.35 Caliber Speer Bullets?

[tanoose]

Anyone use the speer .358 dia  220 grain bullet in there 358 winchester or 35 remington. I've been wanting to give them a try, i have a box to load up and wanted some opinions on this bullet.  I'll be using a 358 in a BLR and the 35 Rem is a Marlin 336SC . Both with 20" barrels. Thanks Tanoose

[crash87]

While I haven't used them in a 358 Win I have used them successfully in a .350 Rem mag. A number of Deer and one black bear fell to this bullet and I see no reason to change. I also use there 250 grain in my .35 Whelen. They hit with authority and just plain work. I've never had an issue with their accuracy either. My 350 mag is a Remington 673 and my Whelen is a '95 Winchester. I also, have a 35 Remington in a 336SC,  I've never tried the 220's in it, preferring to stick with 200gr as I really don't think I case capacity would give me the velocities to make the bullet work as well as a 200 ,and ,I don't really think I will, considering I have other 35's to take care of what ever might be on the menu. Go ahead and give 'em a try, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
                                                                                 CRASH87

[rickt300]

What powder are you going to use with the 220 Speer? Keep me aprized of your results as I have been eyeing those bullets for a while now.

[tanoose]

Rick i will be doing alot of shooting next weekend  with the sierra 225 SBT and the speer 220 i'll be using compressed loads of Winchester 748 and IMR3031  with both these bullets  , Varget will also be tested with the sierras. Both the 748 and 3031 have given me outstanding accuracy with the hornady 200's and 250's ( also the remington 's)  If i can get the same accuracy with the 225's and the 220's  i will choose one of these  next weekend to use this fall on deer and bear If for some reason i cant then i'll stick with the hornady 250 RN for this fall. I'll post my results next week.

[rickt300]

Since I had my Whelen built I have decided to use the heavier bullets in it. I did test both the Speer and Hornady 250 grain bullets in my 358 and the Speer came out the clear winner though groups of just under two inches are fine for just about anything. I am going to hunt both Texas and Oklahoma this year and on either leases the 358 is perfect.

[tanoose]

I bought my 358 BLR  in December just after i sold my 35 Whelen to my brother. the whelen was in a Remington 750 semi and the only reason i sold it was that i couldn't shake the fear of a possible jam , plus i wanted something light and handi and the blr is just 7 pounds with scope.That 35 whelen chrony at 2370 with Remington factory 250 grain bullets , that's just 40 FPS under there claim and the rifle functioned perfectly.Just as accurate as any of my 30/06's . iIt's what got me to switch over to the 35's. Just last month my brother gave me a marlin 336 in 35 Remington , this will become my backup rifle. I think some day I'll get another whelen but in a bolt action .

[rickt300]

My scheme was to build a358 bolt rifle being used to the somewhat muzzle heavy and well triggered custom Mausers I have hunted with for years. Though I like my BLR getting used to the long trigger pull is taking some time. I happen to have a commercial M98 in standard length so Ibought a 35 Whelen Adams and Bennet barrel for it and it really turned out well.

[Lone Star]

Be careful, some .358" bullets are too tough to expand well at .35 Remington velocities.  An excellent .358" bullet performance study can be found here:
http://www.marlinowners.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=7180&highlight=


.

[WyoStillhunter]

Yes.  I've loaded them in both 35 Rem. and .35 Whelen, but only used them on whitetails out of the Whelen.

I think the 220s are too tough to expand well at the velocities I am willing to get out of my Marlin levergun in 35 Rem.  The 200 gr. bullets are all I need for that gun.

I consider the 220 in the Whelen about like a 165 in an '06 -- an effective compromise.  Just for deer I like the 200 better, and the 250 for elk.

Here is an interesting website for all you 35 caliber fans

http://www.35cal.com/

[GradyL41]

that is a very good site for 35's--personally I have the 200 very expandable - I shoot them at 2400 to about 2500 and they work well on the deer I have used them on as do Seirra 225, Remington 200's -- have taken deer out to 245 long steps with the 200 PSPCL
and the same bullet worked well at 30 yards