me do it and feel good about the results without a lot of cost or wear and tear on me or the gun. Don't get me wrong, I love to shoot the Rossi too, but the Marlin just feels great.

Much obliged. I just want a load I can use to pop a rabbit if the deer do not show up. Might be worth starting with trail boss given your velocities.

I saw a old (very old) Remington Model 8 at my LGS last week. Chambered in .35 rem. I bet that rifle had slayed many a whitetail during it's years of service.

As far as brass goes, midway has Hornady in stock and on sale! Better get you a few boxes

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/728060/hornady-reloading-brass-35-remington-box-of-50

I have a Rem Model 14 pump in 32 Rem. How hard is it to decrease the 35 Rem to 32 Rem other than just enough Unique or Sinclair lube ? I have about 115 once fired and new un-primed empties. Yes I have fire formed 60 of the cases to my chamber with Trail Boss and un-crimped bullets that were loaded about 20 thousands too long to force the case head against the bolt. So if it is not too much trouble to reduce the 35 to a 32, I know how to fire form.

brewer12345 said:

Much obliged. I just want a load I can use to pop a rabbit if the deer do not show up. Might be worth starting with trail boss given your velocities.

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I think Trail Boss is great, I just haven't gotten around to trying it in .35 Rem yet. I'd be interested in hearing about your experience.