Stevens M200 conversion to .35 REM

[Jericho]

Have any of you done this conversion? I have heard of it being done, but what bolt head would accomadate
the 35 REM case head?

[efm77]

I've not done it but heard of someone doing it with either a Savage or Marlin XL7. 30-06/308 bolt head should work. I think the 35 rem case head is just a smidgen smaller than the 06 but should still work.

[Jericho]

I read/heard of somebody on another website doing this conversion and using a bolt head for 7.62x39mm.
Said he spent around $600 for parts, rifle, barrel, etc.

[Eric in NC]

A standard 30-06 / 308 bolt head will work but you may need a longer extractor (like the 7.62x39 or PPC extractor).

[Jericho]

Maybe it was PPC bolt head that he mentioned, thanks Eric.

[ellobo]

Unless there is some compeling reason for a .35 rem in a bolt action, it would be more economical to buy a used Marlin 336 in .35 Rem considering what it will cost for a new barrel and other stuff like bolt head etc.

El Lobo

[GaCop]

Unless there is some compeling reason for a .35 rem in a bolt action, it would be more economical to buy a used Marlin 336 in .35 Rem considering what it will cost for a new barrel and other stuff like bolt head etc.

El Lobo


+1 If going through all that work, you'd be better off with a 358 chambering, you can always load that down to 35 Rem performance yet have more power/performance when you need it.

[Eric in NC]

Maybe it was PPC bolt head that he mentioned, thanks Eric.


You don't need a PPC bolt head - standard 308 bolt head works fine but you need a longer (PPC) extractor.

Shouldn't cost any more than any other cartridge conversion (except for the $10 or whatever for the extractor).

35 Rem is a great cartridge and loading down the 358 won't get you the accuracy you get with good 35 Rem loads (my experience) and 35 Rem factory ammo is a lot more common than 358.

The Marlin 336 is a fine rifle but will never be as accurate as a Savage!

Currently have two on Swede mausers (using original bolt faces and extractors) - used to have one on an old "short action" 110 that I made an extractor for - it would extract about 50% of the time with the factory length extractor.

[ellobo]

Eric, I was curious about the .35 rem in a 336 as I wasnt impressed with the accuracy of the .30-30 which is Minute of deer in most rifles I have shot. The first one I tried was my brothers. I was amazed at how much more accurate it was that the 30-30's I tried. It held right around an inch at 100, open sights (When I had much younger eyes). After that I tried 4 more I managed to weedle out of various people to try and they were the same. Surprised me, even better with the scoped rifles I tried. This was about 35 yrs ago. Excellent for the shorter range effectivness of the old .35. Thats why I recommended it in a Marlin 336. No dought it would be more accurate in a bolt gun but for 150 yd. max shot distance I would use one at, but I would not feel I was deprived in any way with a 336. If he wants a bolt gun in .35 more power to him. I got Savages to barrel to my favorite cartridges as they were not available in current other models. 7mmMauser and .35 Whelen. Been loving those rifles ever since. Even made a .308.
Up here in the heavy woodlands of NH that old .35 will be seen very frequently in the woods. Most old timers I know, that is thier one and only deer and bear rifle.

El Lobo

[Jericho]

Eric, any pictures of your Swede Mauser 35 Rems?

[stangfish]

+1 358 Winchester

[GaCop]

Eric, I was curious about the .35 rem in a 336 as I wasnt impressed with the accuracy of the .30-30 which is Minute of deer in most rifles I have shot. The first one I tried was my brothers. I was amazed at how much more accurate it was that the 30-30's I tried. It held right around an inch at 100, open sights (When I had much younger eyes). After that I tried 4 more I managed to weedle out of various people to try and they were the same. Surprised me, even better with the scoped rifles I tried. This was about 35 yrs ago. Excellent for the shorter range effectivness of the old .35. Thats why I recommended it in a Marlin 336. No dought it would be more accurate in a bolt gun but for 150 yd. max shot distance I would use one at, but I would not feel I was deprived in any way with a 336. If he wants a bolt gun in .35 more power to him. I got Savages to barrel to my favorite cartridges as they were not available in current other models. 7mmMauser and .35 Whelen. Been loving those rifles ever since. Even made a .308.
Up here in the heavy woodlands of NH that old .35 will be seen very frequently in the woods. Most old timers I know, that is thier one and only deer and bear rifle.

El Lobo


+1 for the 35 Rem in the 336. I had one in my younger days back in the 70's. For practice and small game I loaded 38 cal pistol bullets and could get 1.5" groups out to 75 yards using just the factory iron sights. After mounting a 1.5X4.5 scope, I could get my light load groups down to about 1" at 100 yards. I have no idea what velocities I was getting as chronographs were too expensive on a SSgt's pay.

[Eric in NC]

Eric, any pictures of your Swede Mauser 35 Rems?


Will try to get some up this weekend.

[stangfish]

You might likr this article
http://www.gunweek.com/2003/feature0301.html

[Jericho]

Thanks for the cool article SF, I have heard of converting Marlin 35s to 358 before. Have also heard of
converting Remington M760 pump 35 Rems to 358 Win.

[efm77]

What pressure does the 358 operate at? I would have thought that the pressure would be beyond what would be safe in the 336 action being that the 358 was really more of a bolt action round.

[stangfish]

I always look to Hodgdons reloading pages to get a balbark feel for what presures and velocities a cartridge has.

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

[GaCop]

358 operating pressures should be in the same range as the parent cartridge.

[Eric in NC]

Several things about that article worry me and a couple of things are clearly wrong. One example being that the 35 Rem is based on the 30 and 32 Rem family - it isn't. The 25, 30, and 32 Rem all have a .418 rim diameter and the 35 is totally different at .460 or so.

Another being the lack of clarity on what loads were tested and proved "safe" - the only one mentioned uses 147 grain 9mm bullets. These light weight, undersized (.355) bullets might work fine. Don't know whether it would hold together with a full house 250 grain .358 bullet load!

[efm77]

That's kinda what I was thinking. Although the Marlin 336 is a great rifle and I'm a big Marlin fan myself, I wouldn't trust something operating in the 50K+psi range in one.