.35 Remington - deer? boar? bear? personal stories?

[CrazyVikingx55]

So its not a savage, but today I made an offer on a Consignment Remington Model 8 chambered in .35 Remington. From what I'm hearing its the short, fat, hard hitting "kills better than the numbers on paper" version of my beloved 6.5x55. The rifle is very cool in its operation, and feels like it would make a fantastic camp security gun in bear country. Small, lightweight, easy safety, quick handling.

I have a buddy that moved to texas, and puts together hog hunts, so I thought this would be a good rifle for that while being something different and wayyyy cooler than an AR. My dad has a Marlin .30-30, and a Savage 340 in .30-30, but there is something just oozing awesome about a carbine designed by John Moses Browning, with a recoil operated semi automatic action.

So, any personal experience using this caliber on deer? boar? bear? would 5 rounds of .35 Remington be good security against hungry bears and pissed off boars?

[Hotolds442]

I've hunted elk with a 350 Remington Mag since Ruger introduced it in the Model 77, and have taken a lot of elk with it from 50-225 yards, always ending with an authoritive thud when bullet hits the boiler room. I shot a black tail with it from about 40 yards, and the energy literally picked that deer up and moved it 20 feet sideways from where it stood. For a hog gun, I think it'll be just fine, especially in a self loader.

[the Ranger]

.35 Rem http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.35_Remington

and

.350 Rem Mag http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.350_Remington_Magnum

are not even close to the same.

think of the .35rem as a 30-30 shooting a heavy bullet. it should do fine on hogs.

[Hotolds442]

He asked about personal experience based on the caliber, not the chambering. .358 is the caliber. I know exactly how much difference there is between the two and didn't need the lesson.

[foxx]

He asked about personal experience based on the caliber, not the chambering. .358 is the caliber. I know exactly how much difference there is between the two and didn't need the lesson.

Maybe others here did. It was my understanding that the OP's post was in regards to the 35 Rem, even though his question said "caliber", many people less qualified and informed as you might not fully understand the importance of proper semantics in this instance. My guess is Ranger was trying to be helpful, not insulting of your knowledge or anyone else's lack thereof.

Just my humble $.02

[CrazyVikingx55]

Apologies to all involved, I was indeed asking about the .35 Remington cartridge and misspoke. I had been online for quite a while and recovering from a cold. Although information about the caliber is also quite interesting, I'd never even heard about the the .350 Remington Magnum. I'm always a fan of learning new things. Please gentlemen (ladies?) nothing here worth getting rubbed the wrong way about.

[Hotolds442]

You'll really like that .35 on anything you care to shoot. Be aware though, your yardage will be limited on dangerous game. Trajectory looks like a rainbow out past 150 yards.

[MacDR]

I hunt moose with the .35 Rem in a 760 Gamemaster made in 1953. My moose load is a 204 grain hard cast gas checked flat nose bullet in front of 35 grains of IMR 3031. At a muzzle velocity of 2070 fps and 1940 foot pounds of energy the big .358 bullet smashes its way through flesh and bone causing massive injury. Moose drop like they have been hit by a modern magnum. That is, out to about 100-150 yards. IMR 4320 is also a decent powder with a less punch taking 38 grains to get near to the velocity of the IMR 3031 load. If you are reloading don't push the shoulder back too far. The 35 has only a small shoulder and overdoing sizing tends to lead to splits around the shoulder area. Unfortunately brass is hard to find. For lighter loads you can use .38 pistol bullets or even 9mm which are a bit undersized. My 9mm mold drops them at about .357 which works well as long as I keep the speeds in the around 1100. These are not gas checked and much if I push them any faster leading starts. Have fun with a great old rifle and calibre.

[CrazyVikingx55]

Yeah, I had read on another web page that hunting with this caliber really reintroduces us younger guys to the concept of "stalking" prey in order to get close enough to take the shot. To be honest the only intended use of this rifle/cartridge combo would be short range hog hunting, and camp protection against bears at "crapping my pants" range. The rifle has only open Iron sights so I wouldn't try for much more than 100 yards on anything anyway.

MacDR - I had noticed in my looking around that the .35 Remington ammo was all on back order, even the "new" leverevolution ammo from Hornady. Any hints on places to look? I'd prefer to get pre loaded factory stuff, and save the brass, as I don't yet have the gear for hand loading (will need to start in the future, feeding my .460 magnum has gotten pricy!) Or is it normal for production of this round to come in waves?

[Hotolds442]

My local BiMart had 4 boxes of Remington loads for the .35 on the shelf this morning. It's out there, perseverance will eventually pay off.

[yobuck]

when i started hunting in the late 40s the 35 rem was a popular cartridge among pa deer hunters.
in 1949 i got a new model 141 rem pump in 35 rem. i used that gun for about 10 years and shot
several deer with it at ranges under 100 yds. i used 200 gr round nose bullets loaded with 3031 powder.

[foxx]

My best hunting buddy has hunted Michigan swamps with a Marlin 336 in 35 Rem since he was a kid. He's killed maybe 60 deer with it and lost 2 that he has shot at and wounded at in 26 years. The only deer I've known him to miss were standing broadside at 300 yards and a couple at 100+ running in fields just off the camp's front porch. The stock is banged-to-heck, chipped and cut-down to make it more "handy". Much of the bluing is worn away and has surface rust and pitting all over it. A few years ago he applied some kind of ugly green stain to the wood and I shuddered in horror when I saw it. :)

In his mind, and maybe to most of the rest of us, it is the most beautiful gun in the rack. It's look says, "I am a work-horse, the tool of a veteran hunter and, in the right hands, a precision instrument."

I have no doubt your 35 will serve you well for your stated purposes.

[Slowpoke Slim]

Are you sure you want to take such a classic rifle on a hog hunt? It's your call, but if this gun is in good enough shape to have some real collector value, I think I would avoid beating it up.

That being said, I have a Contender pistol barrel that loves the 200 gr round nose Hornady bullet and 41.0 grs of W-748. It also loves the Remington 200 round nose bullet, but around here those bullets are impossible to find. I have only shot paper with mine, but the Rem bullet is noticeably softer than the Hornady. I think either one would be pure hog poison. My barrel never shot the spire points worth a darn, so I stayed with the round nose. You may want to also, with your semi-auto for feeding purposes.

[MacDR]

I suspect that both Remington and Hornady are still concentrating production on more popular calibres. Up here in Canada I can find the Hornady but haven't seen Remington for several years. I spent months looking for brass and finally got 100 new Remington cases from a dealer who was clearing out old stock.

On a hunch I checked Bass Pro. They have the 35 in stock and if your local BP store does't they will ship free to that store.

[wrench man]

My 35 Remington is a Marlin 336A, I hand load 200grn Core-Lokt's over H335, it puts the SLAPDOWN!! on the coastal Blacktail around here!, never shot a bear with it?, but would have total confidence in it if I ever did level the crosshairs on one!

[CrazyVikingx55]

Excellent feedback guys, I swung by the local gun show today, and the vendor I usually use said he normally has it, but his supply got stuck in the snow before this show, so he didn't have any handy.

Slowpoke Slim - Your concerns are totally understandable. I wouldn't for instance, take my fathers occupation "Stompured Krag" deer hunting. But this Model 8 is not one of the rare collectable versions. The metal hardware is in fairly good condition, bluing is good, etc. etc. but the wood has seen better days. the finish is coming off, and the rear stock was cut down and fitted with a rubber recoil pad. So its already been slightly "bubba'd" So its collector value is minimal. Honestly the main draw to this rifle is that its well within my price range, because its not one of the really collectable ones. It looks like its already served someone well as a hunting rifle, albeit a well cared for hunting rifle.

[yorketransport]

I've run the 35 Remington out of 14" Contenders before and I've always been happy with it. The only deer I ever got with it was a doe at 105 yards. She just rolled over and never even twitched. That was with a 200gr Hornady RN and 28.5gr of Reloader 7. Muzzle velocity was only about 1800fps. Buffalo Bore makes some pretty potent 35 Rem ammo if you're running factory loads. The Hornady Leverevolution is pretty good stuff too, but the bullets are a little on the soft side for big bear.

Andrew