.35 Rem in Contender question

[jpsmith1]

I've got a .35 rem barrel that occasionally misfires.  (About 1 in 20 rounds or so).  The next hammer drop will set the round off.  I've heard that there has been problems with .35 Rem barrels on the T/C, but I was wondering.

Can I use Large Pistol Magnum Primers?  I'm not too sure about the different pressures involved and the upper limits of the .35 rem cartridge VS. the limits of the LPM primer.  I'm pretty sure that they're easier to crack and thats what I'm after.

[Graybeard]

Can you maybe but I'd not. It's not the primer at fault really but the way TC made the barrels. Many of them are far worse than failing to fire one of twenty times. I"ve have two that were not even 50% with factory or reloads. I've had one that was 100% with all ammo even the 150 or so I had tossed back over the years that failed to fire in my other barrels. It sounds like you have one of the better ones if it only fails 1 of 20 tries really.

Since you're talking changing primers that means you're reloading. The really best solution is to use a .375 die to open it up a bit and then run it into the .35 Rem die making dang sure NOT to set that shoulder you just made possible back too far. That likely will make it a 100% reliable barrel.

[Nobade]

Another solution that I used was to cut the barrel for a rimmed case, and make them out of .303 Brit or 30-40 brass. That way you have positive headspace control, and can use reduced loads if you like without setting the shoulder back and increasing headspace. While you're at it cut a decent throat in that barrel and it'll shoot way better as well.

[Darrell Davis]

Morn'in!

Reading the first post in this topic, my thoughts went to head space.  Therefore, I would agree with Graybeard's comments about taking care NOT to set the shoulder back when sizing.

I owned a .35 Rem. barrell and never, I repeat NEVER, had a missfire in that barrel.

I also had case life so good you'd probably accuse me of streaching the truth if I told you the number of times fired.

But, I have made it a practice for years to not over size my brass.  All bottle neck cases INCLUDING belted cases must head space on the shoulder with minimum clearence if anything like good brass life is to be expected.

With the small shoulder of the .35, this is doubly important both to case life and relyable ignition.

I followed the directions for setting up sizing dies as a young reloader and my brass life was the pits in a 7mm mag.

It didn't take me long to discover the directions needed to be taken with a grain of salt as "full length" resizing in many cases - depending on chamber and die dementions - quickly ended up as excessive resizing.

The above may sound "off the subject", but the miss fires still sound like a case length/head space problem to me, rather then a barrel or caliber problem.

Just IMHO.

Keep em coming! 

[Lloyd Smale]

For hunting in any conterdor i use once fired brass and neck size only. Like was already said id about bet your pushing the shoulder back to far for your chamber.

[jpsmith1]

I wished that I had read this about an hour ago.  I just resized a batch of cases and probably screwed them up, too.  Never thought about headspace.

I have been thinking about having this barrel rechambered to .358 JDJ.  Not many options in .35 cal.

[jhalcott]

That was my decision (rechamber to .358 JDJ) also. Be aware that there is a quantum jump in recoil doing this. My barrel is ground hog accurate. Brutish recoil prevents me from shooting more than a dozen rounds a day thru it though! 200 grain bullets will drop deer instantly at ranges beyond 200 yards. Heavier slugs do NOT really increase the range, but DO increase the recoil.

[jpsmith1]

jhalcott is opening new territory and a question that I had.  Is there an easy way to 'try before you buy'?  I'd like a true 'hand-cannon' type contender on the order of a .358 or .375 JDJ or a 45-70.  Something BIG!  The problem is that I'm a little concerned about recoil.  I understand that these things are going to kick, but am I getting in over my head?

My Super 14" .35 and a 10" .30-30 are probably the biggest T/Cs that I've shot.  I've shot .44s and .45 Ruger level handloads with no real problems and actually enjoy shooting my Ruger Bisley with full-tilt loads.  The thing that I really don't like about pistol recoil in general is the 'snap'  A buddy's M-629 is a good shooting gun and a lot of fun, but I put it away after 20-30 full power loads because my wrists start to get sore.

What I want to avoid is buying a barrel and a box of ammo, shooting it once or twice and putting it in the classifieds a week later and taking a big loss on it.

[Graybeard]

I can shoot hundreds of rounds per day thru S&W .44 Magnums with no problem. I can handle the .454 Casull with all loads easily in a Taurus RB and same for my RB .480 Ruger. The FA83 in .454 Casull starts to get to me with iron sights and really max loads with heavy bullets.

The .358 JDJ was more than I could deal with. Now be aware I have a bone spur or calcium deposit or something on the inside of my right thumb at the base and the recoil of that .358 hurts it so badly I just can't take it.

I tried it first without a brake and it raised so far off the bags and twisted so badly my arthritic wrists just couldn't deal with it. I had it braked by SSK and it didn't rise off the bag at all and no twist but it all came back into my palm so hard it was just too painful for me.

Only you can decide if you can deal with it. Most folks can unless they have specific problems like I do that prevents it.

[jhalcott]

  like Bill ,I have some medical/physical problems. I had a Vais brake installed on my 358 jdj. I can shoot it a lot more than before the brake .After 15-20 full house loads my hands tremble for a day or 2. I already have very accurate loads for it, so I only need to verify sights with a few shots .I only take a couple shots on deer ,usually NOT on the same day,so I wouldn't even consider selling it. It DOES come in handy when some range slob sprays empties on me from his autoloader. 3 shots and they usually pack up and go SOME WHERE else