Need advice on my 350 Rem classic

[Rifle Fan]

   I have a 350 Rem classic 700.  I bought it used for a little over $400.00 and it shoots very well with the factory 200 grain corelockts.  The problem is is that I have a soft spot for the 358 Win for what ever reason.  I just really want one.  I am ecstatic that ruger is chambering their hawkeye for 358 Win.  If I get rid of the 350 I'm going to kick myself down the road.  One of those deals.  I have been very fortunate in my rifle purchases and not one has disappointed me.
  I also have a hankering for a big bore pistol.  Perferably a 454 Casull in a Ruger Redhawk.  However, only have experience with my GP-100 357 Mag.  I do reload.  So what I am saying is is that I need to hear all the avenues to go about it.  I would hate to dump that 350.  Discuss....

[Graybeard]

I've always had a soft spot for a .358 Winchester but so far have never owned one. I've had a Whelan and your .350 Rem. Mag is the ballistic twin of the Whelan and about a 100-150 fps more than the .358 Winny. What one will do so will the other. Neither is truly superior to the other among the three. I've never been much of a belted magnum fan personally but guess it's really more because most are all about velocity and I'm not that much a fan of it. The .350 Remington probably makes more sense to me than the rest of them but I'd still rather it not have the belt.

The .454 Casull or .480 Ruger either are fine handgun hunting rounds. I don't think either has an real big advantage over the other. If you're a velocity nut the Casull is the way to go but those larger fatter and heavier chunks of lead from the .480 are more to my liking when I go above a .44 Magnum. I prefer the Raging Bull to the Ruger SRH tho. In an RB the Casull or .480 recoils about like the .44 Magnum in the SRH. I ended up selling my RB454 Casull and now have my RB480 at a shop on consignment to be sold. I guess in the end for what I do the .44 Magnum just wins out for me.

[Sourdough]

I have two .350 Rem Mags.  One is a Remington 600, it only shoots the 200gr bullets.  The other is a Ruger M-77, it shoots up to 250gr bullets due to a longer magazine.  I also have two .35 Whelens, A custom Mauser action and a Handi single shot.  All four guns are ballistically the same, shooting the same bullets, except the Remington.  I use them for bears and have all the confidence they will do what I expect of them.  They are devastating on Black Bears over bait where it is up close.

[The Gamemaster]

Not to be a smart arse here, but why do you have to get rid of one gun to buy the other?

A gun is a lifetime investment.

Save your money or get a job at McDonalds and earn the amount that you need to buy the new gun and you will appreciate it more than if all you did was some swaping.

If your old lady says that you can only have so many guns and you are at your limit.

Get a new old lady.

Tell her that they make newer models than her with a lot less mileage on them.

[BigJakeJ1s]

I agree with Gamemaster only to a point. Guns are a lifetime investment. I've never sold or traded one away, and have heard too many stories about guns whose former owners wish they'd never sold.

My dad always told me that if it is worth borrowing money for it (other than a house that increases in value), it is even more worth waiting until you can pay cash for it.

OTOH, if you have financial limitations now, consider the impact of a divorce settlement and attorney's fees on your future finances. There's a book out there about "The Millionaire Next Door" that profiles typical individuals with net worth over $1M. The most prominent attribute was still being married to the first wife.

Andy

[Rifle Fan]

I agree with Gamemaster only to a point. Guns are a lifetime investment. I've never sold or traded one away, and have heard too many stories about guns whose former owners wish they'd never sold.

My dad always told me that if it is worth borrowing money for it (other than a house that increases in value), it is even more worth waiting until you can pay cash for it.

OTOH, if you have financial limitations now, consider the impact of a divorce settlement and attorney's fees on your future finances. There's a book out there about "The Millionaire Next Door" that profiles typical individuals with net worth over $1M. The most prominent attribute was still being married to the first wife.

Andy

  I agree.  Lurking around on other forums as well as this one, there is too many people bummed out from selling something that shot acceptionally well and wishing they had it back.  Still I think it is amazing that Ruger is chambering for the 358 Win.  I hope Winchester ramps up production on 358 brass instead of once a year production runs.  Its funny; in the middle of the summer it comes out and it sure doesn't last.  In one week 358 brass was gone from Midway USA.  Got two 50 round bags.

[Sourdough]

I've sold two  guns in my lifetime, regret it every time I think about it.  One was a flattop Ruger Blackhawk, the other was an old 94 Winchester.  Don't know if it had come from the factory cut down like it was or if a gunsmith had done it, but it was done right.  18" barrel and a short stock.

[Country Boy]

 I too had a .350 Remington classic. two as a matter of fact. Then I bought a used .358 Win. and fell in love ! Mine are Browning blr81 with steel recievers.   I hunt black bear a lot and have shot them with almost everything. On bear at short range it will kill better than any lesser cal. recoil is nothing and I load them hot with .250 gr. speers I've killed bear fron 200 to over 500 lbs with a .358 and you don't have to track them ! The blr is also very handy in a tree stand.
  I've also used the .358 on deer with 200 grn hornady spt. it will do the job to 250 yds easily but you really don't need it for deer. It's a little over kill but no tracking required.
   A number of Big wild boar have also fallen to this rifle. Buy the .358, your shoulder will thank you and you give up little or nothing to the bigger guns at any reasonable range.

[rickt300]

When I bought my 358 I had already bought the components to build a 35 Whelen. The 358 is a nice round with a lot of punch and really is a good deer round also. I looked into other available 35 caliber rifles considered getting a 350 Remington mag instead of building the 35 Whelen. Mostly it's a brass issue as bothe the non belted cases are easily made from easily available brass. That said the 350 magnum is a fine cartridge. No help here I guess.

[fknipfer]

I have a 35 Whelen because it is 30-06 brass formed out for the 35 caliber.  Always will be 30-06 brass.  Ballistics between the 350 and the 35 Whelen are very close so one doesn't have a real advantage over the other.  I down load the 35 Whelen and shoot it at the range and it works well.

fknipfer

[Boxhead]

If I couldn't own both I'd keep the gun and load it up and down as desired. I'd also go buy a large stash of brass as who knows what the future holds for the round 20 years from now. My own preference is the 35 Whelen but a couple of nice 358's have also found there way home with me. Like the Whelen, brass is dirt cheap for the 358. I load 225 grs to 2450 fps in mine, certainly good to as far as I have ever needed to shoot.  I sold the BLR but still own this pre-64 Win M70 Featherweight. That new Ruger 358 looks like a darn nice piece.

[Country Boy]

Keep the Remington .350 classic and get rid of the 600 for a good profit and buy a good nikon 2x7 for the classic. When I had my classics, I could outdoo the .35 whelen with it. The rifle is shoter and handier than the Whelen and you can load it down to .358 win levels if you want. I sold mine because they were ackward in a tree stand, not fast on repeat shots and the recoil made me lose sight of my target......before I could get a second shot. I always shoot bears twice and they are very fast when moving. I shot a couple of moose with the .358 and .350 couldn't tell any difference but I must admit that the 350 gave me a little more confidence.