Author Topic: .35 Remington Rimmed? (Read 1109 times)

spinafish · « **on:** July 12, 2005, 03:13:29 AM »

I am considering the purchase of a Contender barrel in .35 Rem. I know the round has a mixed reputation in the Contender, because of headspacing problems and the fact it is not a rimmed cartridge. I have seen somewhere we 'smith cut a rim recess, and the loader forms a .35 Rem rimmed. What cartridge is used to make this round? Is the conversion worth the trouble and expense? Any experience with this round that could be shared would be appreciated.. Thanks.

RonF · « **Reply #1 on:** July 12, 2005, 04:05:58 AM »

The parent cartridge for the .35 Rem. rimmed is the .30-40 Krag. I don't know if it's worth it; I've owned two .35 Rem. barrels and both were excellent shooters with no missfire problems. I think proper sizing is the key to that. That said, the .35 Rem. rimmed wouldn't be hard to form.

RonF

KN · « **Reply #2 on:** July 12, 2005, 04:45:29 AM »

I'm with RonF on this one. I believe the 35 rem is getting a bad reputation due mainly to sloppy reloading. I've been shooting one for 20 yrs and the only misfires I ever had were caused by neck sizing for a contender. My fault for not setting the shoulder back enough and making it hard to chamber. Stoped neck sizing and started full length sizing and have never had another problem. KN

RWD · « **Reply #3 on:** July 12, 2005, 05:13:13 AM »

I suppose the only real benefit to using rimmed brass, if you are a handloader and have no misfire problems, is the ease of extraction of the cases. No spring loaded extractor to fiddle with, 'specially with gloved hands, or in need of a quick follow-up shot.
An avid poster here by the name of KYODE is in the process of having a rim counterbore cut as this is being written. He is trying 303 brass to start.

mkee · « **Reply #4 on:** July 12, 2005, 07:11:16 AM »

Why not just get a 358 JDJ. Based on the 444 marlin, easy to form and load, and it's a hammer on game. I love mine.
Mkee

KN · « **Reply #5 on:** July 12, 2005, 07:14:26 AM »

After thinking about this a while, Why not just opt for a 357 max barrel? Seems the ballistics are within a couple of hundred fps and would be easier to load for. KN

spinafish · « **Reply #6 on:** July 12, 2005, 08:33:14 AM »

Actually, I would prefer a .357 Max, but the barrel I'm looking at is only $135.00! and I can't seem to find a Max barrel anywhere..especially at $135! I like the challenge! I have a .414 Super Mag that will probably do whatever the .35 Rem can do as far as killing critters goes..but I do like to try new and different chamberings. Thanks for the replies..

K2 · « **Reply #7 on:** July 12, 2005, 08:33:30 AM »

KN

There is soooooo many good cartridges already out there, unless you just need to be different (and that is certainly fine ;~) you are better off going with a proven performer.

In North America for Big Game the 30-06, 45-70, and the 375HH will do anything needed and they are all around 100 years old or more (45-70)!

In handgunning the JD series pretty well got all the gains worth chasing and the 7-30 and 35 rem. can handle the needs of those who are looking for factory type ammo.

Quote from: KN

After thinking about this a while, Why not just opt for a 357 max barrel? Seems the ballistics are within a couple of hundred fps and would be easier to load for. KN

Graybeard · « **Reply #8 on:** July 12, 2005, 11:32:14 AM »

You guys who think the TC .35 Rem. barrels are getting a bum rap due to sloppy reloading just do not have a very in depth experience with such barrels. I've owned and worked with a bunch of them and 75% of them will not even fire factory ammo half the time. It is NOT a reloading problem, it's a TC factory problem.

When they are right they will shoot anything you toss in them. When they are wrong they will shoot darn little. The last one I bought was a SS 14" and it fired every thing I dropped in it. I had saved up at least 100 rounds of ammo that various other barrels had refused to fire. All had light primer indentations. Every single one of them I dropped in the SS barrel fired with no trouble.

The same ammo what gets a light primer hit with the TC barrels fires every time in a Marlin rifle.

Again if you think sloppy reloading is the problem you just do not understand the problem and haven't had a wide amount of experience with a bunch of these barrels. Some are good and some are only good to rechamber.

RWD · « **Reply #9 on:** July 12, 2005, 02:19:18 PM »

reloaders know it is a factory problem.....that is why the first round needs "fireformed...per se. After that, following proper reloading techniques, it will do ok. It's a way to turn a silks purse from a sows ear.

EdK · « **Reply #10 on:** July 12, 2005, 04:30:37 PM »

I've got a Virgin Valley 35 Rem that I'm happy with. I had the rim cut at the same time the barrel was made up so it didn't cost anything extra. They included both extractors. I get great numbers across the chrono from the Shilen blank they used - good accuracy too.

No misfires and a rim to hang on to - I like it!

KYODE · « **Reply #11 on:** July 12, 2005, 06:34:34 PM »

yep........my 14" 35rem factory barrel is at the local smith as we speak. hopefully it will be ready friday :?:
he is cutting the rim counterbore so it will work with 303british or 30-40krag brass. i have 150 rounds of 303's, so i'll see how they do.

i've toyed with makin a couple cases so far, and it looks as though it's gonna be fairly simple. PLUS, i'm kinnda lookin forward to makin brass from something else for the experience and enjoyment of reloading.

basically, you just run the 303 or 30-40 case into a 35 remington trim die, cut off the excess and then size in the standard 35rem size die. i'm waiting on my barrel to complete, so i can size the case to fit the chamber as best i can. the 303 brass will fireform a slight amount to fit the chamber exactly.

why a rimmed 35 remington? :? ........i want a powerful chambering thats packin a good heavy weight bullet(180-200gr) in a smaller size package(contender).......BUT still be reasonable in recoil and powder consumption. the rim will be kinnda nice for hunting/handling purposes, and i can hopefully match the case more closely to the chamber by setting the new shoulder where i want from the start. a factory win 200gr load sits below flush with the chamber end of this particular barrel. a federal factory round was closer to flush, but i didn't actually measure it. i had the feeling the chamber may be a lil long in this barrel. best i could tell, the die didn't even come close to the rimless cases shoulder. this means the brass was gonna have to stretch a great deal to form to the chamber length..............or at least was my thinkin.

i bought it....and didn't fire it to see if it misfired or not. it didn't matter to me that much. i just wanna work up loads one time in the new case, rather than try the rimless case first.

the 358 on the 444 case is definately more powerful. the price is in recoil and powder consumption.......and i'm not wantin to shoot the heaviest 35cal bullets, which the larger case would excel with.
the 357 max is an efficient lil bugger, but i want the lil extra(maybe 200fps :? ) from the larger case.......and still maintain recoil i think i can handle.

i'm enjoying this round already.......and have only begun

Edk..........can you share specifics on your barrel, loads, velocities, or brass you use etc for your 35rem rimmed from vvcg?.....thanks

EdK · « **Reply #12 on:** July 13, 2005, 04:26:18 PM »

All of the arguments offered thus far for everything besides the 35 Rem are valid in my opinion. That said here's my argument for having one: I wanted a scoped rig for a deer stand in the New Hampshire woods. The range is typically 25-75 yards and 100-125 yards would be considered long.

I had Virgin Valley make it up as 14.5" finished length barrel starting with a SS .358 bore Shilen hand lapped blank with a 1-14" twist. It has no sights however I had the muzzle end drilled, tapped and plugged just in case. At the breech it is set up with one of their CNC machined 6-hole bases with 3 rings (3 rings is probably overkill on a 35 Rem and I may one day fall back to two). It sports a Leupold silver 2x EER pistol scope.

The chamber seems to be cut properly. I understand they used a Dave Manson reamer. Chambering a Remington factory 200gr round the case head is 0.003" below flush at the chamber end. The primer is 0.008" below flush. Both of my Contender frames have a 0.002" breech gap with this barrel so the breech-to-case head dimension is about 0.005" and the primer 0.010". I've never seen a "bad" factory barrel but this seems way too tight for a misfire and I've never experienced one.

Of course I've also not fired too much factory ammo as the whole point was to create a rimmed round using 30-40 Krag brass. I set the headspace to minimum with the sizing die so the rim just settles into the counterbore fully. Dinking around with the Krag brass is a minor hassle however (1) most reloading manuals have you playing tricks with the standard brass to avoid headspace issues and (2) you do get a rim for your troubles. The specs for the Krag rim are 0.545" and the rim counterbore on the barrel is 0.555" giving me 0.005" clearance - seems good.

The barrel just shoots real good. I'm not claiming to be the greatest shot nor claiming this is the greatest barrel but it's just real consistent. It seems to be happy about anything I throw at it. It makes me think about one custom rifle I have or my FA revolver in that regard: they are precision machines that don't complain about whatever you feed them. I shoot Remington 150gr PSP, Hornady 180gr SSP and 200gr RN. They all shoot good. The barrel always produces anywheres from a few fps to as much as 100fps over published velocities with published max loads - I do not exceed them. Probably my favorite is a max or near max H322 charge behind a Hornady 180 SSP. This is a 2150 fps round and accurate too (this bullet has been faulted for failing to expand at lower velocities but 2150fps at muzzle will still be near 2000 fps at 100 yards).

I've had this barrel for around one year now and with all the other "options" have not used it successfully in the field as of yet. Maybe this fall will change all that.

Good luck Kyode and Spinafish -- EdK

cabezaverde · « **Reply #13 on:** August 08, 2005, 02:37:43 AM »

I have one that I picked up at a gun store where it had been sitting for years. Probably because it is a hand load only type of barrel. It is 12", and shoots great. I form my brass with 30-40.