.35 Rem reloaders...question for you...

[Flatlander.54]

 I read yesterday in a reloading book where a few different sources say for new .35 Rem brass to be sized the neck to .375 w/ an expander, then resize the neck back down with .35 Rem dies. Supposedly this creates a secondary shoulder that aids in supporting the case while forming with near max loads to alleviate/do away with misfires that are experienced with the .35 Rem Contender barrels. I guess its kind of a mini "blowin the shoulders forward" step.

 Anyone who reloads for the .35 Rem ever do/try this and did it help with misfires? Any opinions are welcome, thanks.

[Curtis]

Makes sense to me.  I don't have the 35 but my 357 Herrett brass was formed by someone else and I suspect the shoulder is too far back, resulting in light primer strikes.  I guess I'll have to do the same thing with 375 dies or else start over with fresh brass.

Curtis

[Lone Star]

That's more trouble than it's worth to me - I just seat out the bullets to hold the case head firmly against the breech the first time, then neck-size only from then on.  Been loading for a .35 Remington Contender for almost 30 years and the only times I've had ignition problems were with improperly sized cases - FL sized by someone else.  However, apparently some T/C chambers are so deep that even factory ammo won't fire reliably.   

BTW, light primer strikes are usually caused by too little excess headspace, not too much.  The action won't close fully and the interlock safety prevents the hammer from hitting the firing pin firmly.  Push the shoulder back a few thousandths and try again.  This was common with both Herretts due to misunderstandings on how to size the cases, along with inconsistent dimensions in both chambers and dies.



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[sonofafish]

Have to say I never had a misfire. But I do have a hell of a time loading 35 Rem. I have had 3 over the years 1 Marlin and a Rem.Gamemaster loaded all the time for them and it worked. Great round for Hog and Deer here in Florida, and all my reloads worked good in those rifles. But I sold them to buy a 7600 and it all went down hill. The gun is great an up grade for me, but I can't get a reload to work in it. I have trimmed, used only bass from that gun but still can't get it to chamber it or it gets stuck and need to get a cleaning rod and hammer to get it out. I think its the chamber ? Help will be great. Thanks 

[Flatlander.54]

Im gonna give it a try if I have any troubles,  I have a .35 Rem barrel on the way from Ed. The previous .35 Rem I owned had a little trouble with failure to fire (1-2) out of 20 rounds (factory) maybe, but I had never heard of this little trick before so I figure its worth a try if need be. At any rate, my Old Style Contender frame finally gets a barrel to wear. Thanks for the input fellas.

[jhalcott]

 MY 35 rem barrel would miss 4-5 times out of a box of 20 factory loads. I would put them in a lever rifle and they'd go off every time.The ones that didn't go off in the TC is what I mean! I had a LOT of trouble with that barrel .I tried over sizing the necks ,partial sizing and short seating the bullets. I sent the barrel and frame to TC to be certain it wasn't the gun.(it worked on ALL the other barrels I had). It came back as fine and the barrel "is in spec's". I sent it to JDJ to make it into a 358JDJ. NOW it goes bang every time, but kicks like a mule!

[Lone Star]

But I sold them to buy a 7600 and it all went down hill. The gun is great an up grade for me, but I can't get a reload to work in it. I have trimmed, used only bass from that gun but still can't get it to chamber it or it gets stuck and need to get a cleaning rod and hammer to get it out. I think its the chamber ?

It could be.  I'd get a set of small-base sizing dies, that will likely solve the problem. An oversized or out-of-round chamber, or soft brass could cause the symptoms you are seeing.  I have an M7600 in .338-06 and it extracts everything great, your problem is not an intrinsic flaw with the rifle design.



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[jhalcott]

 I do have another 35 remm barrel now that DOES work. I've tried it on all three frames with out a problem. It took about 12 years to get over the 1st one though. It kicks about half what the JDJ does and is quite accurate to boot. With a 4x scope and sandbags ,I can keep 5, 200 grainers in 1 1/2" at 100 yards. NO deer has escaped after being hit with it.

[Flatlander.54]

jhalcott...I have gotten that very same answer from TC on two different occasions when I knew for a fact that something was not "within specs". The most memorable was a .243 Encore pistol barrel that would not group inside a paper plate at 50 yards...literally. Sent it in to TC and they sent it back with a note that if I recall correctly said..."This barrel meets our minimum accuracy standards." or something to that effect. Alrighty then.
 

[sonofafish]

Lone Star, thank you I'll have to give that a try.

[Hopalong7]

This whole scenerio has reoccurred with the 6.8Rem SPC in TC barrels.   Walt, 

[EdK]

I bought a 35 Rem sale barrel from a custom maker. When chambering the maker asked if I'd like a rim cut to allow the option of using 30-40 Krag brass - a great idea. They furnished both rimmed and rimless extractors. Now this barrel is properly headspaced for 35 Rem brass and reloaded properly is never a problem. However I really favor the Krag brass with its' giant rim and have never looked back.

This feature didn't cost me one dime extra but I'd still consider getting a rim counterbore cut in a factory barrel for the modest cost and highly recommend it to 35 Rem enthusiasts who reload.

[jlchucker]

Have to say I never had a misfire. But I do have a hell of a time loading 35 Rem. I have had 3 over the years 1 Marlin and a Rem.Gamemaster loaded all the time for them and it worked. Great round for Hog and Deer here in Florida, and all my reloads worked good in those rifles. But I sold them to buy a 7600 and it all went down hill. The gun is great an up grade for me, but I can't get a reload to work in it. I have trimmed, used only bass from that gun but still can't get it to chamber it or it gets stuck and need to get a cleaning rod and hammer to get it out. I think its the chamber ? Help will be great. Thanks 

How are you crimping?  When I first started loading 35's back in the 70's I was experiencing something like what you describe.  It turns out that the problem was the way I was setting up my die. The net result was if the cases weren't EXACTLY the same length (and I mean to the .005 plus or minus dimension) some cases, if a couple of thousanths longer than others, would experience enough downforce from the seating/crimping operation to slightly buckle/bulge that dinky little shoulder that the 35 Rem headspaces on. At best, chambering then feels tight. Lee came out with a solution for this when they invented the factory crimp die.  No downward forces exerted on the seated bullet or case with this operation because the LFC rifle die is designed to crimp from collet action, uniformly around the sides. 

[BBF]

I am puzzled by all this. I never had a TC in anything, the Marlin in 35 Rem I had never gave me any trouble and it was in my early years of reloading.

[jhalcott]

BBF, I used a marlin to fire the misses I got with the TC. I knew the chamber was NOT correct even though TC said it was IN SPECS. My new barrel is very accurate and (tap wood!) hasn't missed a beat yet.
 A young lady fired it with reloads at 50 yards and kept all five into an inch or so. First time she fired such a powerfull gun. She had been shooting a Casull with factory .45's and wanted to try a bigger gun.

[Lone Star]

I am puzzled by all this.

Don't be.  Misfires have been an issue with the .35 Remington for over 50 years, so obviously not just in T/Cs.  Ken Waters mentioned it in 1968 so it's been around awhile. It is not unknown on the Marlin forums either...

The biggest issues have been with reloaders setting the shoulders back with poorly-made or mal-adjusted dies.  Others have been factory cases with headspace on the short side, and with chambers with headspace on the long side.  Combine the latter two - even if they are both within spec - and you can get misfires. 


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